Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue - Governor Perdue Announces $13 million in OneGeorgia Awards

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Governor Perdue Announces $13 million in OneGeorgia Awards

Friday, June 1, 2007

Contact: Office of Communications 404-651-7774

AMERICUS, Ga – Governor Sonny Perdue today announced more than $13 million in grant and loan awards from the OneGeorgia Authority to Georgia communities that will create jobs and implement economic development projects. The regularly scheduled OneGeorgia board meeting was held this morning at the South Georgia Technical College in Americus.

"We are preparing rural Georgia to compete in the 21st century economy with a comprehensive and integrated economic development strategy," said Governor Perdue. "We are providing the financial resources necessary to stimulate private investment and economic growth. Our investments over the last six years have supported nearly 350 projects aimed at making rural Georgia a competitor in the global marketplace."

Governor Perdue and members of the OneGeorgia Authority Board approved the grants and loans from the OneGeorgia Authority's portfolio of financing programs including EDGE, Equity, SILF and ESB. These awards will assist with a variety of economic development projects in rural Georgia aimed at creating jobs, stimulating new private investment, supporting the retention of existing jobs and enhancing regional competitiveness through capacity-building projects. These projects, along with their respective local leadership representatives, were recognized at the OneGeorgia board meeting.

Company officials and local leaders associated with the most recent EDGE awards were recognized at today's meeting. The EDGE (Economic Development, Growth & Enterprise) fund is designed to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants that are being considered as a relocation or expansion site and are competing with another state for the location of the project. The eight EDGE awards, totaling $9,450,000, are leveraged against more than $348 million in total project costs and are projected to create over 2,615 jobs within the next five years.

The EDGE recipients include:

Development Authority of Columbus/ AFLAC Incorporated

Land acquisition and site preparation costs to expand the AFLAC campus in Columbus. This expansion project spans seven to ten years and includes the construction of three buildings by the company over three phases. The land addition is located in the Corporate Ridge Industrial Park in Columbus. AFLAC, founded in 1955, is a leading underwriter of supplemental health and life insurance policies that cover special conditions, primarily cancer. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and is the third largest provider of insurance products behind MetLife and Prudential. Major markets for AFLAC include North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Brazil.

EDGE Award: $4,625,000
Total Project Cost: $78,256,930
700 new jobs in five years increasing to 1,000 new jobs in ten years
Interstate competition: Alabama, Arizona, Nebraska, Texas

Crisp County-Cordele Industrial Development Authority/ Goldens' Foundry and Machine

EDGE funds will be used to assist with the purchase of the former Wescast facility, a 149,000 square foot building located on approximately 30 acres in Cordele. This acquisition is in support of Goldens' Foundry and Machine Company's (GFM) efforts to remain competitive in the global market. GFM, a 124-year privately held business located in Columbus, manufactures gray iron and ductile castings as well as power transmission machinery. The Cordele facility will focus on the production of ductile iron castings for the industrial, oilfield, truck, pump and compressor markets. The company has committed to the creation of 100 new jobs in two years and private investment of $5 million.

EDGE Award: $400,000
Total Project Cost: $8,450,000
100 new jobs in two years
Interstate competition: Phoenix City, Alabama

Screven County Development Authority / Timken Company

EDGE funds of $500,000 will be used to purchase machinery and equipment to support the expansion of the Timken Company's existing Sylvania plant. Timken is a leading manufacturer of engineered bearings, alloy steels and other related products that are being used in the aerospace, automotive, computer, industrial and rail industries. Started in 1898, Timken now has operations in 27 countries, over 27,000 employees and recorded $2.5 billion in sales in 2005. The Sylvania facility, approximately 267,000 square-feet and situated on 87 acres, manufactures bearings for the automotive industry. Timken is adding 88 new jobs at the Sylvania facility in addition to the existing 530 employees.

EDGE Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $17,500,000
88 new jobs in five years
Interstate competition: Other Timken locations

Grady County Joint Development Authority / Timken Company

EDGE funds of $800,000 will be used to assist with water and sewer infrastructure improvements in addition to the purchase of machinery and equipment to support the expansion of the Timken Company's existing Cairo plant. Timken is a leading manufacturer of engineered bearings, alloy steels and other related products that are being used in the aerospace, automotive, computer, industrial and rail industries. Started in 1898, Timken now has operations in 27 countries, over 27,000 employees and recorded $2.5 billion in sales in 2005. The Cairo facility, approximately 258,000 square-feet and situated on 87 acres, manufactures bearings for the automotive industry. Timken is closing another plant, adding 168 new jobs at the Cairo facility in addition to the existing 356 employees.

EDGE Award: $800,000
Total Project Cost: $21,810,000
168 new jobs in five years
Interstate competition: Other Timken locations

Houston County Development Authority / Perdue Farms, Inc.

EDGE funds of $500,000 will be used to purchase equipment for the expansion of Perdue Farms, Inc. located in Perry, Georgia. Perdue Farms, founded in 1920, is in its third generation of family ownership and is a vertically integrated producer, processor, marketer and distributor of fresh and further processed poultry products. In addition, the Company merchandises and processes grain, soybean oil and feed ingredients. With 20,000 employees, Perdue Farms is the fourth largest poultry company in the U.S. behind Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride and Gold Kist. This facility currently has 2,175 employees.

EDGE Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $192,444,000
375 new jobs in two years and up to 969 in five years
Interstate competition: Other Perdue facilities in South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee

Adel Industrial Development Authority / Xella International

EDGE funds of $500,000 will be used to assist with pavement repair, lighting installation, land acquisition and building improvements in support of the location of Xella International (XI) to Adel, Georgia. Xella International, founded in 1966, is a leading supplier of construction materials and raw materials to the European market. XI is expanding its global reach in the U.S. and North America with the purchase of a former HEBEL manufacturing plant. This North American operating division is registered as Xella Aircrete North America, Inc. The Adel facility will manufacture concrete. The parent company, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH (HFC), is one of the oldest family-owned conglomerates in the world. HFC companies operate in 40 countries and on five continents and employ over 58,000 people.

EDGE Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $21,000,000
Date of Award: 5/17/07
100 new jobs in two years
Interstate competition: Apopka, Florida

Thomasville Payroll Development Authority / Bayly, Inc.

EDGE funds of $100,000 will be used to assist in the construction of a 31,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in support of the location of Bayly, Inc. (BI) to Thomasville, Georgia. Bayly, Inc., founded in 1865, specializes in manufacturing uniform headwear, or specialty hats, serving four distinct markets: police and fire departments, postal service, marching bands and the military. BI is relocating from Hollywood, Florida, where there are 30 employees. The company noted three factors in their relocation decision about south Florida including lack of skilled workers, business overhead costs for insurance and utilities and lack of a business friendly environment towards manufacturers.

EDGE Award: $100,000
Total Project Cost: $2,595,000
Date of Award: 5/17/07
40 new jobs in two years
Interstate competition: Quincy, Florida

Development Authority of Richmond County / Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

EDGE funds of $2,025,000 will be used to purchase telecom equipment in support of the location of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) to Augusta, Georgia. The Company will initially lease a facility located on Stevens Creek Road and then build its own facility. ADP is a provider of computerized transaction processing, data communication and information services for employers of all sizes. The Company provides its clients with some of the following services: payroll, human resources, 401(k) retirement services, expense management, time and labor management, tax and compliance management, benefit administration, and screening and selection services. ADP, a New Jersey-based company, is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, the Company employs over 46,000 people and has operations throughout the world.

EDGE Award: $2,025,000
Total Project Cost: $6,187,600 (Phase I)
Date of Award: 5/17/07
450 new jobs in three years
Interstate competition: Another competing location

The Equity Fund is designed to assist communities and regions in building the necessary infrastructure to support economic development. The program's flexibility also provides financial assistance to enhance publicly-owned tourism initiatives, workforce development opportunities and downtown revitalization projects. In addition, loan funds are available through the Equity Revolving Loan Fund to assist small business owners with business growth and expansion opportunities.

Seven Equity awards totaling over $2.9 million were made today. These awards include:

Sparta-Hancock County Development Authority – Saint Gobain / Expansion

Equity loan funds will be used to support building construction for the warehouse expansion at Saint Gobain Desjonqueres Manufacturing in Sparta, Georgia that employs 238 and represents Hancock's only manufacturing industry. Saint Gobain is a France-based company in business since 1665 that has 190 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, including six in Georgia. The Company is the leader in Europe and second worldwide in the production of bottles. The Sparta facility located in Hancock County decorates and finishes perfume bottles created at Saint Gobain's Covington, Georgia facility. The proposed expanded warehouse will serve the Company's new lacquer painting line. The Company leases the facility from the Development Authority.

