A concurrent RESOLUTION

to recognize and honor Honda South Carolina Manufacturing associates and to congratulate them as they celebrate twenty-five years of producing reliable powersports products in Timmonsville that are fun to ride and drive.

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is pleased to learn that in July 2023 Honda South Carolina Manufacturing Associates will celebrate twenty-five years of producing reliable powersports products in Timmonsville that are fun to ride and drive; and

Whereas, Honda announced plans to build its sixth plant in the United States, Honda South Carolina Manufacturing in Timmonsville, in June 1996, and broke ground for the new plant in June 1997; and

Whereas, Honda South Carolina Manufacturing is the exclusive global production home of Honda side-by-side (SxS) vehicles, including the Honda Pioneer series and Talon sports models, and has the capacity to produce one hundred thousand SxS vehicles a year; and

Whereas, Honda South Carolina Manufacturing currently employs more than one thousand South Carolinians. In addition to its Timmonsville plant, Honda is an integral part of the South Carolina economy, with twenty-two Honda auto dealerships in the State which directly employ more than fourteen hundred South Carolinians; and

Whereas, Honda purchased more than seventy million dollars of supplies from twenty-five South Carolina suppliers in 2022, and Honda exports powersports products through the Charleston port for sale to customers around the world; and

Whereas, Honda South Carolina Manufacturing has grown from an initial thirty-million-dollar investment and a building with two hundred thousand square feet to its current facility with one million square feet that represents an investment of four hundred forty-five million dollars; and

Whereas, Honda prioritizes opportunities to give back in the local communities where associates live and work, through financial contributions and the volunteer efforts of associates, such as Florence County United Way, the Boys & Girls Club of the Pee Dee, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Florence County Angel Tree, and the Greater Pee Dee March for Babies. Honda South Carolina Manufacturing participates in Wildlife and Industry Together (WAIT), a program designed to encourage corporate landowners to integrate the needs of wildlife habitat into corporate, land-management decisions; and

Whereas, Florence-Darlington Technical College and Honda South Carolina Manufacturing have a longstanding partnership. Through the college's welding program, potential associates receive paid training and upon completion, come to work for Honda; and

Whereas, Honda South Carolina Manufacturing began manufacturing SxS vehicles in June 2013, and in 2022, its associates completed production of three hundred seventy-five thousand SxS vehicles since production of the Pioneer began. Since production began in 1998, Honda South Carolina Manufacturing Associates have built over three million three hundred thousand ATVs and nearly four hundred thousand SxS vehicles; and

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly values the presence of Honda South Carolina Manufacturing in the Palmetto State and its impact on our citizens and our communities, and the members look forward to following its continued success in South Carolina. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and honor Honda South Carolina Manufacturing Associates and congratulate them as they celebrate twenty-five years of producing reliable powersports products in Timmonsville that are fun to ride and drive.

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