According to a report WMBF News, 400 jobs have been created in 2012 by the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation and another 56 should be added soon. As of the middle of December, the MBREDC has 23 projects active, which means that some 23 companies from across the country have expressed interest in moving to Horry County.

The project has been named “Project Volunteer” and its details should be released to the public in the coming weeks, sometime prior to the turn of the calendar. There will be a council meeting on Tuesday. At the meeting, there will be a first reading about the company that could bring 56 jobs in manufacturing to Horry County if the reading is passed.

Should all 23 projects wind up in Horry County, close to 5,000 jobs would arrive and create a $1 billion impact on the area’s economy. Robert Salvino, a Coastal Carolina University Research Economist said that all of the projects being completed is very unlikely to happen.

“I think viewers should probably understand not every lead is a guarantee and you know, you look at Myrtle Beach and what kind of industry is a strong fit for the region and so those are some of the challenges the professionals in economic development recruitment have to deal with themselves” Salvino said.

Brad Lofton, the Executive Director of MBREDC, said in 2011 that just 10 to 12 projects were active. Lofton noted that the companies involved have noticed that Horry County has much more to offer companies than a tourist destination.

“It’s a great quality of life, low cost of doing business, low cost of living. We’ve got a major airport here, we’ve got a major university here and so we just had to get out and tell the rest of the world that we’re not just a tourism destination but we’re also a good place to do business and that message is starting to resonate around the country,” Lofton said.

Lofton made sure he made it known that it is not an easy job to lure companies to Horry County. One of those issues is the lack of a major highway. Another is the chance of inclement weather crashing into Horry County.

“Overcoming the perception of a hurricane and inclement weather, even though we have the data to show it’s a pretty safe community from a weather standpoint that’s still an issue that folks struggle with.” Lofton said.

Lofton noted that if just five companies move to the county, the MBREDC will still meet its 2013 goal of creating 500 jobs in Horry.

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