Wedding & Event Venue Near North Charleston, SC.

When Robert Thomas was in high school, he had no idea he could make a good living with a creative, hands-on career.

Now, his blacksmithing company is expanding to create more jobs and products in a $2.9 million investment.

“Our expanded operations will enable our growing community of craftsmen and designers to have the space, equipment and support they need to keep the spirit of blacksmithing thriving in Charleston,” Thomas said.

Robert Thomas Iron Design is a blacksmithing company that combines traditional techniques with new methods to create custom orders as well as small lines of products like cookware, furniture and decorative hardware.

Prices can range from under $100 for smaller products to well into the hundreds of thousands for items like custom gates, Thomas said.

The company’s expansion into a larger building in North Charleston will let Thomas hire 45 new employees over the next three years, make more products and educate the community about blacksmithing.

Thomas said the unique thing about his company is that it has figured out how to manufacture small product lines while also taking custom orders. Most blacksmiths mainly rely on custom orders, said Eric Doesburg, the company’s chief financial officer.

“There’s no difference in the core principles of how we join metal, how we shape metal, but instead of that one project, we do it repetitively for a product,” Doesburg said.

Doesburg and Thomas also work in the shop as metal workers. Each of the positions the company plans to hire should have a craftsperson mindset of creativity, Doesburg said.

The company’s unofficial motto is to “build cool (stuff) and have fun while doing it,” Doesburg and Thomas said.

About 70 percent of the positions Robert Thomas Iron Design plans to hire will go to metal workers. The rest will be open to designers, engineers and other office workers and administrators, Thomas said. The company currently has about 15 full-time employees.

Doesburg said blacksmiths are highly trained and use judgment with every movement they make to the metal.

“There’s a lot of problem-solving,” Doesburg said. “You are problem-solving each time you hit, because you see it’s not where you want it. So, you hit it at this angle at this height to come together as your craft.”

Combining custom orders and designing product lines, such as custom cookware, is another area where the company put problem-solving to the test.

“Most blacksmiths are incredible craftspeople but abysmal at business,” Thomas said. “We made an active decision that we would learn to bother with all of the business.”

Robert Thomas Iron Design is trying to create its own path where it doesn’t have to choose between craftsmanship and business.

“We’re doing it at the largest scale that we can do where the craftsmanship still matters,” Thomas said.

Craftsmanship and creativity are central focuses in a project to create custom oyster trays for The Ordinary restaurant in Charleston.

“We’re always looking for different ways to evolve and tighten up our presentation,” chef and co-owner Mike Lata said. “We want to give customers an experience that is unique to this town. We do so … by creating décor that’s specifically unique to the city.”

The expansion — which probably would’ve happened sooner, if not for the pandemic — will let the company continue doing custom orders, like the oyster trays, and large public art pieces, such as gates, while also identifying new consumer items they can forge.

Though they get the lease to the new building, 56 Hayter St., in January 2023, they’ll upfit it and move in next spring or summer.

With the new space, they’ll make anything they can get forged metal to lend itself to.

“That mix (of products) enables us to provide a place where craftspeople can come and make a really good living and practice their craft, where they can get full benefits,” Thomas said. “All of those things that you might get from a ‘real job’ — people can come here and they can hammer on metal and they can get those same things.”

Open positions will be posted on the company’s career page.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – ENGESER USA Corp., a world leading cable specialist, today announced plans to establish operations in Dorchester County. The company’s $1.5 million investment will create 26 new jobs.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Schramberg, Germany, ENGESER USA Corp. designs and manufactures high-quality products for cable and connection technology ranging from classic cable assembly to comprehensive system solutions. A family-owned company, ENGESER USA Corp. serves automotive applications, consumer and capital goods, solar engineering, rail technology and more.

Located at 115 Fabricators Street in Summerville, ENGESER USA Corp.’s Dorchester County facility is the company’s first North American manufacturing operation and will allow the company to offer direct delivery domestically and to European customers. The new facility will utilize modern technologies to produce cost-optimized, high-quality cable harnesses, one of ENGESER USA Corp.’s core areas of expertise.

Operations are expected to be online by September 2022. Individuals interested in joining the ENGESER USA Corp. team should visit the company’s careers page.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has awarded a $75,000 Set-Aside grant to Dorchester County to assist with costs related to this project.

