Dram Shop Injury Attorney in Piedmont, SC

PIEDMONT — The Piedmont Fire Department is seeking a location for a new fire headquarters, saying its current facility is too small to meet the future needs of its rapidly growing service area.

Fire Chief Tracy Wallace said the department’s current facility is hemmed in on three sides by publicly owned roads and on the fourth by private property, making renovation and expansion an unrealistic option.

Built in 1972, Wallace said the current headquarters was built to accommodate a small volunteer staff, not the seven-firefighters-per-shift department he now oversees. Fire engines and other equipment are packed into storage bays. Wallace said he will need to buy a new truck in the coming years, but at the moment, he has nowhere to put it.

“Currently, on apparatus, I’m good, because I’ve got them stacked in here so I can’t hardly move,” he said. “But I would say in the next five years, we’ll be purchasing a new engine.”

Wallace said the explosive growth throughout both Greenville and Anderson counties is quickly spreading to Piedmont. In the past two years, he said, developers have built 1,000 new homes in the area, with no sign of slowing down.

To keep up with demand, Wallace said the fire department needs to expand.

“We’ve completely outgrown our station,” he said.

The rate of growth has increased demand for the service, but also made it more difficult for the department to find land suitable for the new facility as more properties get bought up.

In its effort to establish a new headquarters, the public service district is turning to Greenville County, asking that it transfer a property about a mile from its current facility into the department’s ownership. The 15-acre site would make for a well-situated new headquarters, Wallace said, with access to Highway 20 and Highway 86, as well as the Saluda River, where the PPSD is responsible for water rescues.

About 7 acres of the tract could not be developed because of flood plain restrictions and a power line easement, Wallace said, but the other 8 acres would be ideal for the new facility.

The property in question — which sits on Highway 20 across from the Grove Station Free Mason Lodge — was once owned by the Greenville County Recreation District before it was absorbed by Greenville County. It is currently empty with no plans for future use.

During an Oct. 13 meeting, Greenville County’s finance committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the transfer. It will now go to the full County Council.

County Councilmember Rick Bradley, who represents Piedmont and grew up there, said the public service district is a vital resource for the former textile village. Unlike other mill communities throughout Greenville County, Piedmont never incorporated as a town, making the district its only local government entity.

As such, the PPSD serves numerous functions, including keeping Piedmont’s street lights running, operating the local community center and maintaining recreational amenities.

Bradley said he fully supports the county stepping in to help the district’s fire department keep up with demand.

“We can’t do anything else with it and think it would best serve Greenville County citizens as a fire department,” he said. “Because we are completely out of room.”

If the fire department ultimately does move its headquarters, Wallace said it will likely rent out its current facility on Piedmont’s Main Street as a commercial property. Depending on the tenant, the building could play a part in the long-sought revitalization of the mill village’s downtown corridor.

Because the department would retain ownership, it would also leave open the possibility of converting it back into a fire station at some point if needed.

(Photo by David Dykes)

By David Dykes

And August M. Spencer

Isuzu North America Corporation on Oct. 1, 2025, held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 1,000,000-square foot production facility in Piedmont, South Carolina, that marks a major milestone in the company’s long-term commitment to the North American market.

Isuzu’s facility, situated on 200 acres in Greenville County, represents a $280 million investment and will serve as a cutting-edge production hub for Isuzu’s medium-duty truck lineup, including the N-Series Gas, N-Series Electric, and F-Series trucks.

The plant will have a production capacity of 50,000 units by 2030 and is expected to employ over 700 South Carolinians by 2028.

Isuzu officials said the company conducted a nationwide search for the new location.

They also said they received “generous” economic development support from state and Greenville County officials, but didn't elaborate.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by numerous dignitaries, including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster; Isuzu Motors Limited Chairman, Representative Director and CEO Masanori Katayama; and the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Shigeo Yamada.

Each delivered remarks highlighting the importance of this investment for both the state of South Carolina and Isuzu’s global operations.