Equity Loan Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $1,573,936 (Public Investment = $150,000; Private = $923,936)
Create 35 new jobs

Haralson County Development Authority – Water Infrastructure / Suzukaku

Equity grant funds will be used to assist in funding water improvements to serve the 200-acre Georgia West Business and Technology Park. Suzukaku Company, Ltd. will construct a 35,000 SF manufacturing facility to operate a welding and small parts pressing facility to supply the ATV motor vehicle manufacturing industry. This Company will be the first industry to locate in the park. Funds will be used to construct a 12" water line and a 500,000 gallon water tank to provide Suzukaku with the fire protection it needs to operate and expand its facility that the existing 8" water line cannot support. There is substantial public investment in this project as the community has applied for a $1,491,000 GEFA loan. West Central Technical College has committed to serve as a partner with Georgia Quick Start in initial training efforts for Suzukaku.

Equity Grant Award: $200,000
Total Project Cost: $11,698,500 (Public Inv = $1,498,500;Private = $10 million)
Create 23 new jobs, 48 by year five

Joint Development Authority of Jeff Davis, Hazlehurst, Denton – Acquisition / McPherson Manufacturing Corporation

Equity loan funds will be used to assist with acquisition of 140,000 SF building located on 4 acres in Hazlehurst to support the relocation and expansion of McPherson Manufacturing Corporation. Company operations are currently decentralized in Alamo, Denton and Hazlehurst. In addition to supporting the expansion of McPherson, the project also provides an opportunity to revitalize a Brownfield site (formerly operated by Alco Controls) that has been vacant for a number of years. McPherson manufactures die cut electrical insulation, gaskets and electronic controls for refrigerators and has been in business since 1979.

Equity Loan Award: $200,000
Total Project Cost: $1,724,200 (Public Investment = $1,024,200; Private = $500,000)
Date of Award: 6/1/07
Create 100 new jobs

Southeast Georgia Regional Development Authority – MBG Marketing in Alma

Equity loan funds will be used to support the expansion of the Michigan Blueberry Growers (MBG) facility in Alma. MBG is a producer-owned blueberry cooperative formed in 1936 that processes blueberries from 94 active member-growers on over 2500 acres in 18 South Georgia counties. The Equity loan would be used for building construction of a pre-cooler building, dry storage room and office space for the expansion of the existing processing plant in Alma. The expansion will provide much needed cooling space to support the continued growth of blueberries in Georgia. UGA's Agribusiness and Economic Development staff estimated the economic impact of blueberries in Georgia at $97.4 million resulting in nearly 1400 full-time and part-time jobs. The member growers estimate this expansion will create 66 additional FTE jobs.

Equity Loan Award: $488,541
Total Project Cost: $798,329 (Public Investment = $4,337; Private = $305,451)
Date of Award: 6/1/07
Create 66 new jobs for member growers

Sumter County – Water Infrastructure for ConArt, Inc.

Equity grant funds will be used to assist with water improvements to serve ConArt, Inc. located on Hwy 280 in Cobb, Georgia. The Company, established in 1988, with a current workforce of 150, specializes in custom architectural precast cement finishes for use in residential and commercial building construction. The improvements will allow the Company to expand its existing operations, creating 40 new jobs and additional $1.2 million in private investment. ConArt currently operates wells and is non-compliant with EPD due to contaminants exceeding allowed levels as well as elevated levels of Toluene and iron deposits. The Company is considering relocating to another area if a dependable and quality water source cannot be provided. Equity grant funds will be used to assist with the installation of a 10,700-foot 12" public water line, allowing total employment at ConArt to grow to 190-200. In addition, the Company is considering adding production lines that would result in a $12 million private investment and a total of 400 jobs.

Equity Grant Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $1,720,000 (Public Investment = $20,000; Private = $1,200,000)
Date of Award: 6/1/07
Create 40 new jobs

DA of the City of Milledgeville and Baldwin County – Speculative Building

Equity loan funds will be used to assist in constructing a 60,000 SF speculative building (with an option to expand to 120,000 SF) to be located in the Milledgeville Baldwin County Industrial Park to attract industrial prospects to the area. The community plans to partner with GDEcD, Georgia EMC and GA Power to promote and market the building. The project's timeline calls for the building to be completed by September 2007. The application referenced two companies who have expressed interest in beginning operations in Georgia the last quarter of 2007, one of which is interested in locating in Milledgeville. The Development Authority has secured local financing through five local lenders.