QUOTES

“From the search for a location to the founding of the company, we were professionally accompanied by Dorchester County and the South Carolina Department of Commerce. As an experienced cable assembly products supplier, we are confident that we can add value to our customers in the United States. We intend to continue growing in Summerville and want to become an attractive employer.” -ENGESER USA Corp. Managing Director Dirk Kinzel

"South Carolina has earned a global reputation as an ideal location for companies to do business, and we are happy to welcome ENGESER USA Corp. to our roster of international firms operating in our state. We look forward to the impact they will make in the Dorchester County community and across all of South Carolina.” -Gov. Henry McMaster

“We congratulate ENGESER USA Corp. on their first North American operation right here in South Carolina. By locating in Dorchester County, ENGESER USA Corp. is telling the world that our state has the workforce and business-friendly environment in place to attract companies of all types. We look forward to a strong partnership for many years to come.” -Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III

“We welcome ENGESER USA Corp. to Dorchester County and thank them for selecting us as their first location within the U.S. On behalf of the county, congratulations, and best wishes for future success.” -Dorchester County Council Chairman Bill Hearn

“We are pleased ENGESER USA Corp. selected the Charleston region for its first U.S. operation. They join an established group of German companies who are thriving here, and we look forward to ENGESER’s continued growth and expansion. The company will be a tremendous asset to our growing automotive cluster.” -Charleston Regional Development Alliance Board Chairman Mike Fuller

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The TopGolf in North Charleston is expected to open at the end of this year, but there’s another development right next to it that could bring hundreds of jobs to the Lowcountry.

Crews could be seen on Friday clearing around 30 acres of land for the Uptown at Centre Pointe development, which will bring more amenities to the area between Interstates 526 and 26.

The planned development is located across the street from the North Charleston Coliseum and the Performing Arts Center, along International and Tanger Outlet Boulevards.

“We have two hotels. We have 300 apartments,” RealtyLink Charleston Principal Lenn Jewel said. “We have retail, restaurants, Waterwalk, which is long-term corporate housing and a little bit of office.”

The developer said the project will also have an 800-car parking garage. It will also an entertainment space and several more retail stores to the region.

“What we’ve created here with this dense development is a place you can tailgate before a hockey game,” Jewel said. “You can have dinner at a nice steakhouse before a Broadway show at the PAC. You can have drinks after a concert, so we’re really tied into the Coliseum Complex in North Charleston.”

Last week, the City of North Charleston rezoned 120 acres of land, so the developer could build the project with more density. Overall, it spans around 30 acres, with another 90 acres of wetlands being saved for conservation.

The city said the development is expected to create around 750 jobs.

“The larger part of the development is going to include a lot of mixed-use, which is what we like to see throughout the city is mixed-use, meaning people can live, work and play right where they live,” North Charleston spokesperson Ryan Johnson said.

The developer said the apartments and the hotel should be completed in 2024, with some of the other restaurants and stores possibly opening next year.

“You have restaurants at your feet,” Jewel said. “You have entertainment in the Coliseum at your feet. You’re close to jobs. You’re in the center of all of Charleston and the intersection of both interstates. It’s a great location.”

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A longtime City of North Charleston employee is accusing North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey of inappropriate sexual advances both before and during her time working for the city.

DeLisa Reynolds and Keith Summey have known each other for decades. In the late 1990’s DeLisa and her husband at the time, along with Keith, and his wife, Deborah, owned a post office together on E. Montague Avenue in North Charleston.

“So, the four of us renovated, we did work, we ran businesses, we opened a post office,” said Reynolds. “I took that service on.”

Being self-employed, Reynolds said she was concerned about her lack of health insurance. That’s when the Summeys offered her a part-time job working as a receptionist for the City of North Charleston in 2001.

At that time, Summey had been mayor for around seven years.

“I started about 21 years ago and have been there ever since,” said Reynolds.

Throughout her time working for the city, Reynolds moved up the ranks from a part-time receptionist to a secretary a year later, then to an administrative assistant in 2006, a special events coordinator in 2016, and earlier this year she became archives and history coordinator.

Reynolds says the sexual advances by Mayor Summey started before Reynolds began working at the city. She says they began at the post office the Reynolds and Summeys owned together.

“I was at the post office working and he came in. And I went into the closet and he followed me. and that’s where it all began. It was groping. and kissing me,” said Reynolds.

She approximates the time frame of that was in the summer of 1999.

“How many times? I can’t tell you…I can’t tell you that. I don’t….it was so many.”

She said things progressed over the following years and never completely stopped and Summey would still make comments.

“Up until November, this past November it was ‘Hey, let me get a kiss.'”

Reynolds says she was never comfortable reporting the alleged harassment out of fear of retaliation.

“No. I didn’t have anyone to report that to. At that time it was a man’s world. HR was a man director that was very close with the people in the executive department. So I didn’t think I was safe enough to say that or would I lose my job for saying that to HR? I didn’t want my family to know what was going on. I didn’t want my children to know, my husband. So, I just kept it.”

Reynolds considered leaving her job but was concerned about finding the same amount of money and a job she liked as much as her city job.

Reynolds says she started noticing what she describes as an “abuse of power” by Mayor Summey and other executive staffers at the city.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever really noticed so much of it until it actually happened to me directly,” said Reynolds. “Because I was dedicated to the city and the mayor. My goal always was to make sure my job reflected on him as me doing a good job for the city. It was to make him and the city look good.”

During her time working in the executive department, Reynolds says things would stick out to her.

“You notice promotions and things going on and people that were getting more than what others weren’t getting for doing double the work. Other people were coming in because they were friends or whatever. Granted, I was a friend of the mayor as well and the family. So I felt ‘well, they’re protecting me by offering me a position.'”

She says she really started to notice the “abuse of power” when she saw other women becoming involved.

“Just by the way they would disappear together,” said Reynolds. “But I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought.”

Reynolds’ job was switched and she began working at Riverfront Park, something she did not enjoy at first because she felt isolated.

“Maybe that’s because I was starting to see things a little bit differently,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds never planned on coming forward with the allegations. She tells News 2 she planned to stop working for the city at the end of Mayor Summey’s current term which ends in 2023.

“I had already started making a 2.5-year plan. That when the mayor left, I would go too. And I would go silently. And they wouldn’t let me finish out my tenure that way.”

Last October, Reynolds’ adult son made a negative comment on social media about Elliot Summey, Mayor Summey’s son.

Reynolds believes the actions of her son had a direct impact on her, even though she told the Summey family that those were her son’s beliefs and words and did not reflect her own.

“I took a direct hit. My workload got different, I did things that I should not have had to do as a salaried employee, I put in a lot of extra hours that I should not have to do,” said Reynolds. “When they stopped talking to me back in October, things were building and building and I was being scrutinized with everything I did.”

Fast forward to the beginning of 2022, Reynolds was removed from her role of being a Special Event Coordinator at Riverfront Park and given a new role.

“They created this position so they could remove me from what I had worked so hard for.”

Reynolds’ new title is Archives and History Coordinator. A job she says she’s not qualified for nor did she want or ask for.

“They were forcing me out of my position and creating a position I technically do not have the knowledge to do.”

Then, in February 2022, Reynolds filed a formal complaint to the city detailing what she calls the abuse of power.

Reynolds says because of this recent situation, she is upset and frustrated and has changed the way she is thinking about her future.

That’s why she decided to come forward with these allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct and abuse of power.

“I started to rethink…this is not the life I want to live.”

A press release sent to News 2 by the lawyers of Reynolds says if a formal investigation is not made into the allegations, Reynolds will take legal action.

The City of North Charleston responded with the following statement on Sunday. They declined a request for comment on Monday.

“On January 14, 2022, Ms. Reynolds was notified of a lateral move to Archives and History Coordinator. This transfer did not negatively affect Ms. Reynolds’ pay or benefits with the city. Ms. Reynolds’ complaint was received shortly thereafter.

Employment History:Part-time receptionist – 2001Secretary – 2002 Administrative Assistant – 2006 Special Events Coordinator – 2016Archives and History Coordinator – 2022

Mayor Summey and the City deny the allegations raised by Ms. Reynolds’ lawyer and will not comment further on threatened or pending litigation.

City of North Charleston”

Reynolds is currently on leave from her job as part of the Family and Medical Leave Act due to medical issues. She was approved for leave on January 21st, 2022, was reevaluated on April 14th and her leave was extended until June 24th.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC, a modern blacksmithing company, today announced plans to expand operations in Charleston County. The company’s $2.9 million investment will create 45 new jobs over the next three years.

Founded in 2013, Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC intertwines traditional blacksmith techniques with modern machining and fabrication methods to craft iron pieces ranging from custom architectural ironwork commissions to volume-produced pieces of furniture, decorative hardware and cookware.

Relocating within the county to 56 Hayter Street in North Charleston, Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC’s new facility will expand the company’s operational footprint to accommodate production line growth.

The expansion is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2023. Individuals interested in joining the Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC team should visit the company’s careers page.

QUOTES

“We are excited about the next phase of Robert Thomas Iron Design’s growth and are very happy that we are able to do this on the historic Navy Base. Our expanded operations will enable our growing community of craftsmen and designers to have the space, equipment and support they need to keep the spirit of blacksmithing thriving in Charleston.” -Robert Thomas Iron Design Owner Robert Thomas

“The success of our existing industries is critical to South Carolina’s strong and growing economy. Today we celebrate Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC’s expansion and 45 new jobs in Charleston County. Congratulations, and we look forward to their continued success.” -Gov. Henry McMaster

“Congratulations to Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC on expanding in Charleston County. It’s particularly exciting to announce the growth of a modern blacksmithing company such as Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC. We look forward to seeing how the company continues to inspire modern craftsmanship in Charleston County and across South Carolina.” -Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III

“Blacksmithing is experiencing a modern artistic revival, and we are proud that Robert Thomas Iron Design, LLC has committed to growing this craft in Charleston County. Their investment and creation of new jobs is a welcome addition to the community.” -Charleston County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor