Gibbs International Celebrates Golden Anniversary in Spartanburg County

Gibbs International, Inc. celebrated 50 years in business on June 29th surrounded by friends, family, business and community leaders, and current/former Gibbs associates.  The program was full of anecdotes, associate recognitions, and whole-hearted conversations.

Jimmy Gibbs founded Gibbs International, Inc. in 1973 out of his pick-up truck in Spartanburg, S.C.  A native of Roebuck, Spartanburg County, S.C., Jimmy dropped out of college to re-purpose parts, scrap, and waste materials from volatile textile industry around the United States.

Today, Gibbs employs over 300 associates through its subsidiaries and primarily engages in textiles, power generation and nuclear energy, industrial machinery and equipment, recycling enterprises, asset liquidation, project appraisals, industrial real estate and warehousing, demolition, hospitality, other avant-garde investments.  Gibbs has given a second life to over 3,000 businesses and invested in assets valued at more than $3 billion in 90+ countries over the past 50 years.

“We are so blessed to be celebrating 50 years,” said owner and CEO, Jimmy Gibbs, as he closed the event. “It feels like it was yesterday when we got started. While we’ve come a long way, the journey is just getting started.”

Gibbs plans to build on this momentum, leveraging its strengths to continue to serve its customers and help the world re-purposes assets by preserving the nature of being a practical laboratory for testing and executing entrepreneurship ideas. 

Gibbs has deep roots in Spartanburg County because it believes in giving back.  Jimmy and his wife, Marsha H. Gibbs, established The Gibbs Charitable Foundation in the early 1990s to improve the world.  The Foundation provides resources to local organizations such as The Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute, Wofford College, Converse University, Mobile Meals, The Imagination Library and many more.

“Gibbs’ positive impact in the Spartanburg community is immensurable because it has helped save thousands of lives,” David Church says, SRHS VP and CEO of Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute.