VALDOSTA — It won’t be long before the smell of freshly baked cookies, crackers, cereals and other products will be wafting over the city from the Organic Milling bakery.

Organic Milling of Georgia purchased the former home of Crackin’ Good from the last owner, Consolidated Biscuit Company, for $4 million. The plant, located on Forrest Street near downtown Valdosta, is essentially a turnkey operation, with the sale including equipment used in making cookies, crackers, moon pies and other products.

“The plant is in great shape, but it’s been under-utilized for three years and idle for six months,” said General Manager Rod Willcox. A former vice president of manufacturing for Nabisco, Willcox is originally from Great Britain and has many years of experience in the food service business, including Campbell Soups, Pepperidge Farms and Keebler.

Organic Milling originated in California and is known for its organic, kosher and natural products. “They wanted an East Coast presence,” said Willcox, adding that the local plant will be transporting products to the Midwest, the East Coast, and Canada, as well as exporting. The production lines for crackers, cookies and moon pies are already in place, and Willcox said lines for cereal and bars, such as granola, breakfast, energy and fruit bars, will be added.

The company has already hired 12 former managers through a temporary agency and will be adding employees full-time to the payroll slowly over the next few months. Former Crackin’ Good and Consolidated Biscuit employees will receive preferential treatment in the hiring process.

“They can hit the ground running, and they know the plant better than I do,” Willcox said. Plans call for 150 employees over the next year and up to 400 once the plant is back in full production mode.

Organic Milling will produce products under its own labels as well as under contract for other companies. The production line will receive its first major test the week of Sept. 18, and Willcox said he hopes to have more customers signed to contracts soon.

“We have an established company and a good reputation, with a great facility here, so we’re in a good position to win contracts,” he said, adding that the company will be looking to re-establish relationships with local vendors and suppliers also.

When Consolidated Biscuit closed in the spring, nearly 100 employees lost their jobs with close to 150 others having lost positions at the facility over several years prior to Crackin’ Good selling the facility.

Plant Manager Mark Felton of Valdosta is one of the displaced employees, although he retained a position with Consolidated Biscuit. However, it required him to relocate and he is “thrilled” to be back in Valdosta and looking forward to working with Organic Mills.

According to Willcox, the Valdosta plant was the only manufacturing facility of its type on the market in the country, as when most companies close a site, they sell off the equipment rather than allow a potential competitor to take it over.

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority has been working with Organic Milling and the state of Georgia to assist in the company’s transition to the state. Retiring executive director Ken Garren said, “What makes me the most excited about all this is seeing those workers coming back.”

Mayor John Fretti said he is personally thrilled to have Organic Milling in the community, preventing the loss of an ideal manufacturing facility. “Anyone can already notice a flurry of activity, and the prospective employment numbers are exciting. I’m proud of the Industrial Authority members, and they share with me the pleasure in seeing this site once again contributing to our city’s economic growth. We also hear that some of the previous employees are gaining employment with Organic Milling. Job well done!”

Those interested in seeking employment with Organic Milling may fill out an application at the Georgia Department of Labor.