Southwest Georgia: A Region on the Radar

Agriculture has defined and dominated Southwest Georgia’s economic landscape for generations. Whether owning or working on farms or some other ag-adjacent industry, nearly everyone in the region has a financial connection to the land. And as an industry, agriculture remains a massive statewide economic driver.

Major Commitment: Rick McCaskill, head of the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County at the Bainbridge Downrange Industrial Park, in front of future site of Anovion; photo David Parks.

In 2021, food and fiber production and related processing industries directly represented a value of nearly $14.7 billion to Georgia’s economy, according to a report produced by the University of Georgia’s Center for Agriculture and Economic Development. The report cites data provided by the 2021 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report, a yearly, county-level economic valuation for all state food and fiber production.

Equally important, the report states that these commodities represent $73.2 billion in output to Georgia’s economy and 340,837 jobs to industries in the agricultural supply chain in 2021 beyond their farm gate value – the price of farm produce purchased directly from the producer without markup.

Regionally, Southwest Georgia counties have a lock on some of the top nationally ranked commodities in total production. The state ranks No. 1 in total peanut and pecan production; No. 2 in cotton lint, cotton seed and watermelon; and No. 3 in blueberries and cantaloupe. In 2021, more than half of the nation’s peanuts were grown in Southwest Georgia. And cotton, grown extensively in the region, ranks first in production value in Georgia and second in the nation.

But for all its economic and cultural hold on Southwest Georgia, agriculture is far from the region’s biggest economic development story of 2023. Headline-grabbing Anovion Technologies, an electric vehicle (EV) battery materials manufacturer, seized that title with the announcement it will invest $800 million and create 400 jobs in Decatur County. The new 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility being built at the county-owned Downrange Industrial Park will produce high-quality synthetic graphite anode, a material critical in the EV battery supply chain.

“We put $50 million into the park’s infrastructure,” says Rick McCaskill, head of the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County. “It was a major commitment. Everybody in the state was shocked when they chose Bainbridge because [the company] was looking at 38 states.”

A Regional Approach

So why Decatur County?

Anovion selected the Southwest Georgia location because of its proximity to existing and planned low- and carbon-free energy sources for power, short supply chains, access to existing rail infrastructure, a skilled workforce and a business-friendly environment. But it wasn’t until late in the site selection process that Decatur County hit Anovion’s radar.

“We wouldn’t have had a shot at it if not for the Locate South Georgia bus tour,” says McCaskill.

$800 Million Investment: Anovion Technologies’ groundbreaking attendees included U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (fourth from left), Gov. Brian Kemp (center right) and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp; photo contributed.

Decatur County is a member of Locate South Georgia, a regional economic development entity comprised of 22 counties, many in Southwest Georgia. The group offers an annual bus tour covering a portion of the more than 10,000-square-mile region it serves, which provides project managers with a firsthand look at some of the sites and buildings on offer.

In November 2022, the Locate South Georgia tour included Decatur County. When a Georgia Department of Economic Development project manager saw the site, he thought it might be a fit for the Anovion project. The request for proposal (RFP) was quickly sent and accepted, and Decatur County became Georgia’s newest member of Georgia’s EV battery ecosystem.

Even before the Anovion announcement, Locate South Georgia touted $324.5 million in new investment and 575 jobs created in 2022 among its members.

“We may be starting to see some of the beginning of EV-related spin-offs,” says Grant Buckley, executive director of the Cordele-Crisp County Industrial Development Council and chair of Locate South Georgia. “I’m hearing among my colleagues, and I have one or two inquiries as well, of maybe not Tier 1 suppliers but Tier 2 or Tier 3 suppliers. It’s all related to the EV industry.”

“We’ve talked this regional stuff for years, but we didn’t really believe it,” McCaskill says. “It was just the ‘in’ thing to do. We all knew where the county line was and knew on the other side of the line it wasn’t helping us a bit. But we’ve learned that most of these projects now are going to be regional and our economic development community has done a good job of grasping that. That regional marketing effort, by Locate South Georgia, and the mindset that all these projects help us all have been a real benefit.”

Manufacturers Carpe Diem

Thomasville-Thomas County is reaping the reward of time, effort and financial investment into economic development. The community was recently named one of the Top Micropolitans (No. 2) in Site Selection magazine The criteria consider population size and the total number of projects, including announcements of new investments, jobs and expansions of existing industries.

Fielding Inquiries: Grant Buckley, executive director of the Cordele-Crisp County Industrial Development Council and chair of Locate South Georgia; photo David Parks.

“We want those big announcements, but we also want to make sure we’re growing our own and not ignoring the [businesses] that are here,” says Shelley Zorn, director of the Thomasville-Thomas County Payroll Development Authority and vice chair of Locate South Georgia. “We will give the exact same incentives to someone who’s already here and creating jobs as we would to a new project. That’s really important to us in Thomasville.”

