LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. β The Lancaster County Economic Development Department is proud to announce the Cooley Group, a leading polymer technology and industrial textile manufacturer founded in 1926 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is making a significant investment in its Lancaster, South Carolina facility. The company began operations in Lancaster in 2001 when it purchased a 100,000-square-foot building at 861 Quality Drive.
For over twenty years, Cooley Group has been one of Lancaster’s premier manufacturers. In recognition of its contributions to the local economy, Cooley was named Lancaster County’s Small Industry of the Year in 2019. In 2024, the SC Manufacturing Leadership Council, a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, named Cooley Group as the Manufacturer of the Year.
The Lancaster facility specializes in manufacturing geomembranes using a diversity of proprietary polymer chemistry formulas, powered by state-of-the-art polymer extrusion equipment. These products serve a wide range of industries and high-profile customers, including the largest producer of billboard print media in North America, commercial roofing on the Tesla Gigafactory in Texas, and the floating cover on the De Grendel Water Reserve in Cape Town, South Africa. Cooley manufactures products for customers in over fifty countries on six continents.
The Lancaster operation employs 63 associates, including polymer extrusion operators and other highly skilled technical staff. The majority of Cooley’s employees are Lancaster County residents, with an average tenure of over seven years, including several who have been with the facility since its opening. Over the last decade, Cooley has invested millions of dollars in capital expenditures in Lancaster to implement Manufacturing 4.0, the digitization of its production process, aimed at expanding production capacity.
The latest project involves a $9 million investment in a new supply-chain machine assembly process within their existing extrusion processes. This investment is expected to be completed in 2025.
Brian Fulk, Lancaster Countyβs Economic Development Director, commented on the development, stating, βCooley Group represents one of our Countyβs best corporate citizens. It is great to see initial investments that first occurred years ago now being supplemented with new machinery and processes, all due to Cooleyβs continued success.β
βOn behalf of the Cooley Team, I want to thank Lancaster County and the State of South Carolina for being our long-term collaboration partners,β said Dan Dwight, President & CEO. βThe strength of this support allows us to build lasting stakeholder value, including with our employees and the local community. Collaboratively, we have built and continue to build a company worth celebrating.β
