Issue link: http://savannah.uberflip.com/i/1079136
22 Economic Development In 2012, Georgia's leaders passed key economic development legislation that made Georgia more competitive. Perhaps even more important, Georgia fields an extremely competitive team of economic development professionals. Georgia is viewed as a place where there is a good working relationship between government and other major players. Government is responsive to the needs of businesses, ranking very high in terms of its regulatory environment and speed of permitting. The available supply of skilled labor attracts businesses, especially in the Atlanta MSA. Georgia also ranks high with respect to its workforce development efforts – Quick Start. The state also established 17 HOPE Career Grant areas of study to better align college students' fields of study with companies' workforce needs. Those factors plus Georgia's major transportation and logistical advantages and a competitive tax climate helped to refill Georgia's economic development pipeline and will keep it full. The build out of specialized job training centers – BioScience Training Center and Georgia Cyber Training and Innovation Center – is a very effective way to attract and retain businesses that require workers with highly specialized skills. Similarly, the creation of an Aviation Academy in Paulding County will support the aerospace industry's growth. For these and other reasons, site consultants ranked Georgia the top state in which to do business for the sixth straight year. Because it often takes many years to build out the typical economic development project, many of the projects announced over the last five years will continue to provide a substantial tailwind to Georgia's economic growth in 2019 and beyond. Widespread shortages of construction workers are also causing project completions to slow. Large projects announced in 2018 include: SK innovation will create 2,000 jobs at a new manufacturing plant in Jackson County; BlackRock will add 1,000 jobs at an innovation hub in Atlanta; Wayfair Inc. will create 1,000 jobs at a new warehouse/distribution facility in Savannah; Thyssenkrupp Elevator Americas Business Unit will create over 650 jobs in its new headquarters and innovation center in Cobb County; Global Callcenter Solutions will create 600 jobs in Columbus; Hanwha Q Cells Korea will create over 500 jobs at an advanced manufacturing facility in Dalton; Starbucks will create up to 500 jobs in a new east coast satellite office in Fulton County; Instacart, a on-demand high-the grocery delivery service will create over 400 jobs at a customer experience center in the Atlanta area; Taurus USA, a firearms manufacture will create 300 jobs in Bainbridge; and Saddle Creek Logistics Services will create 300 jobs in Newnan. Examples of large economic development projects announced in 2017 include: ASOS, an online fashion and beauty retailer, will establish an East Coast e-commerce fulfillment center in Fulton County creating more than 1,600 jobs; Luxottica Group will create 1,000 jobs with the expansion of its North American distribution facility in Henry County; Accenture's new innovation hub in midtown Atlanta will add 800 technology jobs; Sonoco Products Company will create 595 jobs in a new packaging center in Fulton County; Candora, a healthcare management company, will create 675 jobs in Floyd County; athenahealth will double its workforce from 500 to almost 1,000 at its health IT facility in Atlanta; Sysnet Global Solutions will create more than 500 jobs at its cybersecurity and financial payments support center in DeKalb County; Pratt & Whitney will create over 500 jobs in an expansion of its facility in Columbus; and Amazon will create over 500 jobs at a new fulfillment center in Macon. Some of the largest economic development projects announced in 2016 include: over 1,800 jobs at NCR's global headquarters in Midtown Atlanta; Anthem will create 1,800 IT jobs at its IT service hum in Midtown Atlanta. Convergys will boost its workforce to about 1,300 workers due to new operations in Columbus and Savannah; UPS will create 1,250 jobs at a new sorting and distribution hub in Atlanta; and Home Chef's decision to open a new facility in DeKalb County will create over 1,200 jobs. Sparta Industries, a manufacturer of HVAC components, announced the creation of over 1,000 jobs in Milledgeville. Another reason Georgia is doing well is that the U.S. automobile manufacturing industry is becoming increasingly concentrated in the Southeast. When it comes to both distribution and consumer markets, Georgia is in the sweet spot in the middle of the Southern Auto Corridor with proximity to major assembly plants, major suppliers, interstates, ports, and rail. Georgia's major projects have included KIA's assembly plant in West Georgia and Mercedes' corporate headquarters in Atlanta. The new Volkswagen assembly plant just across the state line in Chattanooga and the recent announcement that Volvo will build an assembly plant in Charleston make Georgia an even more attractive place to site automobile parts suppliers. In 2018, SK innovation announced that it will build a lithium-ion manufacturing plant in Jackson County, creating 2,000 jobs in two phases. In 2018, Groupe PSA, a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles, announced that it will build a new North American headquarters in Fulton County. In 2018, Jaguar Land