Fayette County Development Authority : News Releases

Governor Appoints New Leaders for Team Georgia

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA –Governor Sonny Perdue today announced three appointments within Team Georgia. He has named Trey Childress to serve as Georgia’s Chief Operating Officer and tapped Debbie Dlugolenski, OPB’s current deputy director, to step into the role of OPB Director vacated by Childress. He also announced the appointment of Georgia Department of Economic Development Deputy Commissioner Heidi Green to serve as the Department’s next commissioner.
The appointments will follow the departure of Chief Operating Officer Jim Lientz and GDEcD Commissioner Ken Stewart at the end of the month.
“Jim and Ken have been integral parts of Team Georgia and I am thankful to both of them for their public service,” Governor Perdue said. “Trey, Heidi and Debbie all have the talent and experience to excel in these important roles.”
Childress has been the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget since 2007.
Lientz is planning a return to the private sector after having served since 2003 as Georgia’s first COO. Stewart, who was appointed GDEcD Commissioner in 2006, will join the Georgia Institute of Technology as a senior advisor for industry strategy.

FCDA Announces New President/CEO

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The Fayette County Development Authority Announced today that Matt Forshee, President/CEO, is leaving the Authority effective April 1 to become the President/CEO of the Athens-Clarke Economic Development Foundation, Inc., in Athens, Ga. Brandt Herndon has been named to replace Mr. Forshee as President/CEO.

Mr. Herndon was selected due to his background in economic development and commercial and industrial real estate. Most recently, he spent nine years with Apple Realty where he represented both sellers and buyers of industrial land and where he represented owners and tenants in industrial lease transactions. Prior to that he had 5 years with MEAG Power in their economic development division, including two years as Manager of that division. He also has three years of experience working for the state of Georgia in what was formerly known as the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, now known as the Department of Economic Development. Mr. Herndon has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Georgia State. Mr. Herndon begins in his position immediately.

Of the transition, FCDA Board Chairman Randy Hayes said, "Matt has had a successful four years with the FCDA. During his tenure, we were able to recruit both Sany America and NCR, two companies that will eventually create over 1,200 jobs in Fayette County. While we regret Matt’s departure, the Board and I are excited to see him grow in his career opportunities and expect to see many great things from him in the future.

“We also look forward to Brandt’s tenure as our new President/CEO. We were impressed by his deep economic development background and know that he will represent this community well as he recruits and grows new quality jobs for Fayette County.”

Mr. Herndon said, “I’m looking forward to working for the Fayette County Development Authority. I’m here to help existing businesses and to continue the efforts of my predecessors as President/CEO. Those past Presidents and the Board have set a high bar for me, but I look forward to representing Fayette County and its citizens as we work towards more successes.”

Both Mr. Forshee and Mr. Herndon’s new contact information is listed below and is also attached in VCard format.

Brandt Herndon
President/CEO
Fayette County Development Authority
200 Courthouse Sq
Fayetteville, GA 30214
P: 770.461.5253
F: 770.460.0259
bherndon@fayettega.org

Matt Forshee
President/CEO
Athens-Clarke Economic Development Foundation, Inc.
246 W Hancock Ave
Athens, GA 30601
P:706.613.3810
mforshee@athensbusiness.org

Canadian Trade Opportunities

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

There are two upcoming opportunities for Georgia companies interested in doing more business with Canada and Canadian companies.

First, on April 15th, Maria Arbulu, Georgia’s Canada Office Director will be in Atlanta presenting a lunch and learn seminar on doing business in Canada. She also has limited time available to meet one-on-one with companies interested in expanding their Canadian market share. The appointments are on a first come, first serve basis, so if you are interested, contact Alice Carson ASAP at 404.962.4112 to schedule an appointment with Maria for April 15th.

Secondly, Georgia is inviting companies to attend a Multi-Industry Trade Mission to Toronto, May 16th – 18th. This is the ideal opportunity to expand your company’s market share throughout the Toronto region. Companies will receive a country and industry briefing upon arrival in Toronto and Georgia will schedule one-on-one meetings with pre-qualified Canadian companies matching your needs in the Toronto area.

Registration is limited and interested companies should sign up early in order to secure quality appointments. The cost is $650 for meeting scheduling and ground transportation to appointments. Airfare and accommodations are not included.

Contact Alice Carson for more information at 404.962.4112 or acarson@georgia.org.

Sinclair Systems Brings East Coast Plant to Peachtree City

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Sinclair Systems has announced the location of a new east coast operation for their printed fruit labels in Peachtree City, Ga.

