"I received 800 responses," Jarvis notes. "We computer-coded those responses and identified 250 that seemed like they were the best suited and sent them a supplemental question asking if they would be able to provide 100-percent financing."
      Eventually 20 state and local groups responded positively, and Jarvis led those groups on a tour of Biopure's Cambridge, Mass., operations. "The proposition I kept telling everyone -- and as a third party it was easier for me to be this blunt than it was for the client -- was, 'Look, you have to face three central factors about this situation. No. 1, this is a money-losing company. No. 2, they don't have the FDA approval for the human product. And No. 3, if the FDA approval is denied at the worst possible minute -- such as after you've put in a lot of stainless steel piping, which is very labor intensive -- somebody is going to lose eight figures.' My worst-case estimate was a loss of $25 million."
      In the end, two communities still showed interest: Sumter, S.C., and Kearney, Neb. The reason for choosing Sumter over Kearney was a combination of two key factors. Biopure executives were highly impressed with the overall technical sophistication of South Carolina, and they were equally impressed with the team created by Steve Rust, president of the Sumter County Development Board. "Steve put together a team of people who are unusually able and unusually cooperative," Jarvis says. "There's a contractor, there's a merchant banking firm called Merchant Capital in Atlanta that's providing most of the financing for the now $120 million facility. These people were just uncommonly cooperative."
      As part of the process, Sumter Realty Group LLC, a specialty real estate development company, was created at the request of Sumter County to construct and finance Biopure's manufacturing plant. This group is led by Century Contractors, a North Carolina-based construction and general contractor, and it includes Merchant Capital LLC; and Haynsworth, Sinkler Boyd P.A., a South Carolina law firm with a specialty in taxable and tax-exempt industrial revenue bond financing. This group was crucial in presenting South Carolina as a viable location, arranging for financing of the project and covering legal issues in terms of developing the project.
      Other key players brought in by Rust were South Carolina Congressman John Spratt, state Secretary of Commerce Charles S. Way Jr., Sumter County Council Chairman Frank Williams and Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen.
      "The team, obviously, is the key," says Rust. "We're partners in the world market with Biopure. We're depending on them to get the FDA approval and bring this thing to fruition, and they're heavily dependent on us to help keep up our end of the bargain and build the plant and lease it back to them."
      Since the decision to go to Sumter has been made, the "Dream Team" has moved forward in the development of the project. "We're well into design," Powell reported at press time. "As soon as we can get everybody to agree that this is what we want and this is what it's going to cost, then we will build it." It is expected to take approximately 18 months to build.