After a busy 2022 with announcements that included Ashley Furniture distribution center ($20 million, 105 jobs), Spanish metal parts manufacturer Ecrimesa ($7 million, 35 jobs) and the expansion of Troy Acoustics ($40 million, 166 jobs), the Payroll Development Authority is working with existing companies, small to medium-sized makers and manufacturers who are creating 272 new jobs with $41 million in new investment.

Dougherty County continues to demonstrate its ability to attract notable projects. Tier 1 automotive manufacturer GRUDEM, a Spanish-owned components manufacturer for Maserati, Range Rover and other luxury vehicles, is investing $5 million and expects to create 65 new jobs in Albany over five years. Commercial and industrial steel manufacturer Diamond Door Products is also making the move to Albany, investing $5 million and creating 25 new jobs in the process.

In Cook County, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) is working with five prospective companies representing $350 million in total capital investment and 207 new jobs and is looking to develop a new industrial park plan to increase site availability for prospects.

Growing Companies: Cook County Economic Development Commission Director Lisa Collins; photo Todd Stone.

“Three existing businesses have completed or are in the process of expansion,” said EDC Executive Director Lisa Collins in an email. “These companies represent a total capital investment of $15 million and 40 new jobs.”

Valdosta-Lowndes County expanded its existing manufacturing base over the past year with two separate projects at CJB Industries, an agricultural and specialty chemical manufacturing company. Salvus LLC, a subsidiary of CJB, opened in November 2022, building out the company’s research and production capabilities to develop a handheld detection device for agricultural and food safety applications. Salvus built a 45,000-square-foot facility for engineering, research, testing and production, and expects to hire between 50 and 75 employees over the next three years. The company signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service and is engaged in sponsored research with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the original developers of the detection technology used in the device.

In June, plastics manufacturer Viking Holdings announced plans to locate a facility at a yet-to-be-named industrial park in Lowndes County.

“It’s a $30 million capital investment and 40 jobs,” says Andrea Schruijer, executive director of the Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority. “The facility itself will be around 65,000 square feet and will have rail service. They will begin construction in September and should be operational in 2024.”

Walmart is also making a sizable investment in Valdosta, establishing a $350 million dairy facility there, creating 400 new jobs and using ingredients sourced from local farmers.

“Start Building Now”

Engineering and Research: Salvus LLC, a new agritech company in Valdosta- Lowndes County, is developing a handheld detection device for agricultural and food safety applications; photo contributed.

One of the biggest stories out of Valdosta, and one impacting the entire region, is the $150 million expansion at South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC), which had a $1 billion economic impact on the state and local economy in 2021, according to a report from the Georgia Hospital Association. The hospital’s expansion makes huge strides toward achieving the medical center’s strategic priorities, which include unequaled access to care.

“Access to care is one of the top five social determinants of a community’s health,” says SGMC president and CEO Ronald Dean. “Creating access is about having enough physicians and programs and uniquely placing access points throughout the region. With those four strategic priorities, we’ve embarked on a number of initiatives.”

The hospital system has created a successful residency program, a unique affiliation with Mercer University School of Medicine as a specific clinical training site, and recruited top physicians to the region. Additionally, SGMC is investing heavily to expand its physical footprint, including the main campus in Valdosta.

“Part of that facility will be a women’s and infant’s tower and center for the unique healthcare of women,” Dean says. “But the other part of it is a new emergency room and trauma center. Construction will begin sometime next year — it’s a two-year project. It’s about equipping the team, not only our women specialists but our trauma/ER specialists with the facilities and technology they need to help those service lines meet the needs of the region,” he says.

In June, SGMC achieved Level III Trauma Center designation and now is one of only 10 Level III Centers in the state, filling an important healthcare gap that existed between Macon and the Florida state line.

Rural healthcare access is also addressed in SGMC’s growth with a $15 million, 26,000-square-foot hospital expansion in Berrien County, the first at the 63-bed, acute-care facility since it was built in the 1950s. The facility is being designed to be multistory to create emergency care now and additional ambulatory services in the future.

Expanding Footprint: South Georgia Medical Center’s new plans include growing its facility in Berrien County (rendering, above) and in Valdosta; photo contributed.

In addition to new construction, SGMC is engaged in the creative reuse of existing buildings with remarkable results that provide telling data. In early 2023, a hospital facility previously used solely for outpatient services opened as an ER access point. Though only four miles from SGMC’s main ER, this new access ER point and a new urgent care center on the same campus enabled the hospital to double its ER/urgent care patient load.

“Our analysis for what demand is and our forecast for the demand over the next 10 years is dictating this strategic facilities plan,” says Dean. “[It’s saying], ‘Start building now to get ready for later.’”

Leveling Up Economic Development

In any community, your neighbors make all the difference. When your nearest neighbor is miles away, they’re even more important. One such neighbor is Valdosta State University’s Center for South Georgia Regional Impact (SGRI) and the Rural Development Institute (RDI). They’ve produced about 300 projects that can range from developing a logo for a company to conducting impact or feasibility studies. The SGRI doesn’t charge communities or nonprofits for most of the projects.