The 10,000 square foot facility will print labels for fruits and vegetables, which will then be distributed to pack houses from Florida to Ontario, Canada and west to Texas. Sinclair pioneered the development of automatic fruit labeling systems over 25 years ago, and now operates in 35 countries worldwide.

In choosing to locate in Peachtree City, Bill Gohlkey with Sinclair said, “This location offers us access to product delivery times we couldn’t get elsewhere. Access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was important too because this plant will serve as a backup to our UK facility and we like the ability to make quick cargo shipments if necessary.”

Another benefit to locating in Peachtree City, was access to the Avery Dennison company as well as Sinclair’s relationship with Label Vision Systems. Avery produces the label paper upon which Sinclair prints its labels. Label Vision Systems provides Sinclair with advanced barcode scanning technology. Both Avery Dennison and Label Vision Systems are located in Peachtree City.

Initially, the plant will open with one print line and will hire 12 to 15 people. As this location’s customer base grows, Sinclair has available room to expand to three print lines and could hire up to 25 people.

Sinclair Systems is headquartered in Fresno, Ca. For more information on Sinclair Systems, see their website at http://www.sinclair-intl.com.

Piedmont Fayette Hospital Breaks Ground on New Cancer Center

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Piedmont Fayette Hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11, for its new Cancer Center located on the hospital campus. More than 60 cancer patients and survivors, members of the community task force, hospital board members and executives, elected officials and others were in attendance to celebrate the official groundbreaking.

“We are excited to have finally reached this milestone for the future of oncology services in our community,” said Darrell Cutts, president and CEO of Piedmont Fayette Hospital. “Our new Cancer Center will optimize cancer patients’ journeys and outcomes in an environment designed for patient comfort and care.”

The new comprehensive center will further simplify cancer patients’ experiences by bringing a host of oncology services together in one place. PFH conducted a Cancer Menu Survey of 150 local cancer patients as well as caregivers, and through this determined a number of things important to patients, and is using the information to tailor cancer wellness services. Patients were asked to prioritize the importance of wellness programs to them including movement activities such as yoga and Pilates, special events, nutrition education, stress management, support groups, spirituality, expressive arts such as art and music, energy therapies and other potential offerings.

Attendees included Dr. Frank Cole, who is funding the Cole Rainbow Garden, a healing garden to be located adjacent to the Cancer Center, in loving memory of his mother. Dr. Cole’s gift is an example of how the Fayette community can, through their personal giving, meaningfully assure that their cancer center is truly the very best it can be.

“A rainbow is a symbol of God’s promise of mercy and hope. I would like the Cole Rainbow Garden to convey that sense of serenity and peace,” said Dr. Cole.

Piedmont Fayette Hospital is committed to providing the people of Fayette County and surrounding areas with access to the best in cancer services. The Piedmont Cancer Center will streamline treatment for cancer patients by providing access to diagnosis and treatment options to meet their needs through the journey.

For more information about cancer services available at Piedmont Fayette Hospital, visit fayettehospital.org.

Peachtree City Career Fair

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The Peachtree City Career Fair is a free event on November 18th, open to the community, providing opportunities for local employers and job seekers to meet. Included are workshops on networking, interviewing, and resume presentation. Peachtree City Career Fair is focused on professional level positions. Please visit http://www.ptccareerfair.org/ for more information.

Fayette is a Top Performer on ACT

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

From the Fayette County Board of Education News Department…

Just released 2009 ACT test scores show that Fayette County’s high school seniors are among the most prepared for college-level coursework in the state and nation.

Among the top performing school systems in Georgia, Fayette posted the highest composite score, 22.5, compared to the number of students tested, 1,027. Only two school systems posted higher scores than Fayette but with fewer students taking the test. Forsyth County posted 23.1 with 772 students tested and Heard County posted 23.2 with six students tested. Oconee County had the same score as Fayette but with only 190 students tested.

In comparison to state and national composite scores, state schools scored 20.1 and schools nationwide scored 21.1. That puts Fayette 1.9 points ahead of the state’s composite and 1.4 points ahead of the nation.

The number of Fayette’s seniors taking the test has increased to over 1,020 – up more than 80 percent since 2005. Compared to last year, the number of test takers jumped nearly 11 percent.

The ACT consists of curriculum-based tests of educational development in English, mathematics, reading and science designed to measure the skills needed for success in the first year of college coursework.

Sany America and Georgia Quick Start Sign Training Agreement

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

On Tuesday July 28, officials with Sany America signed a training agreement with Quick Start and Griffin Technical College.

“The creation of jobs is always good news, but never more so than now,” said Jackie Rohosky, assistant commissioner of economic development programs for the Technical College System of Georgia and head of Quick Start. “We’re proud to partner with the Georgia Department of Labor and Griffin Technical College to deliver workforce solutions to a premier company like Sany America.”

