South Augusta is having a surge of economic development, $3.2 billion worth of economic development to be exact, that few people have seen.
Some of the largest companies will be in the Augusta Corporate Park off Mike Padgett Highway. The park is a “Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) Certified” site. One plant, Starbucks, has been in operation since July 2012 as the first company-owned facility to produce soluble products. Those are used in Starbucks via instant and the coffee base for many of the Starbucks bottled and canned beverages.
However, it is not the same plant it was when it opened. It has roughly doubled in size.
“They’ve put in $330 million in capital investment and they employ about 350 people out there,” said Cal Wray, President of the Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA), adding additional roasters to produce prepackaged coffee sold in stores and retail outlets. “A lot of the things that people consume, a lot of that is actually made in Augusta.”
Wray took Augusta Business Daily, along with District Six Commissioner, Brandon Garrett, on a tour of developments in the park and other parts of South Augusta. All the development is happening in Garrett’s district.
“It’s one of those missing pieces that I think a lot of people in the Augusta area don’t realize what is happening there,” Garrett said. “You know, when you look at the billion-plus investment that’s taking place in Augusta right now, it is game-changing, especially as industries have changed.”
One of those new industries is being built beside the Starbucks plant.
In late 2021, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Aurubis would build a state-of-the-art recycling and smelting facility.
“We’re glad to welcome Aurubis to the number one state for business, marking the single-largest investment made by a German company in the State of Georgia,” said Kemp. “Our ports system, highly skilled workforce, and pro-business environment, which prioritizes partnership and innovation, have once again attracted a top-notch opportunity for hardworking Georgians in Augusta.”
Kemp said the company will be part of the growing electric mobility chain in Georgia. The company will produce materials found in lithium-ion batteries and other electronics.
”That is announced right now $690 million investment and about 250 jobs once those two phases are fully constructed,” Wray explained.
Based in Germany, Aurubis recycles copper, precious metals, and non-ferrous materials nationwide.
“They’re one of the largest producers of copper in the world, one of the largest producers of gold and platinum. Here they’re doing, they do it from both aggregates, which are rocks, and then they do it from recycled products. Taking those metals and putting them back into a reusable form,” according to Wray.
“We’re looking at the future where we have an investment that is coming to Augusta that will not only support things that are happening now. But as we’re looking forward, especially with Governor Kemp’s push for EV (electric vehicle) type investments around the state, Augusta is playing a big part in that,” Garrett said.
Just past the Aurubis construction in the industrial park, a third major facility is expected to take shape.
Denkai America is planning to build its North American headquarters, with an initial investment of $150 million on a 115-acre tract. Ultimately, it is expected to grow to a $430 million investment to construct a headquarters and manufacturing plant that will create 250 jobs over the next five years.
Kemp announced the facility in July 2022.
“Georgia is proud to be selected as the home of Denkai America, further strengthening our state’s status as a leader in the emerging electric mobility and existing aerospace, defense, and technology industries,” said Kemp. “We have been laser-focused on bringing quality jobs to highly-trained, hardworking Georgians across the state, and we look forward to seeing one-of-a-kind companies like Denkai thrive in Georgia’s top-ranking pro-business environment.”
“They do a copper foil for the automotive and aerospace industry,” Wray explained. “They have not started construction yet; they are still in the design phase. Obviously, work started out there by the end of the year. They’re Japanese-owned. They made copper foil very much like a paper process, so it’s very, very thin and it goes in batteries, and it goes in aerospace.”
Commissioner Garrett said Aurubis had a hand in attracting Denkai to Augusta.
“Aurubis helped recruit them to come to Augusta because of how much our economic development team helped Aurubis and were so easy to work with. They were really impressed by that,” he said. “So, they contacted this partner of theirs and said, ‘Hey, come to Augusta,’ and I think that really speaks loudly of the team that Cal Wray has put together.”
Wray said businesses that already operate in Richmond County can be one of the biggest selling tools his authority has.
“A lot of companies do look at what’s in your existing market. They look to see what are the best-performing facilities and how can they be expanded. And we’ve been very fortunate to have many of our manufacturers expand. And of course, new businesses that are looking at Augusta want to talk to those businesses and say, ‘What’s good, what’s bad? What do we need to be aware of in Augusta?’ he said.
PureCycle Technologies, Inc., a company that converts #5 plastic waste to a renewable resource, will also be coming to the park. In a news release posted on its website on May 31, the company announced it has received approval from AEDA to proceed to closing on the project site. The approval preserves financial and tax incentives offered to the company and allows it to move forward with development.
“This approval is the result of several months of hard work to secure the funding required for at least one purification line and close collaboration with the local community,” said PureCycle CEO, Dustin Olson. “PureCycle is extremely grateful to the AEDA for their ongoing support to help bring PureCycle’s sustainable solution to the world.”
PureCycle’s facility will have an initial investment of $440 million on the 200-acre site. It will create over 80 manufacturing jobs.
Those three companies will become part of numerous manufacturing facilities spread across several roads in the southern portion of the county.
“With Marvin Griffin, you have E-Z-Go/Textron, one of the longest here. They’re the largest employer.
Depending on the day, 1,600 to 1,700 people headquartered here,” Wray said. “If you stood in their parking lot, you can see Ferrara, you can see Prayon and then all up and down Marvin Griffin, you have manufacturers and suppliers and support services for manufacturing.”
Wray pointed to other large facilities including Solvay Specialty Polymers, along Tobacco Road, along with two FedEx warehouses.
Wray said the jobs at the existing facilities, along with those being created by the new plants, are not minimum-wage jobs. He said many start at $15 per hour and higher.
According to the Georgia Department of Labor, in the seven counties that make up the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (Richmond, Columbia, Burke, McDuffie, and Lincoln counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina), there were 267 manufacturing facilities in 2021. That grew to 277 in 2022. Employment in the manufacturing category grew by 3.1% from 2021 to 2022 (https://explorer.gdol.ga.gov/vosnet/mis/Profiles/msa/augusta.pdf)
Wray said in the Augusta MSA, there are currently between 350 and 400 open positions.
