Coastal Georgia Is Major Economic Force, Whether By Land, Sea or Air
Published Aug 21, 2008
Savannah Yacht Co. opened in Coastal Georgia in 2006. Above left: Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. employs more than 4,300 in the region and is expanding.
When Allen Burns is asked to name the attributes of the Coastal Georgia economy, he readily ticks off a list that includes easy access to transportation by land and water, quality of life, workforce, industry diversity and educational opportunities.
“When you combine all those things, it’s just an ideal place for business,” says Burns, executive director of the Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center in Brunswick, Ga. “And the intergovernmental cooperation here is outstanding.”
The RDC works with city and county economic development arms to encourage business recruitment and retention in a 10-county area with a population of more than 650,000.
Military installations contribute more than $2 billion a year to the regional economy and employ thousands.
“We’ve also got a lot going on around our ports in Savannah and Brunswick, which continue to see rising numbers on distribution and manufacturing companies taking advantage of them,” Burns says.
The ports generate nearly $11 billion in annual revenue, and serve a diverse collection of industries.
“The pool of experienced employees was here because of the number of companies in the community. And Savannah has a really strong recreational marine culture, so we’ve had no problem finding qualified people,” says Bill Barrington, CEO of Rincon-based Savannah Yacht Co., which opened in Effingham County in 2006.
In Long County, a new 56-acre industrial park is drawing interest, and the county continues to see strong retail and residential growth, including a shopping mall and retail center with several office buildings, says Terry Gordon, Long County Development Authority chairman.
Coastal Georgia’s labor pool numbers 329,000, with trade and transportation, education and health services, hospitality, and manufacturing the major employment categories.
Corporate-jet maker Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. is investing $400 million in a seven-year expansion of its facilities in Savannah, where it has been for 41 years. The expansion and renovations are expected to add 1,100 new jobs to the company’s 4,300-member workforce.
“Savannah has been good to us,” says Robert Baugniet, director of corporate communications. “[It] has the required transportation infrastructure, and we’re just off from the Navy warning area where we can test our aircraft. Plus the education system here, through Georgia Tech, Savannah Tech, the University of Georgia and other academic institutions, has been extremely cooperative.”
In Statesboro in Bulloch County, Viracon Inc. operates a 395,000-square-foot production facility that produces 10 million square feet of high-performance architectural glass each year used in office building construction, such as the Freedom Tower now under way in Manhattan.
“Viracon is continuously focused on marketing opportunities and market demand,” says Christine Shaffer, marketing manager. “And we will adjust our capacities and capabilities to be in line with market needs, which includes additional investment in our Statesboro facility.”
Story by Joe Morris
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