Sany America has selected a 250-acre site in the Peachtree City Industrial Park in Fayette County for the Phase 1 300,000-square-foot facility where the company will assembly heavy construction equipment. Production is expected to begin in the fall of 2010. Future phases will increase the facility to nearly one million square feet. Eventually, the facility will employ nearly 600 people and will serve as Sany’s US headquarters.

Sany has already leased temporary space in a Peachtree City office building for their US headquarters and has hired over 60 employees already in positions of sales, engineering and marketing.

Dr. Robert Arnold, president of Griffin Technical College said, “We are pleased to be working with Sany America and Fayette County. Both are extremely important to us at Griffin Technical College.”

Quick Start is Georgia’s internationally acclaimed economic development program that provides customized workforce training at no cost to qualified new, expanding and existing businesses in Georgia. Since 1967, Quick Start has trained more than 600,000 employees through 5,100 projects with a broad range of industries.

FCDA Joins Marketing Mission to Montreal

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The Fayette County Development Authority promotes Fayette County and its cities as the perfect location for capital investment and business expansion. As the community’s lead economic marketing organization, we try to leverage our assets in an effort to seek new business opportunities throughout the world.

During the first week of June, FCDA was honored to accompany our state-wide and regional economic development partners on a marketing trip to Montreal, Canada. Partners on this trip included the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Power, Georgia EMC, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

While in Montreal, we met with a number of aviation, engineering and construction materials company. All were interested in learning more about Georgia for potential US operations. Fayette County was identified as a potential location community due to our strong tradition as a home to both US division headquarters and manufacturing operations for internationally based companies.

Many of our hosts commented positively on the unique nature of our diverse delegation bringing the strong message that Georgia was the right place to start up and grow a business.

We were also excited to be able to take Mr. Guido Woska, President of Hoffman + Krippner, a German technology company with its US headquarters in Peachtree City. Mr. Woska was able to both meet with potential clients and to help sell the message about what’s it like for an international company to have its US presence in Fayette County.

Mr. Woska commented afterwords that his experience was a tremendous success and that he may have done more than just develop contacts – he may actually have a contract for new business.

Peachtree City's Alcan Packaging Named Georgia Manufacturer of the Year

info@fayettega.org (Fayette County Development Authority) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Georgia’s chief operating officer, Jim Lientz, presented Peachtree City manufacturer Alcan Packaging with this year’s award for Georgia Manufacturer of the Year in the medium company category (151-500 employees). Alcan joined Bryan County’s Oracal and Toyo Tires, which is located in White, as the state’s top three manufacturers of the year.

The annual awards ceremony is the highlight of Georgia Manufacturing Appreciation Week, which is co-hosted by the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This year, more than a thousand business leaders were in attendance at the ceremony held at the Cobb Galleria April 16.

Chris Turk, site manager, accepted the award for Alcan.

“On behalf of all of our 160 Peachtree City employees, I’m honored, and I’m humbled,” Turk said. “Evidenced by how large this group is, there is passion for manufacturing in Georgia.”

Turk added thanks to Georgia Tech, Georgia Quick Start and Griffin Technical College. “Those folks are on the ground, really making it happen,” he said. “They’re not in an office, not consulting; they’re taking their knowledge and skills and helping us apply them to our operations – true professionals.”

“Alcan truly has a remarkable story,” says Matt Forshee, President & CEO of the Fayette County Development Authority. “In converting their facility from one wholly involved in tobacco packaging to one involved in packaging for gum products as well, they have made major strides as a business unit to ensure that they remain not only viable in their industry, but an industry leader. That kind of outlook should always be rewarded and we are thrilled they continue to call our community home.”

For more than 12 years, Alcan Packaging Atlanta has been one of the leaders in manufacturing high-quality rotogravure printed packaging.

In 2008, this facility was recognized with two international organizational honors: the Silver Bonsai Award for achievements in Environment, Health and Safety excellence, and the coveted Five Star Award – an international program that honors plants, projects and people who make exceptional contributions to Alcan Packaging’s mission of growth and success. To earn these awards, the Peachtree City team had to compete with the company’s 30,000 other employees at 120 other operations worldwide.

As a strong supporter of its community, Alcan Packaging has been active in the local YMCA and area schools. Each year Alcan supports the fine arts program at Starr’s Mill High School by sponsoring its scholarship pageant. Also, in 2008, the team members of Alcan took the opportunity to turn a company golf outing into a fund raiser for Children’s Health Care. As a result, more than 8,000 dollars were donated to this cause, and next year’s goal is set even higher.