GBJ Staff

Caterpiller plans new factory near Athens, Ga.

Caterpillar Inc. has selected land near Athens, Ga., as the location for a new facility that will build small track-type tractors and mini hydraulic excavators. The state-of-the-art, one-million-square-foot-facility is expected to directly employ 1,400 people once it is fully operational.

The new facility will be part of Caterpillar’s Building Construction Products (BCP) Division, which is based in Cary, N.C.

Caterpillar plans to break ground on the new facility in Athens in the first quarter of 2012.  Initial production at the facility is expected to begin in late 2013, ramping up to full production over a five-year period. The company will use the website www.jointeamcaterpillar.com to fill the majority of open positions at the facility.

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GBJ Staff

Contractors needed in Georgia

US Federal Contractor Registration reports an immediate demand for registered businesses to work federal government contracts in Georgia based on the volume of listings on the Federal Business Opportunities website posted by contracting officers looking for vendors to bid on available work.

In the past year, over $9 billion has been spent on federal contracts in the state of Georgia, representing 1.9 percent of the total spent on contracts during the past year as reported on the USASpending website.

According to USASpending, over 40 percent of all contracting dollars spent in Georgia during the last year were competed and put out for open bidding by contractors. Small businesses in particular are urged to complete registration and place bids for contracts. Of the 100,866 contracts awarded in Georgia over the past year, over half were awarded to small businesses. Each federal agency is urged by regulations to award at least 23 percent of their contracting dollars to small businesses.

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GBJ Staff

ProCare Rx breaks ground on new Gainesville headquarters

ProCare Rx, a national pharmacy benefit management company, broke ground Nov. 1, 2011, on construction of the first of several planned buildings in the new ProCare Park corporate campus in Gainesville-Hall County. The initial facility, located on a 23-acre site fronting I-985 at Exit 20, is anticipated to be complete by summer of 2012 and will house ProCare Rx’s almost 120 Georgia-based employees in the corporate headquarters, operations support and state-of-the-art data center.

“This is a long-term strategic move for our company to relocate our corporate headquarters and the bulk of our operations to Gainesville-Hall County,” said Roger Burgess, co-founder of ProCare Rx. “As a national company, we need to be close to the assets of Metro-Atlanta, however it is important that we be in a community with its own sense of identity and a progressive attitude that supports our business growth.”

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GBJ Staff

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and the Georgia Department of
Transportation invite you to attend the ribbon cutting for the official opening of the McGinnis Ferry Road Extension Project. The ceremony will take place on McGinnis Ferry Road at Gwinco Boulevard.
The design and right-of-way for this project were funded through SPLOST and construction was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
October 4, 2011 • 11:00am

Please carpool if you can; parking is limited. For more information, call 770.822.7180.

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GBJ Staff

Genesis Biosciences Expands Operational and Scientific Staff

Genesis Biosciences, a global leader in custom fermentation, microbial product formulation and antimicrobial product development, announced today that Casey Smallwood has been promoted to vice president of operations. Additionally, Mauricio Amaya and Amit Choksi have been promoted to laboratory manager and fermentation manager, respectively, and Prasanth Maddipati joins Genesis as a new fermentation scientist. These team members will be located in Genesis’ newly renovated U.S. fermentation and manufacturing facility in Lawrenceville, GA.

“Casey, Mauricio, Amit and Prasanth bring valuable experience and knowledge to the Genesis operational and technical teams, and we will look to them as we continue to develop high-quality, environmentally preferred chemical, fermentation and microbial-based solutions for our customers,” stated Conrad Mielcuszny, president and chief executive officer of Genesis Biosciences.

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GBJ Staff

Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Expands to Athens

Kaiser Permanente of Georgia announced Wednesday, it will invest $3.5 million to open a new medical office in Athens.

The Kaiser Permanente Athens Medical Office, located at 2142 West Broad Street, Building 200, will be the organization’s first location outside of metro Atlanta. Kaiser Permanente is Georgia’s largest non-profit health plan, serving more than 240,000 members state-wide.

“What makes Kaiser Permanente unique is our ability to meet all health care needs. Our model integrates affordable health insurance with high-quality health care services,” explained Kerry Kohnen, president of Kaiser Permanente of Georgia. “Bringing Kaiser Permanente to Athens provides our members who are living, working, or attending school in Athens-Clarke County and the surrounding area with more convenient access to our services.”

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Shoe Still Fits in Buford: Okabashi Stays ‘Made in America’ Strong

Spotting the phrase ‚ ‘Made in China’, stamped on the back of thousands of products lining American retail stores isn’t difficult these days.  Those three little words reside on the back of your flat screen TV or on the tag of your dress or shirt.  The phrase is seen blowing in the patriotic wind of any July 4th parade in small towns across the country as many of those handheld stick American flags are in fact ‚ ‘Made in China’.

The ever-shrinking manufacturing presence across the country is no secret.  Since 1979, the US has lost nearly eight million factory jobs.  Still, the National Association of Manufacturers shows the US leading the world as the largest manufacturing economy producing 21 percent of global products – China is second producing 15 percent.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

YSS Athletics Started With A Challenge, Still Going Strong

A loud buzzer sounds, bringing play to a halt – it’s halftime of any sports contest. Coach of the YSS Athletics team, CEO and President, Torey Rose, gathers her teams around to talk strategy, level of performance and what needs to be done differently in the second half.

While this analogy is fitting for a sports apparel-manufacturer, make no mistake – team YSS Athletics isn’t losing at halftime.  They aren’t down a basket.  They don’t foresee needing a Hail Mary pass as the clocks ticks down.  They won’t have to rely on their best player in a shootout for a tiebreaker. Instead, the 19-year-old company located in Snellville, is going into a halftime with exceeded expectations, ahead of the game and optimistic about the next half.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Lehigh Technologies; Tucker Manufacturer Takes Eco-Friendly Focus

If you’re in the business of reducing waste and recycling materials. but in doing so, consume more energy and produce more waste, you’re not exactly doing the planet a favor. That’s a motto Lehigh Technologies has put into motion since first entering the manufacturing scene in 2003.  The phrase has also played a major role in their Tucker plant since 2007.

Still considered a small manufacturing company with only 75 employees, Lehigh Technologies’ impact on the environment can be seen two fold: recycling tire material provided by tire recyclers, which would otherwise crowd local landfills, into a new raw material called micronized rubber powder that is used in the production of new tires, asphalt, plastics, rubber goods, and construction materials.  The other impact is seen through Lehigh’s closed-loop services, taking manufacturers’ post-industrial rubber, processing it, and shipping it back to the manufacturer where it is incorporated into new products. This closed-loop process is an integral part of manufacturers’ zero-waste initiatives.

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GBJ Staff

Gwinnett’s Manufacturing Make Up

Five surprising and varied products made right here in your backyard

 

 

*Fan Mats, LLC-Suwanee, GA

Tufted Floor Mats and rugs/www.fanmats.com

Specializing in official licensed and custom mat programs, Fan Mats, is a private company owned and operated by Millennium Mats Co., LLC.  For 11 years Fan Mats has produced home, car, truck, tailgate and garage mats.

*Mizuno USA, Inc.-Norcross, GA

Sporting goods/www.mizunousa.com

Mizuno USA manufacturers and distributes high quality golf, baseball, softball, running, track & field and volleyball equipment, apparel, and footwear.

*Okabashi Brands, Inc.- Buford, GA

Shoes/www.okabashi.com

Okabashi designs and manufacturers comfortable shoes that are 100 percent recyclable and carry a 2-year guarantee.  Okabashi footwear is shipped across the country as well as to 16 countries.

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