Albany: A Great Place to Launch & Grow

Think Flint First. Tell us what you have to accomplish; we’ll point you toward the exact right equipment for getting it done. And, we’ll make sure you get the best price, with the least hassle. The Flint team will help you navigate the whole process - including set-up, delivery, and training, because we’re in the business of supporting your business. Plus, we have the parts, service and product support you need to keep your operation running strong all year long. It’s as easy as it sounds!

AG & TURF DIVISION CONSTRUCTION & FORESTRY DIVISION POWER SYSTEMS DIVISION

ALBANYa great place to launch & grow

GEORGIA

Supporting global industries and small businesses alike, Albany is an ideal business location

When Georgia-Pacific narrowed its search for a location for its third new lumber facility, its focus turned to Georgia and then Dougherty County. The corporation already had a corrugated box plant in Albany that opened in 1981, but that did not influence the decision on where to locate its new $150 million state-of-the-art lumber production facility.

Albany, located in a great wood basket with access to transportation arteries, met the physical needs for the manufacturing plant. What separated the location from other contenders, however, was the actions of those in leadership positions. “Most of the time, it’s the smaller counties that love to entertain the idea of getting another business with jobs,” said Rick Kimble, Georgia-Pacific’s director of business communications. “I was not expecting the reception we got from Albany and Dougherty County. It was like we were the only business they were focused on at that point.”

Kimble credited then-Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission President Justin Strickland with playing a key role, and cited Dougherty Commission Chairman Christopher Cohilas and Dougherty County Commissioner Anthony Jones, noting Jones “has been there every step of the way” and has helped with any issues that have arisen.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Kimble said. “Albany is a big town when it comes to businesses. You have a lot of industry and a military base. To be a large town, you get a very warm, small-town feeling when you’re dealing with people. You wouldn’t have thought that 120-130 jobs would have gotten that much reaction, but it was very refreshing. Justin was a large part of that, and the county commissioners were a large part.”

The result has been good for Georgia-Pacific and for Albany and Dougherty County. The lumber facility opened in 2020 and has added another shift, raising the employment total to 220, far exceeding its original employment projection.

GEORGIA

PACIFIC

The new 340,000 squarefoot state-of-the-art lumber production plant is the company's premier facility. “It is our premier lumber facility,” Kimble said. “We are very happy to show it off with pride. We are producing probably twice the amount of lumber that you normally would at a regular facility for the same number of employees. That’s because of the efficiency and the ability to automate things that didn’t used to be automated. We’re proud to be in that facility and proud to be in Dougherty County,” Bárbara Rivera Holmes, president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, said she has always believed that “part of Albany’s ‘secret sauce’ is really its people.” Local economic and government officials work to ensure that businesses get needed resources, handoffs are provided, and solid relationships are in place. “What sets Albany apart is that willingness to be a partner, the willingness to look at all of the options to make something work for the community and for the employer,” said Holmes, who played a role in recruiting Georgia-Pacific to Albany. “It’s not just working with those businesses on the prospect side. It’s also working with businesses on the transition side and the community engagement piece. It really is a relationship trajectory and an onboarding trajectory, as opposed to transactional. That’s how you build long-term wins for the community.” Location and people also are reasons why TriMark USA is in Albany, where it has local roots. Medley Hotel Restaurant Supply Co., founded here in 1963, expanded over the years and eventually was acquired by TriMark USA, which is headquartered in Texas with locations in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. “In the restaurant supply industry, everything is very technical,” said Robert Dupre, TriMark’s southern region warehouse manager. “We do everything from design to implementing the installation of all the restaurant equipment, basically everything behind the front counter.”

While Albany is not on the Interstate Highway System, its proximity and access to I-75, I-10 and other major traffic arteries make it an attractive location logistically. “We’re not off the beaten path, but we’re not in a congested area. We’re not trying to run an operation in the heart of Atlanta where you can’t get tractor-trailers and transportation teams in and out,” he said. “I think the mileage away from interstates is more than made up by our ease of access in getting our transportation partners in our community.” Dougherty County and the surrounding region provide the needed work force, one that sees much less turnover than facilities in larger metro areas such as Atlanta, Knoxville, Tampa and Dallas. Programs at Albany Technical Institute and Albany State University augment the workforce with their programs that focus on logistics, he said. With an ample labor pool and the family culture that has carried through from Medley, Dupre said, “You get people in here and pay them a decent wage, they’re going to stay with you. You have people looking for careers, not just jobs. This is a place where we can offer a career.

TRIMARK

RESTAURANT SUPPLY

“We have a quality workforce that sustains itself. We have the tenure and the institutional knowledge that we keep,” he said. That’s what makes my facilities here some of the best we have in TriMark, and I attribute that to where we’re at here in Albany.” The reasonable cost of living in Albany translates into an affordable cost of doing business. “Compared to other places in the country, our cost per square foot to maintain spaces is more cost effective here,” Dupre said. TriMark finds local workforce and regional accessability key components to the success of their Albany location.

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HOMEGROWN

SUCCESS

Commercial developer Milan Patel finds that Albany offers opportunity and smalltown comforts with the benefits of a larger city.

Businessman Milan Patel grew up in Newnan and attended the University of Georgia. He was only familiar with Atlanta and Athens when he moved to Albany nine months after graduating from UGA. Today, he and his business partners are owners or landlords for a number of Albany businesses, including Newk’s, Olive Garden, Bottom’s Up and Panera Bread. One word brought him to Albany: Opportunity. “When you have more people in a town, you’re competing for that opportunity,” Patel said. “The reason I came to Albany was that opportunity was here. And that’s what kept me here. I didn’t really look for additional opportunities. They kind of discovered themselves.” While the population of Southwest Georgia has declined, the need for services and amenities has not. “You have to have someone with entrepreneurial vision who will do those sorts of things,” Patel said. “I’m thankful this part of the state had opportunity for me to discover.” Patel touts the cost of living and lack of traffic congestion as quality-of-life assets. “If you’re a schoolteacher in Albany or in Gwinnett County, you’re making the same amount of money,” he said. “But a house here is $250,000 and a house in Gwinnett is $600,000. “You can live affordably here,” he said. “You’re not having to drive 45 minutes to work. You’re just getting a lot more value for your money. You’re getting a lot more house. You’re getting a lot more standard of living.” An Atlanta resident, where costs are higher, might eat out twice a week, he said, while an Albany resident might eat out four times a week, creating more opportunities for those meals to be at his restaurants. It’s shortsighted not to look at the full picture, he said.

“I think when a lot of people want opportunity, they want it handed to them on a platter,” he said. “That’s not how opportunities work. You don’t curate them where you want them. People limit their opportunities by not being geographically flexible.” “You’re limiting yourself because you want your opportunity in Alpharetta, Buckhead, Midtown, Athens or Savannah. You’ve made up your mind that’s where you want it to be. If you can come to a community, raise your family, save some money, have something to show for it, and build your life, that community should get a lot more of the credit that it actually gets.”