Justin Strickland shares EDC successes

ALBANY — Citing recent projects by existing industries as well as new businesses locating in the community, Albany-Dougherty Economic Development President Justin Strickland feels the first half of the calendar year as been successful from an economic development standpoint.

Strickland shared these highlights and some commentary on why economic development is important during Thursday’s regular Albany Rotary Club meeting at Doublegate Country.

“We’ve had great successes, but I will tell you economic development is not a sprint,” said Strickland. “It’s a long involved process.”

The first success Strickland pointed to is the recently announced development of a new $200 million biomass plant at Albany’s Procter & Gamble that will generate steam and energy from pine waste, as well as create numerous jobs in the area.

“This was a fascinating project to be a part of,” Strickland said. “At the end of the day it’s a goodwill project for the company because it will pretty much break even. It will create 500 construction jobs during the ramp up and 50 to 75 permanent jobs when they’re finished in 2017.”

Strickland added that while the project is good for P&G in terms of its operations, the investment also indicates that the employer, one of the area’s largest, plans to remain in the community for a long time.

“Sometimes one of the biggest questions I field is, ‘we hear Procter & Gamble is closing,” he said. “Well, no they’re not. Let’s dispel that rumor. They’ve invested a lot of money in their plant. They’ve got a firm foundation for the future.”

In addition to the biomass plant creating energy and stability for P&G, the plant will also produce enough extra energy to serve another one of Albany’s major employers, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany.

According to Strickland, part of the steam generated by the biomass plant will go to Georgia Power who will in turn route some of that energy to MCLB, which will have considerable impact on the base’s future in Albany.

With that energy, along with energy created by pumping methane gas from the county landfill to the base, and a solar panel array the base is planning to build, MCLB will soon become the Department of Defense’s first net zero installation anywhere in the world.

“Well, why is that important?” Strickland asked. “Because we were told yesterday by congressman Bishop’s chief of staff to expect another B.R.A.C. (Base Realignment and Closure) round about a year after the next president is elected. So that gives us some muscle to flex when B.R.A.C. comes around to say, ‘we’re innovative with our approach to reducing costs for energy production and getting our base energy secure.’ This is an incredible project for Dougherty County. It stabilizes two of our biggest industries, in the base and Procter & Gamble.”

Another success Strickland highlighted is Thrush Aircraft’s recent announcement that the company is developing a new airplane that will require the Albany-based business to create another production line that will generate at least 100 new jobs.

“They’re going to take one of their existing facilities and turn it into a new production line to make new planes and hire 100 people,” said Strickland. “That’s incredible for us.”

Strickland added that Thrush was the first company to take advantage of the EDC’s job investment fund, which is set up to help attract new industries and help existing industries expand. The threshold for the fund is creation of 100 new jobs or a $10 million in investment.

“We’re proud that one of our existing industries could utilize this fund first,” said Strickland. “We don’t want people to think that we don’t do anything for our existing industries.”

Strickland also pointed to the success the EDC has had in helping new companies locate in Albany, specifically WebstaurantStore, a restaurant supplies distributor that recently announced it was opening a distribution center in the former Bridgestone/Firestone building in Parkway Industrial Center that will employ 150 people.

That project, Strickland said, is a $10 million investment in the community and it illustrates that despite the area’s lack of an interstate highway, Albany and Dougherty County are viable locations for distribution centers.

“This (new facility) will allow (WebstaurantStore) to serve the southeast United States from Albany, Ga.,” said Strickland. “We beat out a very prominent city in Florida for this project. So what this shows me, and it should show you, is that distribution projects work here. We beat ourselves up a lot because we don’t have an interstate but we have great highway quality. A lot of the roads in and out of Albany are great and allow for great distribution.”