West Point Company Unveils Expansion Plans

Aflac Completes First Phase of Georgia's Largest Expansion Project

Kia Watch

BRAC Is For Real

Fort Benning, Kia and Aflac Economic Impact Estimate

Project Updates

Around The Valley Partnership

2007 Scoreboard

Instant Information

Dear Friend,

The Valley Partnership Joint Development Authority is about economic development. Economic development is about workforce development and the infrastructure needed to attract and support new businesses. It is a clear and simple mandate at face value; however, it becomes complicated as we look at the requirements to support that growth.

When the Valley Partnership met to develop its strategic plan, several strategic issues surfaced that need to be implemented so that the Valley Partnership can accomplish its mission. Among these was the need for water and sewage and improved road networks throughout our region. It also reemphasized the need to support work force development issues.

The Valley Partnership knows what has to be done. The question is: does it have the resolve and resources to get there? The natural resistance to change is an obstacle to progress. One way to overcome that is to share with the elected officials and people of the region information about success stories. The Kia plant certainly stands out; however, there have been numerous successes of a lesser magnitude that conceivably could occur in any of our member counties/cities.

This newsletter is designed to share that information. We need to spread the word of those successes. In turn this should generate the support to put in place those things that support growth.

The term "partnership" implies cooperation and sharing. That is what the Valley Partnership is all about. To meet the challenge of providing jobs and improving the quality of life for all of our citizens, we must work together and share. Collaboration and cooperation is the wave of the future.

The Valley Partnership is on the right path, but there is much to do. We have the right people on board to make great things happen. We need to garner the support of the people of our region to complete the job.

Sincerely,

Carmen J. Cavezza
Chairman
The Valley Partnership

InterfaceFLOR Commercial, one of the largest manufacturers of carpet tiles in the world, broke ground June 3 on a $4,000,000 expansion of its plant in the West Point Technology Park.

The 54,000 square-foot addition will house yarn preparation, tufting and latex coating departments that will result in approximately 50 new jobs at the plant. Some of the new positions will be transfers from temporary spaces at the company's operations in LaGrange. The expansion is scheduled for completion by September 2007.

"Interface is a very important company to West Point," said Drew Ferguson, president of the West Point Development Authority. "The city and Interface have had a close relationship for almost 20 years and during that time the original plant has been expanded several times."

John Wells, president and chief executive officer of Interface Americas, praised West Point for being a city that understands the importance of business growth and looks for innovative ways to meet the needs of businesses and citizens.

"This is an exciting time for our company," said Wells. "Our residential products are now being offered at Lowe's and soon to be available through all Target stores. In addition, Martha Stewart is excited about her line of floor covering that will be manufactured by Interface."

Aflac commemorated the opening of its new 95,000 square-foot office complex on June 19 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The event marked the completion of Phase I in the largest expansion project in the state of Georgia. Construction on Phase II of the project, consisting of about 165,000 square feet, is scheduled to begin in August.

Upon completion of Phase III, the new complex will consist of well over 300,000 square feet designed to accommodate the creation of 2,000 new jobs over the next five to six years.

"In addition to having a new state-of-the-art facility that will help streamline our operations, this project will support economic development throughout Columbus and the surrounding area with the creation of new jobs," said Aflac President and COO Paul Amos II.

The $100 million facility will serve as the new home for Aflac's customer service administrative business units and house a multi-purpose room with auditorium-style seating accommodating 500 people as well as classrooms featuring high-tech audiovisual equipment with a capacity for 250. Amenities will also include four landscaped acres with approximately 1,000 feet of walking trails for employees to enjoy.

Kia is expected to break ground at the site in West Point in early August. The 2,000,000 square-foot auto assembly plant is expected to take 10 months to complete and another 10 months before the first car rolls off the line in April 2009.

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 is for real and, as a result, Fort Benning growth is underway. When the U.S. Army Armor School arrives from Fort Knox, it will be just one of many changes taking place. More than 11,000 new jobs will be created in the defense industry cluster and a total growth, including military, defense contractors and their families will exceed 33,000 people. More than $2,900,000,000 will be invested on Fort Benning through 2016.

Some have stated, "Fort Benning work and dollars will stay on post. We won't see any of it." Not true, in fact:

• Clark Realty in the past year has invested over $34,000,000 in our Valley Partnership region.
• Alexander Construction Company was recently awarded a $17,000,000 contract to expand the interchange at I-185 / U.S. 27.
• Robinson Paving was awarded a $51,624,000 contract for the I-185 widening project along from Saint Mary's Road to the I-185 / U.S. 27 interchange.

FedEx Ground on Chattsworth Road in Columbus is nearing completion. The building is "dried-in" and installation of the package handling conveyor system is underway. The interior dock area is complete while work continues inside the office and around the site. Work on the access road and turn lane is nearly complete. FedEx Ground will be receiving and distributing packages from the facility by early-September.

Construction is underway in the Phenix Industrial Park on a state-of-the-art poultry processing plant for AlaTrade Foods. 600 employees are expected to be working in the 85,000 square-foot facility by the end of this year.

Blaze Recycling is being inundated with scrap metal at its new facility on State Dock Road in Phenix City, where they are receiving an average of 175 customers per day. The company has already hired 20 employees and is anxiously awaiting the arrival and installation of a shredding machine to process the tons of cars, appliances and other metal products into recyclable commodities.

Cusseta-Chattahoochee County - The county commissioners will vote at a July meeting on a plan by a developer to build a sewage treatment plant that would later be offered to the county to purchase.

Harris County - Rezoning for a proposed 1,100-acre planned community called The Grove will soon be voted on by county commissioners. The development calls for 2,200 homes, 800,000 square feet of retail space and 84,000 square feet of office space.

Manchester - A feasibility study is nearing completion on a 1200-acre tract of city-owned land that might be developed into a golf course community.

Phenix City - Work is underway on a $3,000,000 Broad Street streetscape project that is expected to be complete in 14 months. Construction is set to begin on a 4-story, 81-room Hampton Inn & Suites. The first-ever Char-Broil Steakhouse restaurant will open in July.

Talbot County - Construction on an interior road and a "pad-ready" site is underway in the Talbot County Industrial Park.

Taylor County - An application is being made to OneGeorgia Authority for a grant to purchase land needed to extend the airport runway to 5,000 feet. The Development Authority is also considering building hangars at the airport.

Instant Information

The new updated Valley Partnership website is now live on the Internet. Please check it out at:
 www.thevalleypartnership.com

The website was designed so that users could easily obtain the most pertinent information concerning our region. You'll notice that the website is not "bogged down" with information with the hope that people will contact us directly.

Some specific changes you will notice include:

• A more user-friendly site and building section
• A brief overview of incentive opportunities
• An emphasis toward the Kia supplier initiative
• A link to the Joint Land Use Study (JLUS)

Please let us know your thoughts and comments by clicking here.