VALDOSTA —
The phrase most repeated at the open house ceremony for the arrival of the new DuPont Crop Protection Logistics and Distribution Facility Wednesday morning was “right on time.” After a six-month construction project headed by Durocky Road, LLC amid bouts with inclement weather, the first facility at the Westside Business Park arrived on-schedule.
Beaming with pride, Durocky Road Principle Doug Griffin issued a tearful speech in which he credited the project’s success to the combined efforts of DuPont headquarters in Delaware, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, the City of Valdosta, DuPont Valdosta Distribution Manager Charles Terry, Southwest Georgia Bank and his wife, Karen Griffin, who helped balance the stresses of the project with his home life, he said.
“What I learned from this project is that something like this could never be the result of individual effort and ability,” Griffin said. “It takes team work.”
Developers worked through weather issues from the first day Durocky Road broke ground on the project, Griffin’s first major industrial effort. The construction was not difficult, but just large-scale, Griffin said.
“It rained every day in February (when the project began),” he said. “So we had a slow start, but everybody worked hard to catch up.”
The facility is a major boon to the Valdosta industrial community, according to Valdosta Mayor John Gayle. The 150,000-square-foot facility will provide $250,000 in local property tax revenue to the city over the next 10 years and create 25 jobs. DuPont’s presence in the Westside Business Park may also raise interest in the location from other industries.
“Once you get that first business, generally others will follow,” Gayle said. “And that’s what we’re hoping for.”
DuPont will use the facility to supply insecticides and fungicides to crop growers in the South Georgia and North Florida region, according to Plant Manager Ivan Caldwell. The building will allow DuPont to consolidate some of its services from warehouses in Albany, Ga., Florida and the Carolinas.
“We’re the final formulation and packaging stop before our products go to the customer,” Caldwell said. “The facility gives us a couple of things. We have the added advantage of flammable storage, and in another aspect, relative to its location, we have a lot of other warehouses in different areas, and it’s allowing us to consolidate here and give us better service to our customers.”
The facility will allow DuPont to provide one-day service to customers in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.
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Related Photos
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Jason Schaefer | The Valdosta Daily Times Durocky Road, LLC Principal Doug Griffin cuts a ribbon Wednesday with key project construction organizers at the open house for the DuPont Crop Protection Logistics and Distribution Facility. From left, Griffin, Plant Manager Ivan Caldwell, DuPont Financial Manager Joseph Silfies, DuPont Real Estate Senior Consultant Lois Smith, Barber Contracting President Steve Barber, project superintendent Don Shear, Mayor John Gayle, and Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Executive Director Andrea Schruijer.
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Jason Schaefer | The Valdosta Daily Times A DuPont company semi is parked at the company’s new crop protection and distribution facility, ready to receive a shipment of product.
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Ribbon cut at DuPont facility
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