VALDOSTA — A new training initiative has brought Organic Milling together with Georgia Quick Start and Valdosta Technical College in a partnership expected to bring employment opportunities to 400 people over the next three years.

In the past four decades, Organic Milling has served the retail market with unique breakfast cereals and granolas. Developing the Kashi brand, which specializes in “Better for You” and organic cereal products, the company discovered a prime market for profitable growth, as Americans began moving toward healthier lifestyles and diets.

In 2006, Organic Milling recognized the need for an East Coast operation, after its West Coast facility, located in San Dimas, Calif., reached full capacity.

After hearing about a perfect facility right here in Valdosta, already equipped for its food production needs, the Valdosta/Lowndes Industrial Authority assisted Organic Milling in acquiring the plant, formerly owned by Consolidated Biscuit.

After arriving, the company also found an experienced and available workforce in this area, and currently the plant has 80 employees, with 70 more expected to be added within three months. The company’s goal is to employ 400 people within the first three years of its start.

Begun in 1967, Quick Start is Georgia’s internationally acclaimed economic development program, which helps provide free, customized, workforce training to qualified new, expanding and existing businesses in the state. S

ince that time, the program has trained more than 600,000 employees through more than 5,000 industry projects. Quick Start’s involvement with this particular project is to design and develop training material, as well as instructors for training classes. The partnership was based upon a commitment by Organic Milling to provide 200 new jobs during its first phase development.

Once the Quick Start training is complete, Val Tech will step into its partnership role of the project, offering ongoing training programs through the college, as it continues its commitment to developing the workforce of this community.