DTI to open facility in Marlboro County Airport

From staff, local reports
Published: June 26, 2008

Defense Technology Inc. will open a facility in Marlboro County Airport, where operations are set to begin July 1, according to a press release issued Thursday from North Eastern Strategic Alliance.

DTI will create five jobs in the county at first, but F.S. “Butch” Mills Jr., executive director of the Marlboro County Economic Development Partnership, said more jobs are possible.

“This is a research and development group and, if this facility is successful, they’ll be looking to (Marlboro County) for an expansion,” Mills said.

Mills said five jobs may not sound like much, but the quality of the job is what stands out above those in other industries.

On DTI’s Web site, http://www.dtiweb.net, there are postings for a computer engineer, along with a senior software programmer and junior software programmer. And according to http://www.payscale.com, these levels of positions are attached to a salary of more than $40,000 a year.

“It’s a great testament to the good business climate in the North Eastern Strategic Alliance region,” said Jeff McKay, NESA’s executive director. “It shows that people are interested in this region and investing in the region and know that we have the level and quality of engineers, doctors, factory workers and the like.

“If you look at DTI, Monster and Heinz, (they) bring a lot of diversity into the region as far as industry and training for the industry, and set the area up to be solid in an industry upturn or downturn.”

Funding for the Bennettsville operation is coming from $1.6 million from the fiscal year 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill which passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bush.

DTI received funding for the “Semi autonomous or Un-Attended Psychological Operations Reconnaissance Tool” (SUPORT) program and associated work designated by USSOC of Tampa, Fla. The facility will begin operations as a research and development facility, according to the release.

“This funding solidifies our effort to establish a facility in Bennettsville in the hopes of establishing a multi-rolled support network for our country’s Special Operations Forces,” John Torbett, vice president of business development, said in the release. “Without the invaluable support of Congressman John Spratt (D-SC) and his efforts to attract economic growth to his district, the tireless work of Butch Mills of the Marlboro County Economic Development Corporation, and the efforts of the Marlboro County Council to plan for and act on the growth of their county, this investment in this great community would not have been possible.”

“The new ‘SUPORT’ system relies on unmanned, remote-controlled vehicles for conducting psychological operations and minimizes risk to personnel.,” Spratt said in the release.It will be a plus for our troops, and its development by Defense Technologies is a plus for Marlboro County’s economy. I was pleased to help secure the funds for this project.”

DTI is a veteran-owned private company with ongoing research and development programs relative to current and future Department of Defense operations. DTI’s additional facilities are located in Maryland, North Carolina and Florida. Its mission is to “support and protect the warfighter with dominating combat power while providing for a safe and secure homeland through the creation and implementation of advanced technologies that deliver supreme combat effectiveness with unrivaled capabilities.”

NESA is a 50-50 split, public/private partnership that represents the economic development interests of Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties.