“S” is for South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance

“S” is for South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance. The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA), a powerful networking, information, and lobbying group for the state's varied manufacturing industries, began as an organization for cotton mill owners in 1902. The group's first paid lobbyist was hired in the late 1920s, and the association eventually became a visible and powerful voice for the textile industry. In 1951 the organization became the South Carolina Textile Manufacturers Association (SCTMA) and helped transform post-World War II South Carolina from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy. In 1996 the SCTMA transmogrified itself into the broader based South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, whose members represented all manufacturing industries in the state. On January 1, 2026, the South Carolina Manufacturers Association merged with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce to become the South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce.