Dalton, Ga., Embodies Global Economy at Work
Published Feb 29, 2008
This Georgia city is now known for much more than carpet manufacturing.
Long known as a hub of the flooring industry, Dalton now is luring a variety of manufacturers from around the world to north Georgia.
From expansion of existing companies to large-scale new developments, the city’s economic development officials have a long list of successes to tout, and more are on the way.
In 2006, Marktech Optoelectronics, a Korean company, opened its first U.S. facility in the Dalton area. The manufacturer of countertop resins and glues started out with 25 employees locally and has a very aggressive growth plan, says Melanie Suggs, director of economic development for the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce.
“We also have brought in PrimeTex Technology, which has opened in the historic Crown Mills Building,” Suggs says. “They were very impressed with the area and what they were able to get done here in a short period of time.” PrimeTex is the North American affiliate of a Swiss company, SwissTex Filament Yard Technologies.
Other new industrial residents include Power-Heat-Set of America, a German company that manufactures heat-setting equipment for the carpet industry.
On the expansion side, Shiroki North America, which makes door frames for Toyota, Nissan and other auto companies, has invested $26 million in its facility, retaining 500 jobs and creating 100 new ones.
Innovative partnerships also are a big part of Dalton’s success. International powerhouse Dow Chemical and the local waste management authority have brokered a deal that will allow Dow to receive methane gas from the local landfill, resulting in a green-friendly power source that won’t tax local providers, says George Woodward, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.
“Our economy is still skewed to the floor-covering industry,” he says, “but now we’re starting to take advantage of our technological infrasructure to bring in new companies.”
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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