Columbus/Auburn/Opelika Job Growth

[ATLman1]

This thread will be about new jobs coming to the Columbus/Auburn/Opelika region.

[ATLman1]

AFLAC is creating 2,000 new jobs with an additional 2,000 indirect jobs with its expansion in Columbus.

The Kellogg plant in Columbus will add 32 new jobs and 5 million dollars in capital investment beginning next year.

Road America will open new facility creating 300 new jobs in south Columbus. The goal is to have 450 soon.

American Consumer Products will add 150-250 jobs over the next three years, and another 50 jobs with Lightning Distributors.

AST GmbH & Co. KG-Automotive Surface Technology is building a new 22,000-square-foot facility in Auburn Technology Park North,. It will bring approximately 30 new jobs to Auburn.

Gambro Renal Products, a Sweden-based global leader in renal (kidney) and cell-based therapies, are buidling 100,000 square-foot manufacturing plant in Opelika creating 150 new jobs.

[gah]

Good topic!

I suspect that Kohl's and related retail development will add several hundred, and maybe as much as 1000, jobs next year

The gun factory (in Muscogee Tech Park?) should add some jobs -- tho I believe it has been downsized from the original proposal of as many as 500.

What about Techsphere? That was announced a while back but not heard much about it of late. Wasnt that one supposed to lead to 1000+ jobs in the near future? Hype or just flying under the radar (pun intended)?

I have no definite info but I hear that there are several more national/international concerns that are in fairly serious discussions with the CoC. Here's hoping that 2006 will bring a whole lot of announcements that

we can be excited about!

[ATLman1]

Hiring is under way for the new Jo-Ann Stores distribution center opening in January in the Northeast Opelika Industrial Park. Eventually, more than 250 people are expected to be employed by Jo-Ann.

[ATLman1]

AFLAC is hiring an additional 100 people to the already 2,000 new jobs that are being created in Columbus.

[ATLman1]

NSA (National Security Associates), which provides anti-terrorism training to the U.S. Army, law enforcement agencies and other groups, is buying 692 acres from Columbus along Riverbend Road beside Fort Benning. The company is expected to employ 30-40 people.

[ATLman1]

Trailer manufacturing company Pitts Enterprises Inc. will locate a new facility in south Columbus, creating an expected 50 new jobs. Dynaweld Trailers, the new division of the Pittsview, Ala.-based company, will be located in the former Morton Machine Works building off Victory Drive at 300 Jackson Avenue.

[ATLman1]

Road America Call Center Opens:

The Road America call center opened for business today in Columbus, creating more than 300 jobs in the community.

The call center, which provides roadside assistance 24-hours a day, will answer calls from drivers all over the United States.

Road America President Dennis Fantis says this is only the beginning of the road for Road America.

[ATLman1]

The Road America call center in south Columbus may eventually employ 450 once business increases. This is a great addition to South Columbus.

Road America's presence is a sign of a changing south Columbus. The opening comes several weeks after trailer manufacturing company Pitts Enterprises' announced its new south Columbus factory. The National Infantry Foundation, which is building the new Infantry Museum, also announced in recent months its search for a company to develop a complex of hotels, conference center, restaurant and shopping space near the museum.

Business: Road America is a 24-hour roadside and assistance services company that serves corporate clients such as those in the automotive, OEM, insurance and motorcycle industries. It serves more than 100 corporate clients, including AIG, Harley-Davidson and Volkswagen of America. Customers of these companies contact Road America directly when they have roadside problems. Calls are routed to one of Road America's two call centers in the U.S.: one in Miami, where its corporate headquarters is located, or one in Columbus.

[ATLman1]

National food and beverage distributor Buffalo Rock Company of Birmingham, Alabama, has acquired Columbus-based beverage bottler Southeast Canners, sparing all Southeast Canners employees from any layoffs and possibly adding about 30 jobs throughout this year.