The manufacturing sector is a vital part of Georgia’s diverse economy. Manufacturing employs about 9.1 percent of the Georgia workforce and accounts for 11 percent of the state's GDP (2010 statistics).  The sector is showing signs that is rebounding from the recent U.S. economic recession, with 6.4% growth in Georgia’s GDP from the manufacturing sector between 2009 and 2010. 

The industry consists of a wide range of small, medium and large companies engaged in a variety of manufacturing activities, including food processing, textiles, metal products and transportation equipment (see breakdown by employment and GDP below). 

Some of the largest manufacturing employers in Georgia include Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Lockheed Martin, Tyson Foods, Shaw Industries, Southwire Company and International Paper. Click here to search a database of Georgia Manufacturers.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce

Tax Advantages

As the first state in the Southeast to adopt a “Single Factor Gross Receipts” apportionment formula, Georgia treats a company’s gross receipts, or sales in Georgia, as the only relevant factor in determining the company’s income subject to tax. Combined with Georgia’s low six percent corporate income tax rate, this single sales factor formula significantly reduces the effective rate of Georgia income taxation of manufacturing companies with substantial sales to customers outside of Georgia. Additionally, Georgia offers several potential tax credits and sales, use or property tax exemptions to qualified companies.

Transportation and Logistics

Engineering your supply chain is made easier in Georgia, thanks to its superior geographic location and extensive cargo-transportation network. Georgia is within a two-day truck haul or a two-hour flight of 80 percent of the U.S. market. The state’s 4,700-mile rail network, 118,777 miles of public highways and deepwater ports in Savannah and Brunswick provide Georgia companies with several reliable options to transport products or equipment quickly and efficiently.

Labor Availability

Georgia’s average manufacturing wage falls well below the national average (see chart below). Nevertheless, Georgia continues to attract over 50,000 new residents to the state each year, many of them with advanced degrees and technical qualifications, providing businesses and industries with an excellent and growing pool of skilled labor. Georgia’s population is projected to continue growing, at a rate of 46% between 2010 and 2030. In total, Georgia is projected to add more than 4.6 million people to the state in the next twenty years. [Source: Georgia Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB), March 12, 2010.]

 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics

Quick Start workforce Training

Quick Start is Georgia’s internationally acclaimed provider of strategic workforce training solutions free-of-charge as an economic development incentive for qualified new, expanding and existing companies.  Client companies have included home-grown startups as well as global corporations such as Kia Motors, General Mills, Kraft, Toyo Tires, and Pratt & Whitney. Quick Start’s workforce training is customized to a company’s exact requirements, and is delivered wherever and whenever needed to support a company’s business success.

Center of Innovation for manufacturing

The Centers of Innovation are the central source for accelerating business growth in Georgia through innovation and technology. Six industry-specific Centers across the state provide collaboration with leaders in university research, business and access to intellectual capital. Located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, the Center of Innovation for Manufacturing provides the tools advanced manufacturers in the state of Georgia need to compete in today's global market.

RECENT Successes IN GEORGIA's MANUFACTURING SECTOR: 

RECENT georgia manufacturing INDUSTRY NEWS: 

• 11/10/11 Georgia Tech opens $1M manufacturing robotics lab (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

• 11/7/11 New plastics industry welcomed in Covington (CovNews)

• 11/3/11 Arizona Chemical to expand in Savannah (Savannah Morning News)

• 11/1/11 Global Competitiveness Inspires Georgia Manufacturers (Global Atlanta)

• 10/28/11 Georgia Tech Awarded Contract to Start High School Manufacturing Programs (Media-Newswire)

 

Georgia Manufacturing experts & Contacts

Do you want to learn more about how your manufacturing business can thrive in Georgia?  Please contact:

Bill Dobbs Director, Manufacturing         T: 404) 962-4028 E: bdobbs@georgia.org

John Zegers Director, Center of Innovation  Manufacturing     T: (404) 894-0007 E: jzegers@georgia.org

For additional industry information, please contact Project Analyst Emily Moore at 404-962-4022 or emoore@georgia.org.  Are you looking for a Georgia manufacturer? Search our Directory of Georgia Manufacturers. 

Related Sites:

Aerospace

Automotive

Food Processing

Quick Start (Workforce Training) – Advanced Manufacturing

Georgia Tech Manufacturing Research Center

Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP)

Center of Innovation for Manufacturing

Georgia Work Ready