“This groundbreaking underscores our strong commitment to the North American market,” said Noboru Murakami, chairman and CEO of Isuzu North America Corporation. “With this new plant, we are getting closer to our customers and the market, strengthening our ability to serve them, and investing in the future. Our new facility will create jobs, contribute to the local economy, and provide a foundation for long-term growth and success.”

“Today’s groundbreaking represents more than the start of a construction project – it is a reflection of South Carolina’s reputation as a destination for world-class companies,” McMaster said. “Isuzu’s presence here will strengthen our economy, provide opportunities for our people, and further demonstrate the benefits of investing in our state.”

Isuzu’s U.S. investment strategy extends beyond this new facility. The company is increasing its sourcing of parts from domestic suppliers, and expanding its advanced automotive technology research and development initiatives in the U.S.

The new assembly plant will introduce a variable-model, variable-volume production system that produces both internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles.

It will be the first facility in the Isuzu Group to use a production line without conveyors or pits, a highly-advanced line that maximizes flexibility and scalability.

In addition, the plant’s quality assurance system will automate inspections to eliminate operational errors, ensure traceability of parts, and introduce image inspections and other methods to prevent the leakage of defective products.

Officials said the size of the Greenville plant will enable Isuzu to consolidate all production-related operations — KD storage and processing, parts storage, vehicle production and PIO operations — under one roof, streamlining processes and improving efficiency.

The campus also has sufficient acreage to store all completed trucks at a single site.

The plant will give Isuzu direct control over all assembly and logistics operations and, officials said, will provide Isuzu with the flexibility and speed to meet the demands of a quickly-evolving North American commercial vehicle market.

The plant is located close to the region’s Interstate 85 corridor and to I-26, which connects to the deepest port on the eastern seaboard, the Port of Charleston.

Isuzu worked closely with state and county officials in its selection of the site.

Isuzu trucks entered the North American truck market in 1984, and the company sold 44,000 units in the last fiscal year, its highest total ever.

In addition to expanding its production base in North America, the company aims to increase its procurement of components necessary for the production of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and to further expand its advanced automotive technology research and development initiatives in North America.

Headquartered in Anaheim, California, Isuzu North America Corporation supplies Isuzu commercial vehicles for sale in the United States and Canada and is a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

PIEDMONT, S.C. —

Isuzu North America has started construction on a $280 million production facility in Greenville County, South Carolina, which will assemble commercial vehicles and create hundreds of new jobs once operational.

Gov. Henry McMaster joined Isuzu and local leaders for the groundbreaking of the facility on Tuesday.

"The good news is that they want to come to South Carolina, and it's always because of the people, the South Carolinians, that they want to do the work that they're entrusting this place to," McMaster said.

The facility, located along Augusta Road in Piedmont, will house Isuzu's assembly and logistics area. Isuzu plans to build about 50,000 new vehicles in the Upstate by the new decade.

The plant is anticipated to create 700-plus jobs, with employees assembling the company's N and F series of commercial vehicles.

"I think this is one of the biggest investments since maybe even BMW, and opportunities for not only economic investment, but for real quality jobs that pay a good wage for our citizens to take," Greenville County Council Chairman Benton Blount said. "When we looked through the data, it was anywhere between $27 and $37 an hour for somebody on an assembly line or for working in a facility, so it's definitely a good place to work."

Shigeo Yamada, the Japanese ambassador to the U.S., highlighted the strong economic partnership between Japan and South Carolina. He said Japanese companies have invested approximately $9.2 billion in the state so far.

"In his conversation with President Trump earlier this year, Prime Minister [Shigeru] Ishiba mentioned this very Isuzu factory as a clear and concrete example of the strong economic partnership," Yamada said.

McMaster expressed the state's commitment to recruiting manufacturers like Isuzu and emphasized the potential for growth in the electric vehicle market.

"There is a market for electric vehicles, and we want to be open to that and support it and let those jobs, let that technology, that innovation, let that be a part of South Carolina," the governor said.

Isuzu North America expects the facility will be operational in 2027, and company officials said there is room to expand.