DAVID BRITT’S LEADERSHIP HAS HELPED THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY COMMUNITY TO SUCCEED
By Ann Piccininni
David Britt was a school board member in January 1991 when Spartanburg County was struggling and in
desperate shape.
“Unemployment was at 20%. Downtown Spartanburg was boarded up,” Britt said.
The businessman from Dillon County, in his mid-thirties at the time, was preparing to run for a second
school board term.
“A group of concerned citizens came to me and said, ‘You have to run for county
council,’” he said.
He was sought out due to his community involvement and high profile in Spartanburg as an executive with
Tindall, a company that specializes in precast concrete solutions.
“I was very engaged in the community,” he said.
He won election to the Spartanburg County Council in May 1991, becoming the council vice-chairman in
2000.
Britt recently left his post on the council to accept a new role with the South Carolina Public Service
Commission.
During his tenure with the county, the economic outlook in Spartanburg County has brightened
considerably.
“From the mid ’80s to the early ’90s, about 25,000 jobs were lost to businesses that
moved operations overseas,” he said. “From about 1885 to 1985, textile was king in the
upstate as well as tobacco in the lower part of South Carolina. Those industries were protected by tax
legislation on new industries coming to South Carolina. It worked great at keeping new industries out of
South Carolina. The heart of the textile industry was in Spartanburg and Greenville.”
When the mills closed and thousands lost their jobs, Spartanburg had little hope for new industries
coming in, Britt said.
Already a success in his role at Tindall, the Wofford College graduate decided to pursue a seat on the
county council at the urging of his boss, Bill Lowndes.
“Bill was an inspiration and still is to this day, along with God. God has been the major
architect of my whole life.” Britt said.
Motivated by a desire to provide a strong economic base and good opportunities for the county’s
residents, Britt worked cooperatively with community and state leaders to introduce initiatives focused
on growth and on attracting successful business ventures.
“I learned very early on that the golden goose is jobs. Jobs equal hope and opportunity,”
Britt said. “We were very fortunate. We had a governor that had the same attitude about jobs, Gov.
Carroll Campbell. He made the deal happen with BMW.”
Britt said Gov. Henry McMaster, the state’s current governor, is like-minded and has done an
incredible job for all of South Carolina, along with the leadership of the South Carolina General
Assembly.
One of the watershed moments in Spartanburg County’s economic history was the arrival of the BMW
plant.
“On June 22, 1992, BMW made the announcement. It became the golden goose for South Carolina.
It’s the largest BMW production facility in the world. All series X cars are built in
Spartanburg,” Britt said.
Britt said BMW originally invested $600 million in the company’s Spartanburg venture.
“We had critics. There were people who argued with me about giving tax incentives. I said we have
40,000 people without jobs. I said we’re going to do it,” he said.
Since 1992, BMW has invested nearly $13.3 billion in its South Carolina operations, including an
investment of $1.7 billion in 2022 for the automaker’s electric vehicle production efforts.
Britt said since 1992, about $85 billion has been invested in Spartanburg County by a variety of
businesses and industries with more than 90,000 new high-paying jobs created.
“It’s not all auto related. We have recruited companies that manufacture everything from
vaccines and therapeutics, Milo’s Tea Co., and Oshkosh Defense, a company that produces military
vehicles and builds specialty vehicles such as US Postal Service vehicles,” he said.
Britt said his initiatives were well-supported by partners such as Carter Smith, retired executive vice
president of the Spartanburg Economic Futures Group, Allen Smith, OneSpartanburg, Inc. current president
and Katherine O’Neill, OneSpartanburg, Inc. Chief Economic Development Officer, Cole Alverson,
Spartanburg’s County Administrator, Bill Barnet, George Dean Johnson and a host of other
partners.
“I have been very fortunate to have had phenomenal teammates,” Britt said. “My
education in how to treat people came from my grandfather and grandmother. Life is like sports. One
player cannot make the team win. It is the team that makes the dream work.”
Today, Spartanburg County is the second fastest growing county in the state, with a population of about
375,000. Britt said 217 international companies, representing 27 different nations, do business in the
county.
Many companies stay in the county and continue to expand and bring more jobs and growth.
“Much of the investment has been from companies reinvesting because they have found out that we
know who the golden goose is and we take special care of her. I have gone to battle with US Senators and
many other groups that have challenged our companies for whatever reason. They have my cell number and
they know I am only a phone call away. It is all about relationships and offering hope and opportunity
for our residents in South Carolina,” Britt said.
I have been very fortunate to have had phenomenal teammates.
– David Britt
DAVID BRITT IS THE ONE YOU WANT IN YOUR FOXHOLE WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH
When Katherine O’Neill was hired as the Spartanburg County Administrator, David Britt was a
Spartanburg County council member. That was the second time the two economic development powerhouses
worked in partnership. The first was several years earlier when O’Neill was serving as Lexington
County Administrator in the late 2000s. O’Neill is currently serving as Chief Economic Development
Officer for OneSpartanburg, Inc.
O’Neill said Britt helped with bringing Amazon to both Spartanburg and Lexington counties. At
that point, she said, Britt was already known as having been instrumental in reinvigorating the local
economy after a downturn that began in the 1980s when much of the textile industry moved offshore.
“It was very typical for multiple family members in Spartanburg County to work in
textiles,” she said. The widespread job loss that devastated the area was reversed with
Britt’s assistance.
“David’s work with state and local officials was key. Everyone would credit David with
spearheading the turnaround of the county economy,” she said. “His impact on the community
will be felt for generations.”
Britt found ways to help the workforce transfer skills needed for textile work to skills needed for
advanced manufacturing, she said. When BMW opened a plant in Spartanburg in 1992, the facility brought
with it several suppliers able to provide just-in-time and just-in-sequence equipment and deliverables,
creating even more job opportunities.
“What David did was really remarkable in the industry. He was hands-on with the recruitment
process. Once Spartanburg was on the map with BMW, David cultivated that name recognition,” she
said.
Other businesses to follow a path to Spartanburg County include Dr. Pepper, Michelin, Milo’s Tea,
Omron, Cytiva, Keurig Dr Pepper, Toray, AFL, Oshkosh Defense and Time bicycles.
“He built a diversified economy in Spartanburg that could withstand peaks and troughs,”
O’Neill said. “He worked with county council members and community partners. His passion for
public service, his skills with economic development, his strong leadership and ability to make
strategic decisions made it possible to bring many partners to the table. He has a very endearing
statesmanship. He makes it a point to acknowledge contributions from people. He’s really the one
you want in your foxhole when things get tough.”
Cole Alverson is the current Spartanburg County Administrator.
“The population of Spartanburg County is about 370,000. About 169,000 of those people are in the
workforce. Over half of those people are in jobs that David helped bring here,” Alverson said.
Alverson said Britt’s tenure as chairman of the Spartanburg County Economic Recruitment and
Development Committee helped build a strong economic foundation.
“David leaves a very big pair of shoes to fill,” he said.
For more than 30 years, attorney Alex Evins has been rising early in the morning to go running with a
group of like-minded athletes. One of those athletes is David Britt.
“We call it The 6 a.m.Running Club,” Evins said. “I have been a runner all my life.
David is the heartbeat of this group. He is the one that keeps us all together.”
The club meets several times per week to run. Sometimes the group heads to a local restaurant for
breakfast. On most runs, the conversation is lively and enthusiastic.
“David is quite the talker,” Evins said. “We’d listen to David tell us stories
about his life.”
One of the latest chapters in Britt’s life is his new role with the South Carolina Public Service
Commission.
“He’s very excited about this. It was a big decision for him. He has grown to be such an
important figure in economic development. He is trusted by everybody. I’d describe him as Richie
Cunningham from Happy Days,” Evins said. “He is just a great spirit with an open heart, but
he’s also the person his friends look to in times of trouble.”
Evins recalls the textile industry crash in the ’80s.
“We had mills closing all over the county and no place for these folks to go to work,” he
said. “David was a major part of the team to recruit BMW to come here.”
“David has been a major economic driver of Spartanburg County’s recovery,”
O’Neill said. “He has just helped us open our arms to development.”
What David did was really remarkable in the industry. He was hands-on with the recruitment
process.
– Katherine O’Neill
