On July 8^th, a delegation of manufacturing executives from Henderson County took a short trip down I-26 to tour Clemson’s ICAR.  ICAR is an advanced-technology research campus where academia, industry and government collaborate to support the automotive industry.  Our intent was to establish an economic development relationship, and also to acquaint our local companies with their engineering and research services.  ICAR Director, Bob Geolas, expressed his interest in partnering with our organization and business community. 

ICAR’s mission is to be the premier automotive and motorsports research and educational center in the world.  Our proximity to such an entity, one that has experienced considerable success in 6 years of existence, can be beneficial in many ways.  From an economic development perspective, many of the companies that locate research and academic offices at ICAR will look for off-site locations to apply the research and manufacture a product.  ICAR’s 250 acre campus is focused primarily on research and engineering, with little additional room available for manufacturing.

The concentration of engineering and research investments at ICAR can support the automotive industries that are here in Henderson County as well.  The engineering services and testing equipment that is available at ICAR can provide advanced testing opportunities within close proximity to our area.

On December 17, 2009 Clemson University graduated its first Automotive Engineering Ph.D.  The development of this program and the access to comprehensive and critical automotive systems thinkers places our region in reasonable to access to some of the best automotive talent in the world.

During the tour of ICAR, one of the most interesting things we saw were students involved in the Deep Orange initiative.  Students, faculty and participating partners engineer and manufacture a new vehicle prototype each year, giving the students experience in vehicle design, development, prototyping and production planning from their entry into the program until graduation.

 
(Students in the Deep Orange Initiative work on their prototype.)

Thank you to ICAR Director Bob Geolas for his time in touring our group and encouraging us to look for ways to partner and benefit one another.