Implementing Plans: Sarah Avery, executive director of Donalsonville-Seminole County Development Authority and president of the Donalsonville-Seminole County Chamber of Commerce, at American Peanut Growers Group’s processing facility; photo David Parks.

“We try to do it as a service,” says Darrell Moore, executive director of SGRI. “I worked in Moultrie for 21 years and had very limited resources.”

Moore understands the value of a good network and annually hosts the RDI summit, bringing together communities with a population of 50,000 or less who are ready to level up their economic development efforts for lasting change. Moore does this with the help of key partners: Georgia Power, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) and Georgia Municipal Association (GMA). Participants are instructed to build teams of five to six individuals from city, county and economic development departments.

“We’ve found if they’re not all on the same page it’s tough to get anything done,” says Moore.

Collaboration – The Best Glue on the Market

Sarah Avery, executive director of Donalsonville-Seminole County Development Authority and president of the Donalsonville-Seminole County Chamber of Commerce, saw the success of neighboring Decatur County. She assembled a team that attended this year’s RDI summit and heard a presentation by Amanda Glover, executive director of Bainbridge’s Downtown Development Authority.

“Even though we’re a much smaller community, we can do some of the same things, scaling it back to the resources we have,” says Avery.

Providing a Service: Darrell Moore, executive director of Valdosta State University’s Center for South Georgia Regional Impact; photo David Parks.

The Seminole County RDI team is focused on a long-term initiative they hope will be a catalyst for other projects.

“It will be called One Seminole,” Avery says. “Sumter County and Valdosta-Lowndes County are doing something similar. We’re in the very preliminary stages of pulling things together right now, but it will bring together a small group of stakeholders and leaders from the community who will meet on a regular basis to share the vision and implement plans. We’re looking at a February 2024 launch to the community.”

Like most counties in the region, Seminole is heavily invested in agriculture.
In June, American Peanut Growers Group invested $85 million in a new facility and created 100 new jobs.

“For a county of about 9,000, that’s huge,” says Avery.

Seminole County is starting to market a 140-acre industrial park, targeting small- to mid-sized companies employing between 25 to 50 people. The development authority is working on infrastructure funding, but the park has already been approved by CSX for two rail spurs.

The challenges inherent in rural economic development including distance and access are becoming manageable with the use of technology, but the greatest tool is still collaboration.

“Every project I ever worked on required support from the city and the county and in many places you had to have another partner to make that work,” says Moore. “It’s become even more important because of how competitive and how much harder it is to get that support.”

“Economic development leads come from many different sources; that’s why it makes sense for all these people to know each other and help each other,” Buckley says. “For a small community that may not have too many resources, utilities can help guide them on what’s happening from a larger perspective from across the state or how to handle different projects. That’s what the members of Locate South Georgia are there for – to help fellow members with advice, experience, collegial efforts and picking each other’s brains on different issues.”

Local Flavor

For the Love of Cuthbert

Community Improvement:
Mark and Tracy Englund, in front of the Cuthbert water tower they helped restore; photo David Parks.

WHEN MARK AND TRACY ENGLUND MOVED from Atlanta to Randolph County in Southwest Georgia to build a wedding venue business in 2019, they didn’t expect to influence economic development in their rural community.

“Looking through [Cuthbert], we noticed the historical value, but [also] the neglect,” says Tracy.

One hard-to-miss feature was the town’s unused 125-foot historic water tower, situated in the center of U.S. Highway 82. Built in 1895, it was in a state of terrible disrepair. In 2018, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation placed the water tower on its “Places in Peril” list. With other downtown revitalization projects taking place, the Englunds thought that restoring the water tower as a historical focal point would assist the chain reaction of community renewal.

Along with a friend, a local named Tommy Barr, they mobilized a previously created Facebook page for the group “We Love Cuthbert,” changing the organization into a nonprofit and appointing board members from the community to assist with leadership and, importantly, fundraising. They built a “We Love Cuthbert” website. Mark, with a background in construction and general contracting, would provide the labor for the restoration of the tower.

“The initial quote the city got, and passed up due to cost, was $100,000,” says Tracy. “We felt we could do it for half that, including materials and free or discounted labor.”

The group raised money by selling “We Love Cuthbert” t-shirts, bearing a graphic of the iconic water tower. It also applied for and received two grants, a $30,000 Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) grant and a $10,000 matching fund grant from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The final cost estimate for the project, painting and repairs, was $52,000, says Tracy.

“The brunt of the work was completed by Mark Englund and John Shingles,” she says. “We had a few one- or two-day volunteers throughout the course of the restoration. The city of Cuthbert team was a huge help with deliveries and road closure assistance.”

Weather delays, mechanical issues and scheduling snafus cropped up along the way, turning what they hoped would be a one-month project into a six-month venture, but in the end, the water tower was saved. The rededication of the water tower back to the city took place on September 28. The group plans to leverage the success into another round of fundraising for future community improvement projects.

“The majority of our community has been supportive, complimentary and appreciative,” Tracy says. “We are so thankful for those who helped bring our vision to life.”