Valdosta and Lowndes County welcome a new industry to the area today, which will go on record as one of the top five industrial investments ever made in the area.

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority and Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc. announced plans today to build an approximately 220,000-square-foot bakery facility with a 170,000-square-foot expansion already in the works. This facility, which will be located on a 40-acre site near Interstate 75 at Exit 13, will employ an initial 107-member workforce and will house a state-of-the-art, combination bread and roll line expected to begin producing and shipping product to the existing southern market in the fourth calendar quarter of 2008.

“We are electrified by the employment opportunities that Martin’s represents for our community, not only because of the outstanding wages and benefits they offer, but also because these are just good people,” Industrial Authority Chairman John Peeples said. “In 20 years, when we look back on today, we will be surprised if the average tenure of their employees is not longer than 15 years.”

This family owned and operated company remains headquartered in Chambersburg, Penn., where it began in the 1950s in the kitchen of the Martin home located in the heart of “Pennsylvania Dutch” country. Utilizing a recipe that had been handed down through generations, Lois and Lloyd Martin eventually felt they had a product they would be proud to sell. As the demand for their product steadily increased over the company’s first 20 years, the bakery moved into the Martin’s Family Restaurant before finally building a production plant in 1978, where the family continues to do business today.

“We’ve been too hard-headed to cut any corners in over 40 years of baking the best potato rolls and bread we know how,” President Jim Martin states on the company’s Web site. “Why give up on honest goodness now? We refuse.”

As one of the premier employers in the Chambersburg, Penn. area, Martin’s boasts a less than 5 percent turnover rate and an average tenure of approximately 15 years. In a professional, independently conducted survey, 95 percent of Martin’s employees stated that they enjoyed going to work, according to Gipe.

“If people stay, they stay for decades,” Executive Vice President Ron Gipe said.

Current Martin employee Scott Munger, who has been with the company for six years, will relocate to serve as the plant manager for the new facility.

Martin’s continues the tradition today as the “original” potato roll manufacturers producing a line of potato roll and bread products that are distributed up and down the East Coast. Their current location forces their drivers to travel 1,100 miles one way to deliver their product to the Georgia and Florida markets.

Though the nearby communities of Adel and Lake City, Fla., were also considered for the Martin’s first satellite facility, the Lowndes County site was selected for the available labor pool and the quality of the city’s water supply in addition to its close proximity to I-75 and a regional airport, which provide good interstate logistics. Gipe stated that the city’s water was very impressive and vital to the baking process.

Gipe added that the aggressiveness of the state of Georgia and the local Industrial Authority and their support of the project was also an attraction as they worked with the company for nearly a year after making their first formal presentation in May 2006.

“The cooperation between the city of Valdosta, Lowndes County and the Industrial Authority to bring Martin’s to our community is a testament to our commitment to quality industry in Lowndes County,” said Rod Casey, Lowndes County Commission chairman. “This is a win-win situation for all involved. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe.”

The Industrial Authority, city and county officials will officially welcome Martin’s to the community today with a special ground-breaking ceremony and celebration.