"S" is for South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance

"S" is for South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance. The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA), a powerful networking, information, and lobbying group for the state’s manufacturing industries began as an organization for cotton mill owners in 1902. The association hired its first lobbyist in the late 1920s and became a visible and powerful voice for the textile industry. After World War II--under the leadership of John K. Cauthen-- the organization guided state leaders in helping to transform South Carolina’s agricultural economy into a more diversified, industrial one. In 1951 the organization became the South Carolina Textile Manufacturers Alliance (SCTMA). In 1996, SCTMA transformed itself into a more broadly based organization representing all manufacturing industries in the state. By the twenty-first century nearly half of the members of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance were managers from non-textile industries.