B2B Stories

B2B Stories

Matthews Motors acquires SC company, launches new truck body venture

Matthews Motors of Augusta has expanded its service reach with the recent acquisition of Padgett Truck Bodies of Graniteville, S.C. This acquisition also helps in the launching of Matthews Truck Bodies. “Matthews Truck Bodies fills a void in the Augusta area by allowing us to help both new and existing customers with their fleet needs,” said Aaron Matthews, CEO of Matthews Truck Bodies. “In addition to what we currently offer to our customers from the service and parts side of the truck bodies, we will add multiple well-known brands to

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B2B Stories

The Marketing Standing Next To You

  Don MacNeil is the former Marketing Director of Windsor Jewelers and long-time on-air radio professional.   Is it just me, or… The Marketing Standing Next To You If you accept the definition of marketing as being the projection of your brand upon the public, then surely your staffers – at least those who meet your customers – fit under this umbrella. We seldom think of it that way, but it’s true. Yet, from company to company, recognition of this varies wildly. At Disney, it’s simply everything. Staffers are referred

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B2B Stories

Mondays with Rick: Coping with inflation without hurting your customer base

  Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he provides tips on how businesses can cope with inflation without hurting their customer base. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: Briefly, what is causing inflation, which is currently at 8.5 percent, the highest in 40 years? Rick: It’s a money supply issue – too much money has been pumped into the system. I’m not an economist but I think that’s the

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B2B Stories

Military legal expert to speak at Women in Business Program

If you want to hear a presentation from a top military attorney at this month’s Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Program, you’d better act fast. The deadline to register is today at 3 p.m. Col. Danyele Jordan, a military attorney and legal advisor to the Commanding General of Fort Gordon and the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence, will speak at the event, which lasts from 11:30 a.m. to 1 pm. on Tuesday, April 19 at the Enterprise Mill Events Center, located at 1450 Greene St., Suite

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B2B Stories

Local CVB director discusses paddling, glamping and attracting visitors

Kayaking to an island of goats and donkeys and camping in an air-conditioned tent with a coffeemaker sound like exotic destination spots. But both can be found within Columbia County. Shelly Blackburn, executive director of the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the county’s destination marketing agency, spoke to a group of local real estate agents and home services professionals at a CSRA Home Connections meeting on Wednesday about those and other attractions that draw visitors to the county. It’s an important economic venture – in 2019, Columbia County tourism

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Covid affects Augusta employment numbers; Georgia jobs grow

Two years from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in the Augusta MSA in February 2022 is more than 6,000 jobs below the level in February 2020. Employment in the state of Georgia in February 2022 is 1.2 percent higher than in February 2020. Over the past two years, three sectors of the local economy have seen employment surpass pre-pandemic levels: manufacturing (up to about 200 jobs), retail (up to 3,000 jobs), and transportation and utilities (up just less than 1,000 jobs). The state of Georgia also sees higher

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B2B Stories

Giant sculptures help businesses make a big first impression

Outside of the clubhouse of The First Tee in Augusta is a colorful tee worthy of a Paul Bunyan-like drive. The one-ton, 30-foot-long sculpture is made of steel and solid foam. Ed Durant, the former owner of The Frame Shoppe on Walton Way in Augusta, created the concept to give the course its own unique identity. The project took about 14 months to complete and was unveiled in December 2021. “I went by First Tee, and there was no signage,” Durant said. “They needed an expression of what they do.”

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