Equity Loan Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $2,061,250 (Public Investment = $1,561,250)
Date of Award: 6/1/07

Tift County Development Authority – Equipment for Spring Hill Produce

Equity loan funds will be used to assist Spring Hill Produce, LLC, with the acquisition of machinery and equipment to be used in the company's new produce and fruit packaging and shipping operation in Tift County. The parent company, Lewis Taylor Farms, plans to construct a 40,000 SF building on 12.5 acres to allow the company to use new technology that is currently only being used in California to fresh pack broccoli, cauliflower and melons. Spring Hill Produce will contract with farmers in Turner, Tift, Worth, Colquitt and Berrien Counties. Customers include Kroger, Publix, Winn Dixie, Wal-Mart and Food Lion. The refrigeration equipment needed for this process includes a compressor skid ($468,850) and a hydro-cooling tunnel ($332,816). This project will have a significant impact on the regional agricultural economy.

Equity Loan Award: $500,000
Total Project Cost: $1,896,666 (Public Investment = $300,000; Private = $1,096,666)
Date of Award: 6/1/07
Create 30 new jobs

Governor Perdue announced the first award for the Strategic Industries Loan Fund (SILF) with an award of $733,300. The loan funds are intended to be used only when needed to fill a financing gap unmet in the private sector. They are targeted to science- and technology-based industries in which development-stage companies are creating commercially promising technologies and the opportunity for higher quality jobs in rural Georgia.

Details of the award include:

Washington-Wilkes County Payroll Development Authority/ AviGenics, Inc.

SILF loan funds will be used to assist AviGenics, Inc. (AGI) with the purchase of specialized machinery and equipment as well as construction of the Company's new poultry-production facility that is needed to support its planned Phase III clinical trials as well as commercial production. AviGenics is a development-stage life-sciences company that is producing valuable human biopharmaceuticals from proteins extracted from the egg whites of transgenic poultry. AviGenics' production technology will alleviate capacity, time and cost constraints of drug discovery and production that are currently felt by biopharmaceutical companies using existing production methods. The company originated from laboratories at UGA and currently maintains research and laboratory facilities at UGA's BioBusiness Center while also leasing two poultry-production facilities in Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties. The third production facility in Wilkes Co. will be 16,000 square feet and will house six independent animal rooms, each housing up to 1200 hens. It will have a production capacity equivalent to 1-1.5 million vials of finished product per year and will operate 24 hours per day.

SILF Award: $733,300
Total Project Cost: $5,667,633
Date of Award: 6/01/07
6 to 8 new jobs within two years

The board also reviewed the latest ESB Loan Guarantee made since the last board meeting. The Entrepreneur-Small Business Loan Guarantee Program was created over two years ago to support the growth of entrepreneurs and small businesses in less developed areas. The ESB Loan Guarantee Program is the Authority's first public-private partnership, providing a shared risk with Georgia lending institutions for loans ranging from $35,000 to $250,000.

One ESB Loan Guarantee was approved by the board today:

Stephens Auto Works/Colony Bank (Ashburn)

Stephens Auto Works is an auto mechanic shop in Ashburn, GA. Scottie Stephens is a young auto mechanic who started this business from his home. After two years, the business grew and Scottie purchased a shop in Ashburn. The business continues to grow and the customer seeks to purchase an adjacent building to expand the work area. The customer repairs, buys, trades and sells vehicles. The business currently employs 6 and expects to create two additional jobs.

ESB Loan Guarantee Amount: $37,500
Total Loan Amount: $75,000
Borrower's Equity: $17,000
Current jobs: 6
Proposed new jobs to be created: 2

The board also received an update on the Georgia Department of Economic Development's community-based Entrepreneur Friendly program. Newton, McDuffie, Baldwin, Brooks, Walton, Habersham, Spalding, Athens-Clarke, Jasper, Berrien, Paulding, Carroll, Jenkins and Worth counties were recognized as the most recent communities to earn the Entrepreneurial Friendly designation. To date, 47 communities have earned this designation and more are working toward this important certification. Once a community has earned the Entrepreneur Friendly designation, they have the opportunity to apply for entrepreneur and small business implementation grants of up to $25,000. At today's meeting, grants from the Entrepreneur Friendly Implementation Fund (EFIF) were awarded to Camden County, $14,874 and Dougherty County, $19,050. The grant program is funded by the OneGeorgia Authority and is only available to communities who have successfully earned the designation "Entrepreneur Friendly."

The OneGeorgia Authority was created utilizing one-third of the state's tobacco settlement to assist the state's most economically challenged areas. The OneGeorgia Authority is expected to receive about $1.6 billion over the 25-year term of the settlement.

Since the authority was created in October 2000, more than $260 million has been invested in projects and programs focused on preparing Georgia's rural areas to successfully compete in the global economy.