Savannah Chamber

23 aircraft and the FAA certification of the G650ER, both industry-leading business jets in terms of performance, range, speed, safety and comfort. Plans for 2015 include construction of a $33 million highly advanced paint facility at the Savannah/ Hilton Head International Airport and 100 new jobs with it. In addition, a new 400,000 square-feet Product Support Distribution Center will be completed in early 2015. JCB will celebrate its 15 th year anniversary of its North American manufacturing headquarters in Savannah in 2015. During the first half of 2015, a new production line of backhoe loaders will add 100 jobs to the 500+ JCB workforce already in place. In mid- 2014, JCB was awarded a $50 million DoD contract to supply high-speed backhoe loaders to the U.S. Army through 2018. Nearly half of JCB's production is shipped to foreign destinations through the Port of Savannah. EFACEC's power transformer production facility in Effingham County was sold to new owners who have entered into a strategic alliance with Virginia Transformer Corporation. The roughly 250 employees will benefit from the alliance that creates the third largest transformer business in the country, based on revenue. The parent company of Savannah's Mitsubishi turbine production and repair facility merged with Hitachi to form Mitsibishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas. The plant has delivered eight 300-ton power transformers in a little over two years and is on track to employ up to 500 workers by the end of 2016. Bryan County's Ceasarstone project was named "2014 Deal of the Year" by the America Israel Business Connector organization. The $100 million facility will employ up to 180 workers and is expected to be operational by mid-2015. Liberty County's largest private employer, SNF Floquip, announced a $7 million expansion that will double the manufacturing facility's floorspace and allow the firm to add more employees to its workforce of approximately 130 persons. Overall, 2014 was a year of strength for major manufacturers. 2015 is expected to be another year of success for manufacturing, a key component of the regional economy. The Ports The Georgia Ports Authority experienced a year of record growth across the board in FY2014: the Port of Savannah moved more than 29 million tons (8% of all U.S. containerized cargo), 3.1 million twenty-foot equivalent cargo units (TEUs), and 700,000 vehicular units. TEU growth was 6.3% on an annual basis and the ports continued to record strong growth toward the end of calendar year 2014 with a 13.1% increase in TEUs, as compared to year-ago data. The big news for the port in 2014, of course, was the October announcement of that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Ports Authority signed a Project Partnership Agreement that gave a green light to construction on the $700 million Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP). Contracts are expected to be awarded in early 2015 for dredging the outer harbor channel and several mitigation projects including installation of an oxygen injection system and raising the Civil War ironclad C.S.S. Georgia. By deepening the Savannah River channel to 47 feet, SHEP will enable the port to more efficiently serve the larger vessels expected to call in greater numbers after the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed. Deeper water will allow the larger Post-Panamax vessels to operate more efficiently and experience fewer delays, thereby reducing transportation costs by 20% or more and providing an estimated gross savings on shipping of $213 million a year. The nation's economy is expected to recoup construction cost in four years, according to the Army Corps' economic impact assessment. Other infrastructure investment at the port includes a $10.2 million investment in a new gate at Garden City Terminal that will have 20 truck lanes and can be expanded. The new gate is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. GPA is taking proactive steps for a planned capacity increase from 4.5 million TEUs per year to 6.5 million to accommodate future growth. Tourism The leisure and hospitality sector continued to grow steadily in 2013 with the total number of day and over-night visitors increasing to 13 million in 2013. Direct spending increased 9.5% to $2.3 billion and further supported the growing diversification in boutique retailing. Overnight person-stays increased 4.3% to 7.3 million and hotel room tax revenue set another record by reaching $17.9 million.

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