Austrian company picks Oconee County for $44.5M facility

A manufacturer of energy infrastructure picked Oconee County for its first U.S. operation, a  $44.55 million investment the company says will create 107 new jobs.

Mosdorfer LLC is headquartered in Weiz, Austria, where it was founded more than 300 years ago. Mosdorfer started designing and manufacturing hardware for high voltage transmission lines in 1949, according to a news release.

Today, the company has a global footprint with production facilities in Europe, India and Thailand that employ over 1,100 people, according to the company website. As the competence center for the energy systems business unit within the Knill Energy Group, Mosdorfer designs and manufactures high-voltage transmission line hardware and accessories, including suspension and tension strings, dampening and vibration systems, as well as other solutions that enhance the safety, reliability and efficiency of electricity transmission worldwide.

At the new facility near Westminster, Mosdorfer will design and manufacture high-voltage transmission line hardware and accessories, primarily made from steel and aluminum, the company says.

“It has been an incredible journey over the past year,” Energy Systems Managing Director Erich Kaltmann said in the news release. “During our site selection process, we evaluated numerous locations across several U.S. states, visited many communities and carefully assessed a wide range of opportunities. From the very beginning, we felt welcomed and supported in Oconee County. We found the perfect combination of a skilled workforce, excellent training facilities, the right building and, most importantly, genuinely kind people. It already starts to feel like a second home away from home.”

Mosdorfer’s new facility at 444 Oconee Business Parkway in Westminster will support machining, steel fabrication, assembly, testing and related production activities for high-voltage transmission line components and infrastructure solutions. The site also is intended to serve as the company’s North American production and operational hub, supporting long-term growth in the U.S. market while creating skilled manufacturing, engineering and administrative jobs within South Carolina.

“This new factory in Oconee marks another major milestone in our long history,” Kaltmann said in the release. “As a company that thinks in generations, we are making a long-term commitment to this community and have come here to stay.”

Operations are expected to be online by the third quarter of 2027.

“It is another top shelf for business day in Oconee County with Mosdorfer’s decision to locate in our community,” Oconee Economic Alliance President and CEO Jamie Gilbert said in the release. “Recruitment of Mosdorfer was the highest of priorities for us from day one, as they are an incredible, 12th generation family-owned business. Mosdorfer aligns well with the county’s economic development goal of attracting high quality, stable manufacturers that complement our workforce strengths and have a growing and reliable customer base. The OEA has built a strong and trusting relationship with the Mosdorfer executive team and we can’t thank them enough for making this significant commitment in Oconee.”
The state Commerce Department’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project.

“It is exciting that Mosdorfer has chosen Oconee as its first North American location,” state Senate President Thomas C. Alexander said in the release. “Mosdorfer recognized what we have long known: Oconee’s pro-business climate, skilled workforce and exceptional quality of life make it an outstanding place to do business, live and raise a family. As the company grows and succeeds here, I am confident its leadership will view this as a great decision.”