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Business
South Carolina Business Review

Midlands Bee Man Patents New Products

By Mike Switzer
Published June 1, 2016 at 5:20 AM EDT
Scott Derrick
Mike Switzer/SC Public Radio

  We’ve all heard about the worrisome decline in the nation’s bee population and how that could seriously affect crop production and as a result, our food supply.  Our next guest decided to do something about it by creating products he has patented that help beekeepers achieve success.

Mike Switzer interviews Scott Derrick, owner of the Blythewood Bee Company, in Blythewood, SC.

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Mike Switzer
After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.
See stories by Mike Switzer