Port, Transportation Boost Coastal Manufacturing
Published Aug 18, 2009
A Portuguese maker of power transformers will bring nearly 700 jobs to Effingham County and boost a regional manufacturing base already distinguished for its diversity.
EFACEC’s plant will open in October 2009 with 283 employees, eventually growing to 672, says John Henry, CEO of the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority.
The company is finishing up the first phase of a 470,000-square-foot facility on 55 acres in Effingham County Industrial Park, a $180 million capital investment and EFACEC’s only U.S. operation.
The average job will pay $50,000 a year.
“It is tremendous for this entire region,” Henry says. “These are high-tech, high-skill jobs.”
EFACEC joins makers of paper, chemicals, and agricultural and food products, as well as aerospace, metal fabrication and plastics companies in a 10-county region.
Briggs & Stratton makes engines in Bulloch County. Oracal makes vinyl film for graphic design and printing in Bryan County; King & Prince and Rich-SeaPak serve up frozen seafood in Glynn County; and Bayer Crop Science formulates pesticide in Camden County.
Liberty County is home to three major regional players: SNF Chemtall, a French company that makes flocculants for wastewater treatment; Interstate Paper, a Lebanese company that produces small line board for cardboard boxes; and International Greetings, a British firm that manufactures gift wrap and other stationery products.
Deep Pool of Labor
Bayer Crop Science took over a Woodbine plant in 2002 and makes Temik, a pesticide for cotton, peanuts, soybeans, citrus and some potatoes. The plant has 86 full-time employees, including a dozen hired in recent months.
“It’s a good labor pool, a good caliber workforce,” says plant manager John Drew. “We’ve made major organizational changes to remain cost competitive on a global level. The workforce has adapted very well.”
At least 40 percent of the pesticide is shipped overseas, to South America, South Africa, Asia and Australia. Good interstate access and the Port of Savannah, where Bayer has its own warehouse, are “very, very useful to us,” he says.
Coastal Georgia is close to the company’s U.S. customer base, and Drew says the region is attractive for personal reasons, too. “I think everybody who lives here loves living and working here,” he says. “Once they get here, they don’t want to leave.”
Ron Tolley, executive director of the Liberty County Development Authority, says the region’s diverse assets contribute to the mix.
Proximity to Fort Stewart and a steady stream of highly trained military retirees helped draw Elan Technology from New Jersey after the company looked at 30 spots in five states, Tolley says. Interstate Paper wanted access to timber, and the local business community helped locate willing landowners.
Access to distribution, logistics and a good labor force attracted SNF Chemtall; International Greetings relocated from Massachusetts because it wanted a building and space to grow. The company started with a 50,000-square-foot shell and now has more than 500,000 square feet in several buildings.
“They’ve been a wonderful company,” Tolley says.
Story by Pamela Coyle
Photo by Brian McCord
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