When the Caterpillar plant in Newberry, South Carolina, shut its doors years ago, the local mood was, honestly, pretty grim. You had hundreds of people out of work and a massive, empty industrial shell sitting at 284 Mawsons Way. People expected the worst. But then, Samsung showed up with a $380 million check and a promise to turn the town into a global hub for washing machines.
It worked.
Fast forward to 2026, and the Samsung Newberry South Carolina facility isn't just a factory; it’s basically the heartbeat of the county’s economy. If you’ve bought a Samsung front-load or top-load washer lately, there is a massive chance it was born right here in rural South Carolina. This isn't just some assembly line where people turn bolts all day. It’s a high-tech ecosystem that has effectively "Korean-ized" a slice of the American South, bringing in suppliers like KRA Operations and fueling local spots like Figaro the Dining Room.
The Samsung Effect is Real
People call it the "Samsung Effect." It’s a fancy way of saying that when a giant like Samsung moves in, they don't just bring jobs—they bring an entire gravity well of business.
Initially, Samsung pledged about 950 jobs. They blew past that. By late 2025, the facility was supporting over 1,600 workers. That’s roughly 8% of the entire county’s workforce. Think about that for a second. One out of every twelve or thirteen people you pass at the grocery store might be helping build 1.5 million washers a year.
The investment hasn't stayed stagnant at $380 million, either. As of 2026, total capital investment has climbed past $500 million. They’ve added warehouse space—over 350,000 square feet in a recent expansion designed by Pond & Company—to handle the sheer volume of "ship-ready" appliances heading to American laundry rooms.
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Why Newberry?
You might wonder why a global tech titan chose a small town in South Carolina over, say, a tech hub in California or a massive port in Texas. It basically came down to three things:
- The Building: Refurbishing the old Caterpillar site saved time. Samsung wanted machines rolling off the line fast. They did it in under a year.
- The People: South Carolina has a weirdly deep bench of manufacturing talent because of BMW and Boeing.
- Logistics: Being 150 miles from the Port of Charleston is a huge deal for a company that still needs to import some specialized components while shipping finished heavy goods nationwide.
What They Actually Make There
It’s all about the laundry.
Specifically, the Newberry site produces a massive range of Energy Star-certified washers. In the early days, they started with four models of front-loaders. Now, the floor is a choreographed dance of humans and robots. You’ve got automated guided vehicles (AGVs) zipping around with trays of parts while technicians monitor injection molding machines.
They even do their own plastic extrusion on-site now. By making the tubs and frames in-house instead of shipping them from overseas, they’ve cut down their "part-to-production" time to minutes. Bobby Stevens, a production manager there, once noted that they used to wait weeks for parts from across the ocean. Now? If they're short on a bracket, they can get it from a local supplier or their own molding floor in ten minutes.
The 2026 Reality: AI and the Future Workforce
If you think this is a "low-skill" factory, you’re wrong.
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Samsung is currently leaning hard into AI-driven manufacturing. We’re talking about predictive maintenance where the machines tell the engineers they’re going to break before they actually do. This shift has changed what it’s like to work at Samsung Newberry South Carolina.
They’ve partnered with the Newberry County School District and local technical colleges to build a "talent pipeline." They’re literally teaching high school kids how to work with Smart Home tech and IoT systems. In late 2025, the company hosted nearly 200 students for Manufacturing Day, showing off how "connected living" starts on the factory floor.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Keeping up with this level of tech requires constant retraining. Some workers who were used to traditional "wrench-and-hammer" manufacturing have had to adapt to tablets and data dashboards. It’s a steep learning curve.
Beyond the Factory Walls
The impact on Newberry itself is kind of wild.
Housing developments are popping up to accommodate the influx of engineers and managers. There’s a cultural exchange happening, too. KRA Operations brought over Korean staff who have integrated into the community. It’s not uncommon to see a mix of traditional Southern hospitality and Korean business culture at local events.
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Samsung has also been writing checks for the community—over $300,000 to local groups like Harvest Hope Food Bank and Boys Farm. It’s smart PR, sure, but for a small town, that money is the difference between a new school program and a budget cut.
Is Newberry the Future of US Manufacturing?
Honestly, it’s a pretty good blueprint.
Instead of building a "greenfield" site (starting from scratch on an empty field), Samsung took a dying industrial site and breathed life into it. They used the "Samsung Effect" to lure their supply chain closer, reducing their carbon footprint and making them immune to the shipping crises that paralyzed other companies a few years back.
If you’re looking for a job or a place to invest, here’s the bottom line:
- Hiring is constant: Check ZipRecruiter or the Samsung careers page; they almost always have 50+ openings for everything from shift operators to senior engineers.
- Pay is competitive for the area: Most roles start well above the local average, often ranging from $18 to $30+ per hour depending on technical skill.
- The site is expanding: They recently finished "Complex 3," which means production capacity is only going up.
To keep tabs on what's next, look at the South Carolina Department of Commerce announcements. They usually tip their hand on new tax credits or expansions before the news hits the national wires. If you're a local business owner, your best bet is to look into becoming a vendor; Samsung spends millions on local "indirect" services like landscaping, catering, and facility maintenance.
Samsung Newberry South Carolina isn't just a win for the company; it’s a survival story for a town that refused to stay empty.