Wednesday, February 14, 2001
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Wednesday, February 14, 2001 |
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Development authority wants to help existing industry
By JOHN
THOMPSON
Exisiting industries in Fayette County now have a plan to help expand their business and keep them thriving. The Existing Industry Program was developed by The Fayette County Development Authority, in conjunction with the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce. The plan gives business owners a blue print for keeping their business going in the highly competitive economy. As part of the paln, monthly meetings are scheduled to give business leaders information on different issues. The next meeting is set for March 1 and the topic is foreign trade zones. Other topics include workforce development, water resources and transportation. The Fayette County Development Authority has also developed a comprehensive resource guide for existing industry and business in Fayette County. The guide is available via the FCDA website at www.FayetteGa.org and is linked from the Chamber of Commerce website. This guide covers issues ranging from statewide incentives for expansion, public utility assistance programs, educational resources, local advantages, and other pertinent issues. Other initiatives in the program include invitation only lunches throughout the year. These lunches will target, at different times, human resource directors, plant managers, financial officers and others to provide an informal forum to share concerns, issues, ideas and successes. In an effort to improve communications and information sharing,, the program will develop a comprehensive database of local industry management. The program will also support the development of a small team of local officials led by FCDA that would be available to lend support to companies that are experiencing closure and layoff threatening developments. This team would be able to sit down with company leadership and address issues in a timely, confidential and professional manner in hopes of retaining said business. Another initiative of the program is to continue to be a champion and grassroots lobbying force for the creation of a local Corporate Training Center that would be administered by Griffin Technical College with cooperative agreements with Clayton State University to offer the most technologically advanced training available. Other elements of the program include: ·Displaying locally manufactured goods at prominent locations to build citizen identity and market brand promotion ·Developing a "thank-you" program recognizing local industry in their corporate headquarter home town ·Identifying suppliers that service local industry, but would increase productivity and profitability if they were located in our community ·Identifying "red-tape" problems that effect existing industry and might hinder recruitment of new industry and work with local government to address ·Developing ways to increase communications with local industry and business At the end of the year, officials will evaluate the success of the program by examining how many jobs were created and saved and how much capital investment was placed in the community. Residents or business leaders more interested in the program should contact the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce at 770-461-5253. |