Sara Lee to invest $24 million in new Macon facility

ATLANTA, January 26, 2006 – The Georgia Department of Economic Development announced today that Sara Lee Food & Beverage, the leading North American retail food division of Sara Lee Corporation, will construct a new 214,000-square-foot distribution facility in Macon that will employ up to 140 people. The project will bring $24 million in new investment to Georgia.
'Georgia's pro-business climate continues to attract great companies like Sara Lee,' said Governor Sonny Perdue. 'Our state's wide array of resources, skilled workforce and partnerships with local communities give Georgia a competitive edge for businesses seeking to invest and grow.'

'We are pleased to announce the development of a new distribution center in Macon that will allow us to better serve our clients located in the Southeast,' said Larry Rogers, Vice President of Integrated Logistics, Sara Lee Food & Beverage. 'We appreciate the assistance we have received from the State and from the Macon Economic Development Commission, which has demonstrated the many benefits that make Macon the ideal new home for Sara Lee.'

Sara Lee's new facility, which will be located on 33 acres at I-75 Business Park in Macon, will store and distribute both refrigerated and frozen meat and bakery products to retail and foodservice customers in the Southeastern market. The company will hire 75 – 100 people initially, and up to 140 within its first year of operation. Sara Lee has contracted Tippmann Group to design and build the facility, scheduled to open in August 2006. This will be Sara Lee's first dedicated distribution center in Georgia.

'Sara Lee will be a great addition to this community and to the region. This announcement will be the first of many in the I-75 Business Park,' stated Charles Bishop, chairman of the Bibb County Commission.

'Macon's central location in the state makes it an ideal site for distribution facilities,' said Craig Lesser, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, which worked closely with the Macon Economic Development Commission on the project.

'Sara Lee's choice of the area will be advantageous for the company not only logistically, but also in terms of workforce availability and quality of life.'

Sara Lee Food & Beverage is the leading North American retail food division of Sara Lee Corporation. Based in Downers Grove, Ill., Sara Lee Food & Beverage develops and sells many of the world's favorite high-quality baked goods, meats and coffee. Leading brands and products include Sara Lee fresh breads, frozen desserts and deli meats, Hillshire Farm lunchmeats, Jimmy Dean sausage and breakfast foods, Ball Park franks and the Senseo single-serve coffee system that uses the Douwe Egberts brand of European-style premium coffee.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. For more information, visit www.georgia.org.