VALDOSTA — As Manufacturing Appreciation Week comes to a close, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority spoke about the importance of manufacturing in the community.

Manufacturing Appreciation Week, April 9-13, was developed through the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development to inform and educate residents on the importance of manufacturing, said Andrea Schruijer, executive director of the development authority. 

In Lowndes County, there are 40 manufacturing businesses, agribusiness, automotive, transportation, chemicals, plastics and food processing, Schruijer said. The companies employ more than 4,000 people.

Manufacturing is taking something from a raw material and going through process to come up with something in the end, Schruijer said.

“Think about coal,” she said. “Coal ends up as a diamond. You can manufacture a diamond. So, take Martin’s (Famous Pastry Shoppe). Martin’s is taking several raw materials, and turning it into some other type of product.”

Schruijer said manufacturing is important because for each job there is in manufacturing that job creates seven other indirect jobs in the community. The jobs can be in health care, retail, food and beverage or any other of the myriad of business sectors in the county. 

She referred to this as the multiplier effect.

“When you think about manufacturing, it starts with raw material,” she said. “With someone doing some type of mining for a material. It could be coal, natural gas, minerals, it could be something along those lines that someone has to go out and mine for.”

Then, the raw material needs to be processed and transported, she said. Processing and transportation require fuel and energy, which benefits the utility sector.

Once the material is processed, a wholesale company sells the processed material to a company that turns the material into a product, she said.

The company will need administrative positions, she said. Positions range from engineers, drivers for transportation, human resources, legal teams, etc.

From there, the newly created product is sold to a retailer who sells the finished product to customers.

“That’s how the manufacturing sector impacts the local economy more than any other sector,” she said.

Aside from jobs for individuals, manufacturers have a large impact on the community, Schuijer said.

“The community wants the manufacturer sector because it is the creation of wealth,” she said. “It creates jobs and capital wealth. The housing sector cannot produce enough in taxes to fund all of the infrastructure costs. The manufactures bring in a large amount of revenue through taxes. This pays for private and public projects. It’s the creation of the wealth from the public and private sector. It is creating those indirect jobs and generates taxes that will stay in those communities.”

And while some may argue a manufacturer may leave a community, Schruijer said that is why it is important to continue to work with manufacturers after they commit to being in a community.

“It’s harder for a manufacturer to pick up and move (than a small business),” she said. “That’s why we have a strong existing industry program. They are our clients. And they’re making the biggest impact on our economy.”

The Development Authority has the business retention action team that makes a consistent effort to regularly meet with existing industries, and help them solve issues that may come up, she said.

Part of the reason retaining existing industries is so important is because existing industries play a major role in creating new jobs in the state every year, Schruijer said.

Schruijer said on average, jobs in the manufacturing sector pay about 9 percent more than the average wage in the same area. The jobs created are good-paying jobs for those who do not have a four-year degree, she said.

“That is why you want these jobs,” she said. “These jobs don’t require four-year degrees. For those community citizens who have a skill or have gone to Wiregrass Technical College, they are more valuable to the manufacturing sector.” 

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.