King's Hawaiian Announces Oakwood Location

ATLANTA—Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Torrance, California-based King’s Hawaiian will locate a bakery and distribution operation in Oakwood in Hall County.  The company produces its brand of Hawaiian sweet bread dinner rolls, sandwich and snack rolls and round bread.  This project will create 126 new jobs over two years.  King’s Hawaiian expects to add an additional 100 jobs around 2015.

   “Georgia’s economy receives a considerable boost from the success of food processors in our state, which employ more Georgians than any other sector of manufacturing,” said Governor Perdue.  “By selecting Georgia and Hall County, King’s Hawaiian serves as another example of how our state’s pro-business climate continues to create opportunities for new and existing companies, and for communities throughout the state.” 

King’s Hawaiian is a leading producer of dinner rolls, and accounts for more than half of U.S. dinner roll sales.  The company will complete construction on an existing 111,000-square-foot shell building in the Oakwood South Industrial Park for its Hall County operation.  The bakery and distribution facility will be developed by Pattillo Industrial Real Estate.

“It’s always a pleasure to welcome new companies and jobs to Georgia, but it’s even better to welcome them to my hometown,” said Lt. Governor Cagle.  “King’s Hawaiian will quickly come to find that Georgia’s talented workforce, quality of life, and business friendly climate are second to none.  I applaud Hall County for their commitment to this project and welcome King’s Hawaiian to our neighborhood.”

“In spite of the short time since our first meeting with the folks from the state of Georgia and Hall County, our relationship already feels as if it’s based on years of trust and collaboration to make this a great place to work and live,” said Mark Taira, King’s Hawaiian CEO.  “We are looking forward to being a member of this fabulous community.   I’ve learned that the spirit of Aloha lives in Hawaii and in Georgia; only the accent is a little different!”

   “If there is a model for harmonious collaboration between a state, county and the business community, Georgia and Hall County wrote the patent on it,” said John Linehan, King’s Hawaiian executive vice president.  “We’re grateful to the state and county officials who so graciously introduced us to this amazing environment.”

King’s Hawaiian will join Georgia’s vast community of food manufacturers and processors who employ nearly 70,000 Georgians.  In addition to the state’s welcoming business environment, advanced manufacturers in the food processing sector can also leverage Georgia’s highly-skilled workforce backed by the Technical College System of Georgia and Quick Start.  King’s Hawaiian will receive long-term support from the resources at nearby Lanier Technical College.

“The ‘Aloha Spirit’ is spreading in Hall County and Northeast Georgia,” said Kit Dunlap, president and CEO of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.  “King's Hawaiian has an inviting corporate culture that produces irresistible products.  We are very pleased with the quality jobs and long term partnership with this community and Georgia.”

Quick Start, Georgia’s acclaimed workforce training program, will provide King’s Hawaiian with training that is customized to the company’s own processes and technology. Quick Start is able to draw upon a rich background of experience training on the use of sophisticated automated control systems and quality-assurance procedures required to produce the distinctive products that have made King’s Hawaiian such a successful brand.

The company expects to begin production at its new bakery and distribution center in fall 2011.  Applicants interested in employment opportunities with King’s Hawaiian should register at the Georgia Department of Labor’s Gainesville Career Center.

Georgia Department of Economic Development statewide project manager Annie Baxter assisted the company with this project.

About King’s Hawaiian

Founded 60 years ago in Hilo, Hawaii by the Taira family, King’s Hawaiian Bakery continues to be well known as a family-owned producer of “irresistible, original-recipe foods made with Aloha Spirit.” In addition to operating a dynamic 150,000 square-foot bakery facility, the company continues to expand its distribution of bread products into stores nationwide with an appreciation for quality ingredients and great taste. King’s Hawaiian’s signature bread products are used in dishes at a number of restaurants, including the Disneyland Resort, Dave & Busters, Ruby’s Diner, among others, and the company owns and operates two Torrance, Calif.-based restaurant locations including the King’s Hawaiian Restaurant & Bakery, which opened in 1988, and a fast-casual restaurant concept, The Local Place, which launched in 2002. For more information or recipes, visit the company’s web site at www.kingshawaiian.com.

###