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Jackson County Welcomes Georgia's Largest Job Creation in 2011

ECG's Economic & Community Development Team is proud to announce that Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. will open an e-commerce fulfillment center in Jackson County. Bed Bath & Beyond expects to create up to 900 jobs and invest $48 million.

"A Fortune 500 company's decision to locate in Jackson County demonstrates how attractive the community and Georgia are to expanding businesses," said Annie Baxter, ECG Project Manager. "ECG is proud to partner with GDEcD and the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce on the largest job creation locate in Georgia this year."

A leading retailer of housewares, Bed Bath & Beyond currently operates 27 retail stores in Georgia and more than 1,000 in the United States.

Jackson County is a Georgia Certified Work Ready Community, which means that the county's workforce is well trained for operations such as the Bed Bath & Beyond fulfillment center, and is a key driver for economic growth in the community.

"Bed Bath & Beyond's new Jackson County operation is a significant win for the company and for Georgia," said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Cummiskey. "This company joins a growing list of Fortune 500 companies that operate in Georgia, taking full advantage of our favorable business environment and other assets that make Georgia one of the best places nationwide for business. I welcome Bed Bath & Beyond to Georgia, and look forward to the company's success in our state."

Read about this project in the news.

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Recent New Business in Georgia

Big Tex Trailers chooses Cordele

Big Tex Trailers

Big Tex Trailer Manufacturing has begun operating its sales and distribution operations facility on a fifty-acre campus near I-75 in Cordele. They purchased the former Cavalier Manufactured Home facilities, a 42,000 square-foot building for distribution and retail and a 136,000 square-foot facility for manufacturing.

"Cordele's local Tech School is right down the street from our facility. For them to train people for us is very appealing," explains Michael Pittman, Vice President of Operations East Coast for Big Tex Trailers. Pittman is interested in labor since he has 130 jobs to fill for the new manufacturing and distribution center. They plan to be manufacturing trailers by April 2010.

NationalNet's choice is Marietta

"With the assistance of ECG's economic development group, we were able to secure a 10-year contract with NationalNet," explains Barry Echols, Marketing Director with Marietta Power. "We were contacted by both the owner of the building and ECG in regards to the possibility of NationalNet locating in a building on Powers Ferry Road in Marietta. It was a seamless process working with not only ECG, but also the owner of the building and Mr. Tony Morgan, CEO of NationalNet."

NationalNet is an internet technology organization that offers fully managed and dedicated web-based hosting solutions and services. Both their headquarters and data/network operation center are located in the new facility.

Pharmaceutical Company Locates in the City of Marietta

Daryl Ingram talks ED with Mayor Tumlin of Marietta

Osmotica Pharmaceutical Corporation has announced that it will open operations in the City of Marietta, creating about 160 new jobs.

This type of development in Public Power Communities contributes to the local economy through capital investment and employment opportunities while becoming a new electric customer.

“Osmotica’s choice to open new operations in the City of Marietta speaks to the skilled workforce, and competitive wages that the area provides. The capital investment and quality jobs created in the community will greatly benefit Marietta, Cobb County, and the State of Georgia for many years,” said Walt Farrell, Project Manager for ECG.

City of Marietta Economic Development, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the Cobb County Office of Economic Development and ECG assisted Osmotica in finding a home for their new bio-manufacturing facility.

Each Economic Development entity makes a different contribution to this type of project. ECG’s Walt Farrell, Project Manager in ECG’s Economic & Community Development Service, contributed to this project by providing cost comparisons and wage information with the assistance of ECG’s Technical Solutions. ECG participated as a Team Member of this project and was proud to support one of our member cities in a great location.

“This project that Marietta landed is a great example of the teamwork process that goes on behind the scenes on a daily basis in Economic Development,” said Charlie Gatlin, Director of Economic & Community Development with ECG. “Each ED organization makes up a piece of the puzzle to expose the benefits of Georgia communities.”

*ECG's Technical Solutions Team provides Wage/Employment Reports to companies seeking information on various Georgia cities. This is one way that ECG contributes to Economic Development Projects like Osmotica Pharmaceutical in Marietta.

photo: Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin talks with Daryl Ingram, Vice President of ECG

GEDA Award Winners

The Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) recently presented the Winners of several Professional Development Awards at their 47^th Annual Conference in September. Four ECG Communities were recipients of these prestigious awards from GEDA.

Congratulations to the Award Winners!

Deal of the Year Rural Winner – Douglas-Coffee County
Deal of the Year Regional Winner – Cairo-Grady County JDA
Volunteer of the Year – Chuck Dobbins (Dalton-Whitfield County)
Rip Wiley Award for Professional Excellence – Nancy Kinsey (Monroe-Walton County)

Electric Cities of Georgia celebrates with our Participant municipalities that are part of such vibrant communities. These counties represent areas of Georgia that are eager and prepared for coming economic growth.

Acworth Receives Opportunity Zone Designation

The City of Acworth is the latest ECG City in a significant and growing list of cities that have received an Opportunity Zone designation from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Acworth enjoys the growth potential of this designation as an Opportunity Zone along with other Georgia cities served by ECG: Griffin, Marietta, Monroe, Norcross, Quitman and Washington.

As a result of this designation, local businesses will qualify for enhanced state job tax credits when they create new jobs that are located within the Opportunity Zone.

In showing the initiative to pursue these incentives, Acworth is investing in business growth as well as employment opportunities. City Manager Brian Bulthuis said, “I am excited about the possibilities of using this new incentive tool to create new jobs so that our community will reap tremendous economic benefits.”

ECG is eager to partner with other ECG Cities to capitalize on the distinction that the OZ designation brings to its Participants.

Bulthuis went on to say, “ECG played a significant role in facilitating our approval as an Opportunity Zone. They have been an invaluable resource.”

In response to the comments about ECG’s role in facilitating Acworth’s approval as an Opportunity Zone, ECG CEO Keith Bass says, “That is why we are here. Our purpose is to ensure that ECG is a useful and beneficial resource for the cities we serve.”

Augusta, Cherokee County, Cornelia, Cuthbert, Darien, Eatonton, Hawkinsville, Kingsland, Milledgeville, Ocilla, Payne City, Perry, Tifton, Union City, Valdosta, Walton County, and Whitfield County each have areas of their city or county designated as an Opportunity Zone.

For more information about applying for an area of your city to be considered an Opportunity Zone, please contact Charlie Gatlin, Director, Economic & Community Development, (cgatlin@locationgeorgia.com; 770-563-0408).

Marietta Welcomes Centrotherm Photovoltaics USA Inc.

CENTROTHERM PHOTOVOLTAICS USA INC. (www.centrotherm-pv.com) has located it’s US Headquarters in Marietta, GA, in the American Business Center. Centrotherm Photovoltaics is a German-based company and a market leader in manufacturing turnkey production lines for solar cells. It has supplied production lines to major solar cell manufacturers around the country, including Georgia’s own Suniva, a manufacturer of high-efficiency silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells, which is based in Norcross.

Centrotherm Photovoltaics has moved its office from Massachusetts to Georgia, and after a detailed search, they were paired with the city of Marietta. Centrotherm Photovoltaics sees Marietta as a viable market and an ideal place to relocate their employees, says Dr. Frank Faller, the Managing Director. With this relocation, the Marietta office is the U.S. Headquarters for Centrotherm Photovoltaics with Administration, Sales and Customer Service.

At the office Grand Opening, Faller thanked the organizations that facilitated the company move from the northeast to Marietta. He thanked the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC South) for making introductions to Jim Blair of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and Walt Farrell (ECG), who managed the site selection process. Both organizations were instrumental in providing accurate research on locations, liaising local relationships, and managing the progression of Centrotherm Photovoltaic’s search.

Marietta welcomes Centrotherm Photovoltaics and considers the company an asset and investment in alternative energy sources for the City of Marietta. The move is timely, with Marietta’s initiative towards attracting GreenTech companies. Centrotherm Photovoltaics is located just outside the newly designated GreenTech corridor; which has a marketing focus on establishing a synergy of research and innovation in the area of green technology and sustainability. This is an advancement toward the economic and employment growth that Marietta anticipates even in the midst of this economic environment.

Centrotherm Photovoltaics Opens in Marietta

Coats & Clark Distribution Hub in Albany

In July, Albany welcomed the North American distribution hub for Coats & Clark to be a part of their community. The Coats & Clark Grand Opening was held on July 23, member of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Electric Cities of Georgia, and city officials in Albany, came together to welcome Coats & Clark.

This expansion of Coat’s & Clark’s distribution hub is expected to create 25 new jobs.

From the Albany-Herald:

"Coats & Clark has been a member of Albany-Dougherty County's industrial family for decades, and we are honored that the company has chosen to relocate its North American distribution hub to our community," said Ted Clem, president of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission. "In expanding here, Coats & Clark takes further advantage of the affordability of doing business in Albany-Dougherty County as well as of its skilled work force. We don't take their trust in us for granted."

Electric Cities of Georgia is proud to participate in economic development across the State of Georgia. Michelle Cooper of ECG and Michelle Shaw of GDEcD assisted the company with this project.

New Business in Forsyth

Encore Plastics Corporation has officially closed on the Trane Building in Forsyth. Encore Plastics is an Ohio-based injection molder and thermoformer, and will locate a distribution and manufacturing operation in Forsyth which will be operational in the first quarter of 2011. The plant will hire 25 employees immediately and expects to hire up to 100 in the near future.

When Governor Sonny Purdue announced the Forsyth location, he said, "Communities throughout Georgia are seeing that our progressive business climate reaps tangible benefits when companies like Encore Plastics decide to locate here. Our skilled workforce and advanced logistics network provide the competitive edge every company seeks."

Congratulations, Forsyth, for being the kind of Georgia community that attracts new business.

Certified Work Ready Communities of Excellence

Governor Sonny Perdue announced five new Certified Work Ready Communities of Excellence, a designation communicating a county has the skilled workforce needed to meet business demands and drive economic growth, as well as the educational foundation to build a pipeline of workers ready to create ongoing success.

Seven ECG cities are a part of the Communities that were awarded this designation: Covington, Doerun, Douglas, Forsyth, Mansfield, Moultrie, and Oxford.

To earn the Certified Work Ready Community designation, counties must demonstrate a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates through a measurable incrase, and show a specified percentage of the available and current workforce have obtained Work Ready Certificates.

Congratulations to those cities that are part of Certified Work Ready communities!

Economic Development Bus Tour

In November, Electric Cities of Georgia's Economic & Community Development team hosted a bus tour of 10 ECG cities in west central Georgia. The Cities of LaGrange, Grantville, Hogansville, Griffin, Barnesville, Thomaston, West Point, Fairburn, East Point, and College Park warmly welcomed State Project Managers from the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) to their communities and has the opportunity to show the Project Managers why these cities are desirable locations for new business. This exposure for Economic Development opportunities heightens the potential economic business growth for these cities.

City officials guided the group through the communities while they met with state project managers. ECG served to connect project managers with city officials to explore potential opporunities for economic growth.

ECG's Economic & Community Development team plans to conduct additional tours of various regions in Georgia to ultimately showcase all 51 ECG cities to GDEcD project managers.

See how Grantville locally publicized this event.

Retail Development in Dalton

The City of Dalton is eager to develop more retail opportunities. The recent economic downturn affected Dalton along with the rest of the country, and retailers scaled back on any plans for expansion.

Dalton's local newspaper, The Daily Citizen published an article defining the hurdles and opportunities that Dalton faces as it looks toward retail development. Jason Fritz, Retail Development Associate for ECG, was a source for the article due to his expertise in the field.

Follow this story and read more about ECG's contributions to Dalton's retail development.

Vestar Technologies Opens Headquarters in Covington

ECG's Economic & Community Development Team is proud to announce that Vestar Technologies is opening its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Covington. Vestar expects to create at least 100 jobs.

Vestar Technologies is a new venture and will manufacture specialty metal products used in high-tech industries including semiconductor and LED lighting.

"ECG looks forward to seeing the ways that Vestar and Covington establish a mutually beneficial partnership. Covington provides a rich workforce and convenient access to the various resources needed to support the current and future growth of Vestar Technologies," said Annie Baxter, ECG Project Manager.

ECG partnered with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and the Covington/Newton County Chamber of Commerce on this project. Newton County is a Georgia Certified Work Ready Community, signifying that the community's workforce is highly skilled and trained to meet the needs of Vestar Technologies and other existing and potential businesses in the region. The Georgia Work Ready initiative works with communities throughout the state to ensure Georgia workers have the best skills and training opportunities and remain among the state's most competitive assets.

"A project of this size doesn't happen without a significant amount of teamwork. There were so many people involved in making Vestar's Covington facility come to fruition, and in a deal like this, if even one party is out of sync, the deal won't happen," said Roger Harrison, Senior Vice President of Economic Development for the Covington/Newton County Chamber of Commerce. "Vestar's choice of the State of Georgia and ultimately, Covington/Newton County sends a strong message that we are serious about economic development, and everyone involved is working together in harmony for the greater good of the new business, the economy, and job creation in the community."

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Is YOUR community ready to be a Georgia Certified Work Ready Community?

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Project Announcement: Home Depot locating in Cobb County

ECG's Economic & Community Development Team is proud to announce that The Home Depot is locating a new call center in Cobb County. The Home Depot will bring 700 jobs and invest $26 million in Cobb County. The Home Depot is a U.S.-based retailed locating a call center site for customer support and online order processing to support the company's expanded online strategy.

The Georgia-grown company operates 90 stores in the state and with 20,000 associates, The Home Depot is considered a major employer for Cobb County and the metro Atlanta region. The new customer support center in Kennesaw is expected to open with more than 400 associates and has plans to expand to 700 employees by 2015.

"ECG is encouraged to see a Fortune 500 company take advantage of competitive business initiatives in Georgia. The Home Depot has already invested 90 stores in communities across the state. With this location in Cobb County, they are committing even more resources that demonstrate Georgia is a great place to do business," said Walt Farrell, ECG Project Manager.

ECG partnered with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on this project. ECG was a part of the project team that assisted The Home Depot as they made their location decision in Cobb County in compliance with the requirements of the company.

“The Cobb Chamber is especially proud of The Home Depot’s expansion in Kennesaw,” said Rob Garcia, chairman. “We would like to thank our statewide partners, especially Chris Cumminskey, Gretchen Corbin and Blair Lewis of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Walt Farrell of Electric Cities of Georgia, for bringing this project to Cobb County.”

Cobb County has proven to be an attractive destination for the professional and business services industry. The Cobb’s Competitive EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy), a game-changing economic development initiative led by the Cobb Chamber and its community partners, has identified four core cluster economic development industry targets. One of the goals of the initiative is to build stronger programs to help existing companies to continue to grow and prosper. Since the start of the year, the county has gained companies, jobs and investments, including 15 located projects, 2,980 new jobs and $248 million in new investments.

"The Cobb community is very proud to be able to continue to support existing businesses such as The Home Depot," said Brooks Mathis, VIce President of Economic Development for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. "We are appreciative of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Electric Cities of Georgia and Cobb leadership for their teamwork."

Want to know how YOUR community can attract businesses like The Home Depot?

That's what we do best! Contact us or visit LocationGeorgia.com.

ED Victory for Elberton

ECG's Economic & Community Development is proud to announce that Hailo USA is locating its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Elbert County. Hailo will bring 200 jobs and invest $10 million in Elberton.

Hailo USA manufactures aluminum ladders and lifts for the wind turbine industry.

"It is energizing to have a company of the caliber of Hailo join our business community," said Elberton Mayor Larry Guest. "We look forward to watching Hailo find success in Elberton for many years to come. Our community worked as a team with ECG to bring this project to Elberton, and we are all very excited."

ECG partnered with the Elbert County Development Authority and the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). ECG was a part of the project team from the beginning of the nine month process and worked in tandem with the consultants in helping Hailo make a location decision in Elberton.

"ECG is very proud to be a part of the team that assisted Hailo USA in finding a location in Elbert County that met their requirements for establishing their headquarters. Hailo USA will be a great corporate partner for Elberton by creating new jobs and invigorating the community," said Walt Farrell, ECG Project Manager.