Century Aluminum to close its Mt. Holly plant in December 2020, causing worries to Goose Creak businesses

The high possibility of Century Aluminum to close down by the end of this year has already caused many Goose Creek businesses worried about the effects on the local industry. On Tuesday, October 20, Century Aluminum announced its Mt. Holly plant might close on December 31 unless they abled to secure a competitively-priced power arrangement with Santee Cooper.

The plant’s closure will expectedly affect nearly 300 jobs and also those who have been doing business with Century Aluminum. It would be a huge loss for many local businesses like Allen and Webb, an industrial service and repair company, said Charles Swicord, the president of Allen and Webb.

“We do a lot of business out there. We have 38 employees. We do a lot of repair business,” Swicord said. “We’re probably not going to lay anybody off if they close, but they’re a significant force in this whole area to all these plants and for all the working people out here.”

Swicord pointed out that a lot of Century Aluminum workers earn high wages, which are difficult to come by in the Charleston area.

Michael Brakefield, EHS manager for Phillips Industrial Services, said: “We have a large client portfolio that’s very diverse and Century is a part of that and they’re a good client and they’re good friends.”

He added, “We’ve done a lot of work there over the years, it’s steady work and we’re in and out of the plant on a monthly basis. Perhaps we would not be in a position where we have to lay off a large number of people but every business counts, every local business counts when we’re making an American made product.”

The battle between Century Aluminum and Santee Cooper is not new, but this time it’s a real fear as the plant may close down. Last week, a judge issued an order saying Santee Cooper “has the exclusive right” to provide electrical service to Century Aluminum, as Goose Creek tried to create their own electrical service for the plant.

On Wednesday, October 21, Governor Henry McMaster said in a statement that they are closely monitoring the situation.

“We know we want to have affordable energy out for all the people and businesses so we can grow,” McMaster said. “There’s a lot of interest in that situation but I’ve seen no action at this moment for my office to take other than continuing to monitor the situation and understand what’s going on.”