Southern AG Carriers celebrates move to new Albany headquarters

ALBANY – Southern AG Carriers is putting its faith – and its roots – in the southwest Georgia soil that birthed the company more than three decades ago. 

The company celebrated the move to a new headquarters Tuesday with employees, dignitaries and customers at the 705 McCollum Drive location a short distance outside Albany.

“We were landlocked,” Southern AG Holdings CEO Lem Goodpasture said of the company’s former Sylvester Road location. “In January, we had a decision to make (of) where we wanted to plant our headquarters. We chose Albany. We chose the southwest Georgia area. This building is the facility we need.”

The relocation to a facility that had been closed for years provides the space needed for logistics for the company that specializes in shipping agricultural products around the region and across the country. Southern Ag has more than 200 employees, more than 180 of whom are drivers. Those drivers log more than 15 million miles a year, and the company has more than 1,200 pieces of trailing equipment.

“This gives us the room not only to continue the strong legacy but to grow,” Goodpasture said. “We want to be a comp;any that provides opportunities for people here and opportunities alongside other companies in the region. 

Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility, the company handed out awards to several drivers, including three who have logged a million accident-free miles.

“Our drivers are the people who make everything we do possible,” Goodpasture said. “Our economy depends on transportation, and transportation depends on professional drivers.”

The company’s decision to maintain its headquarters is more than a location, said District 12 state Senator-elect Edward Brown

“It is a statement,” Brown said. “It says a company believes in where it is … that it believes strongly enough in the community to invest in it.”