On Friday, April 11th, TL+CO Business Solutions held a ribbon cutting to unveil its new state-of-the art 15,000 sq. ft. facility in Seabrook in Beaufort County. The company was created from a shared vision by a core group of senior-level business professionals with a broad range of experience from startups to Fortune 500 companies. As a small, woman-owned minority, business, the business is in a HUBZone – a Small Business Administration program for small businesses that operate and employ people in Historically Under-Utilized Business Zones. Over the past eight years, TL+CO has worked with approximately 30 companies nationwide, offering expertise in supply chain management, demand forecasting, and program execution. TL+CO specializes in aerospace, defense, and space, making up 80-90% of its business. Its core philosophy is simple: allow clients to focus on building aircraft, rockets, and defense systems while TL+CO ensures seamless supply chain execution.
When asked where the name came from, EVP and COO Tim DiDonato shared, “After testing many more technical names through our attorney, we decided on TL+CO which stands for Tim DiDonato and Linda Martinez, our President and CEO – TL representing the two of us and then the plus CO – representing the rest of the company, our team! We have an extremely diverse and talented staff with backgrounds in supply chain management, operations, business development and customer service. We are like family with a culture of open communication and transparency.”
Founded in Park City, Utah, the company made the decision to move its operations to Beaufort for a couple of reasons.
“I am originally from New Jersey, and we would often come to Beaufort County on vacation. I joked with people that when I get old, I want to end up somewhere between Charleston, Savannah and Hilton Head, so here we are as we create and grow our new distribution center.” – Tim DiDonato
The facility, strategically located where Hwy 21 meets Hwy 17, will mostly be utilized for kitting, which in the supply chain world, is the process of grouping and packaging separate but related items together as a single unit or kit before shipping or assembly. Kitting helps improve efficiency, reduce errors, and streamline inventory management. To automate the process, TL+CO made the decision to invest in an automatic storage retrieval system, providing an opportunity to expand capacity significantly. The company can then store a lot more product and process orders at a much higher volume.
The company chose to locate in Beaufort County partly due to the proximity of the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), which offered potential business opportunities. More importantly, TL+CO could provide job opportunities for Marines transitioning out of the service.
“With our automatic storage retrieval system, we’re talking about potential careers for these Marines that will not be pushing a cart around picking parts off racks. We’ll be training them on demand forecasting, planning and operational excellence type roles that are more career oriented rather than an hourly warehouse jobs. Our Marines check all the boxes – high character, loyal, dedicated, dependable and we owe them for their service to our country with great career opportunities so that they hopefully stay right here in the Lowcountry. I feel very strongly about that.” – Tim DiDonato
As TL+CO was making the decision to move to South Carolina, Susie Shannon with SC Council and Competitiveness and John O’Toole with the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation were instrumental in persuading the company to settle here. Tim shared that John was super helpful and that he really appreciated his style of brevity and the bottom line.
“I was transparent with him on the offer and incentives we received from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. John made his resources available to us, and he’s done a great job working with us since.” – Tim DiDonato
“We are thrilled to welcome TL+CO to Beaufort County, a move that will not only bring well-paying jobs but also strengthen our target industry sectors, such as aerospace and defense. The decision by TL+CO to locate here is a testament to the strength and quality of our local workforce. Beaufort County continues to attract like-minded businesses, and with this exciting development, we are confident that this is just the beginning of many more opportunities. Our highly trained workforce is ready to support and drive innovation in these vital industries.” – John O’Toole
As the company looks to the future, there are plans to potentially expand their footprint in Beaufort County. The Lowcountry as well as the state of South Carolina already has key markets for their business like Gulfstream in Savannah, Boeing in Charleston, and Lockheed Martin in Greenville. In addition, with the automatic storage retrieval system, the company could expand capacity because of its site between the Savannah and Charleston ports.
“We are looking at the possible expansion into other specialized industries, such as firearms, batteries and stored energy, electric vehicles, and drones. We could potentially receive some of those containers from the ports on non-defense related products. There are lots of exciting opportunities out there for our company.” – Tim DiDonato
After making Beaufort its home, TL+CO has come to care deeply for the local community. For the second year, it will be the presenting sponsor for the 2025 MCAS Beaufort Airshow, April 12 and 13, featuring the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
“We will invite a hundred or so of our suppliers and clients to come to Beaufort for the big show. We are excited to proudly host them at this amazing event! Our Marines have given so much to us and they deserve anything we can do to give back to them.” – Tim DiDonato
