Georgia is an ideal home for food processing — the state’s leading manufacturing sector in terms of employment. With more than 50,000 farms producing a variety of food commodities, Georgia’s processors capitalize on a wealth of raw materials. Georgia farmers produce 15 percent of the nation’s chickens at an average of nearly 23 million pounds per day. Georgia is the fourth largest poultry producing region in the world. Georgia is also home to 608 food processing companies, employing nearly 68,000 people. Georgia’s top food processing companies include the Coca-Cola Company, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, Tyson Foods Inc., and Kellogg's, to name a few.
A Productive Work Force 
Georgia’s work force is highly skilled and productive. The size of Georgia’s food processing work force will remain steady through 2010, according to projections by Moody’s Economy.com. Moody’s expects food processing output to increase by $200 million by 2010 to $8.4 billion in gross product.
Georgia’s wages for food processing are typically lower than those of the U.S. overall, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
Also of importance, Georgia’s private manufacturing unionization is 4.3 percent while the U.S. is 11.3 percent.
Georgia’s extensive network of technical colleges, backed by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and the state's nationally recognized Quick Start training program help ensure that food processing operations have the level of workers needed to be successful. In September of 2007, Expansion Management magazine once again named Georgia as the number one state in the U.S. for work force training. Food processors in Georgia can rely on Quick Start’s broad experience in food manufacturing technologies.
Job-specific training for the food industry includes:
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• FDA Requirements |
• Ingredient testing |
• Inventory Control |
|
• Pasteurization |
• Mixing |
• Packaging |
| • GMP’s |
• Baking |
• Sampling |
Superior Distribution Infrastructure
Savannah is the fastest-growing container port and the fourth-largest in the nation. Port shipments were up 17.5 percent in FY 2008 — a record for the Georgia Ports Authority. On any given week, a combined 5.9 million tons of freight move across Georgia’s 1,200 miles of interstate highways and 20,000 miles of federal and state highways. Georgia has four major interstates, I-75, I-85, I-20 and I-95. Also, 80 percent of the nation’s consumer markets are within a two-day drive time. With 4,700 miles of rail, Georgia has the most extensive rail system and largest intermodal hub in the Southeast. Georgia is served by two Class I railroads and 24 short-line companies. CSX and Norfolk Southern each operate more than 80 freight trains in and out of Atlanta daily. Georgia is home to two international airports including the world's busiest in Atlanta (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International) and Savannah (Savannah Airport).
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For the 25th consecutive year, Georgia has been the leader in broiler production with 1.41 billion birds in 2008
Georgia Dept. of Agriculture |
Innovation and Technology Research
Georgia’s food processors are supported by a variety of research and technology groups around the state. The state’s world class colleges and universities (University System of Georgia) provide state-of-the-art facilities and research dollars that make possible ground-breaking food industry technology development.
The University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has a world-renowned Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center (FoodPIC). FoodPIC assists companies in developing new food products efficiently and economically. The center facilitates commercialization of food products by supplying intellectual resources and physical facilities for both start-up ventures and existing food companies.
Since 1973, the Georgia Tech Agricultural Research Program (ATRP) has provided innovative engineering research and development for the poultry industry in particular and the food-processing industry at large. The program’s outreach activities focus on issues and challenges that affect the industry today.
A sampling of recent successful
innovations includes:
| • A patent-pending, state-of-the-art computerized broiler-house management system for monitoring and controlling grow-out activities |
| • One of the first computer-vision systems developed specifically to size and indentify poultry parts |
| • A USDA-approved sound-absorbing panel for effectively reducing noise levels in processing plants |
| • One of the first electronic bird-counting systems for providing real-time, continuous tracking of processing plant line speeds and capacity utilization |
Other supporting organizations include the University of Georgia's
Poultry Science Extension and Outreach and
Food Science Extension and Outreach; and the Georgia Center of Innovation for
Agribusiness.
Georgia is home to more than 100 food industry-related associations and trade organizations who stand ready to help companies achieve success.
Contact
To learn more, please contact Emily Moore at 404-962-4022 or emoore@georgia.org.
Recent industry news:
4/22/10 GDEcD: Frozen food manufacturer expands to Henry County
Related Sites:
Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development (UGA Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)
Georgia Food Industry Association
Georgia Peanut Commission
United Fresh Produce Association
2009 Georgia Power Food Processing Study (PDF)