German Coating-Equipment Maker Expands to Charleston Region

By John McDermott [email protected]

A German company that makes industrial-grade equipment for applying paints, adhesives and other coatings is expanding its U.S. business to North Charleston.

The S.C. Commerce Department said Tuesday that Wagner Systems Inc. will invest $2.3 million to open an “application center” for buyers of its products. The company plans to create more than 30 jobs over the next five years.

The customer-support operation will open by late summer at 8351 Palmetto Commerce Parkway in Atlas Commerce Center, between Ladson and Ashley Phosphate roads. Wagner is leasing 25,000 square feet of space and will be the anchor tenant of a newly built 67,500-square-foot warehouse in the 12-acre business park, according to developer Warren Zinn.

Wagner said the North Charleston site will complement its existing U.S. operations in Chicago and Denver.

Martin Rola, the German company’s president for the Americas, said the expansion will provide “a state-of-the-art facility for us to work with our customers to optimize their process prior to introducing it into their manufacturing operations.”

“We manufacture coatings application equipment and systems, and our customers use this equipment to apply coatings to their products,” Rola said in a statement. “So to serve them best, we need to excel in our understanding and execution of the overall … process.”

Wagner is based in Markdorf, south of Stuttgart, and has been in the coatings business for more than 70 years. Its customer base includes manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, infrastructure, home appliance and furniture industries.

Wagner employs more than 1,500 workers worldwide.

“This well-known multinational company adds more foreign direct investment and global trade to the region, while supporting our high-impact automotive and aerospace manufacturing clusters,” said Todd Gallati, chairman of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.