The following is an excerpt from the Site Selection Investment Profile:
Gateway to Opportunity
The only thing in Georgia as effective as its layers of logistics assets is the team of people ready to help put those assets to work. Collaboration and teamwork are typical, rather than surprising. Take Baxter International’s billion dollar biologics manufacturing plant that broke ground this summer at the Stanton Springs site in Covington developed by a four-county coalition. Or Caterpillar’s decision earlier in the year to locate a manufacturing plant at a longstanding candidate site at the juncture of two counties near Athens.
It begins at the top, where Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, among others, have led the charge for the expansion of the Port of Savannah. It continues through the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s vast and deep pool of resources, including teams devoted to existing industry, global commerce and international trade, as well as its Centers of Innovation program. And it reaches full flower in the strong array of partners, from communities to utilities to higher education to the Georgia Allies, a partnership between state government and private corporations.
“No matter how big or small the project is, the Georgia team is flexible, responsive and creative in helping that company find the right solution here that will bring it business success,” says Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “We’re able to adjust to a company’s timeline, as we demonstrated with both the Baxter location, which took four years, and with Kia, which took about six months. Those are both very large customers, of course, but the bulk of our corporate activity involves companies with 100 employees or fewer. We are also very conscious of the needs of our existing companies and do a considerable amount of outreach to them. So we have a lot of capabilities to flex in a way that works for the company.” Read More ▶