Local government approves tax abatement for primate husbandry facility in Bainbridge

Members of several local government bodies met at the Kirbo Center on Monday morning to discuss arrangements for the latest industrial project, dubbed “Project Liberty”. Members of the Decatur County-Bainbridge Industrial Development Authority, City Council, Decatur County Board of Education, Decatur County Commissioners, and Decatur County Board of Tax Assessors were all present. “Project Liberty” is the name given to the newest industrial project coming to town; specifically, it is an animal husbandry operation that will be operated by Safer Human Medicine.

This project will be based in the Decatur County Industrial Park, and will be a husbandry facility for primates for use in research. This particular meeting was to discuss a tax abatement for the project; specifically, a 100% tax abatement for the first 10 years of the project. After the first 10 years, the abatement would be reduced by 9% each year, until the property would be 100% taxable. All government bodies present voted to approve the agreements presented to them. According to city manager Chris Hobby, the city has been in discussions about this project since September. This will be a $270 million project, that will bring roughly 263 jobs to the area. “We’re excited to see more quality jobs come to the community,” Hobby said.

Article by Ethan Reddish , The Post- Searchlight

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To View An Open Letter from Safer Human Medicine to the Residents of Decatur County.

 

Southwest Georgia: A Region on Radar

Agriculture has defined and dominated Southwest Georgia’s economic landscape for generations. Whether owning or working on farms or some other ag-adjacent industry, nearly everyone in the region has a financial connection to the land. And as an industry, agriculture remains a massive statewide economic driver.

Major Commitment: Rick McCaskill, head of the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County at the Bainbridge Downrange Industrial Park, in front of future site of Anovion; photo David Parks.

In 2021, food and fiber production and related processing industries directly represented a value of nearly $14.7 billion to Georgia’s economy, according to a report produced by the University of Georgia’s Center for Agriculture and Economic Development. The report cites data provided by the 2021 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report, a yearly, county-level economic valuation for all state food and fiber production.

Equally important, the report states that these commodities represent $73.2 billion in output to Georgia’s economy and 340,837 jobs to industries in the agricultural supply chain in 2021 beyond their farm gate value – the price of farm produce purchased directly from the producer without markup.

Regionally, Southwest Georgia counties have a lock on some of the top nationally ranked commodities in total production. The state ranks No. 1 in total peanut and pecan production; No. 2 in cotton lint, cotton seed and watermelon; and No. 3 in blueberries and cantaloupe. In 2021, more than half of the nation’s peanuts were grown in Southwest Georgia. And cotton, grown extensively in the region, ranks first in production value in Georgia and second in the nation.

But for all its economic and cultural hold on Southwest Georgia, agriculture is far from the region’s biggest economic development story of 2023. Headline-grabbing Anovion Technologies, an electric vehicle (EV) battery materials manufacturer, seized that title with the announcement it will invest $800 million and create 400 jobs in Decatur County. The new 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility being built at the county-owned Downrange Industrial Park will produce high-quality synthetic graphite anode, a material critical in the EV battery supply chain.

“We put $50 million into the park’s infrastructure,” says Rick McCaskill, head of the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County. “It was a major commitment. Everybody in the state was shocked when they chose Bainbridge because [the company] was looking at 38 states.”

A Regional Approach

So why Decatur County?

Anovion selected the Southwest Georgia location because of its proximity to existing and planned low- and carbon-free energy sources for power, short supply chains, access to existing rail infrastructure, a skilled workforce and a business-friendly environment. But it wasn’t until late in the site selection process that Decatur County hit Anovion’s radar.

“We wouldn’t have had a shot at it if not for the Locate South Georgia bus tour,” says McCaskill.

$800 Million Investment: Anovion Technologies’ groundbreaking attendees included U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (fourth from left), Gov. Brian Kemp (center right) and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp; photo contributed.

Decatur County is a member of Locate South Georgia, a regional economic development entity comprised of 22 counties, many in Southwest Georgia. The group offers an annual bus tour covering a portion of the more than 10,000-square-mile region it serves, which provides project managers with a firsthand look at some of the sites and buildings on offer.

In November 2022, the Locate South Georgia tour included Decatur County. When a Georgia Department of Economic Development project manager saw the site, he thought it might be a fit for the Anovion project. The request for proposal (RFP) was quickly sent and accepted, and Decatur County became Georgia’s newest member of Georgia’s EV battery ecosystem.

Even before the Anovion announcement, Locate South Georgia touted $324.5 million in new investment and 575 jobs created in 2022 among its members.

“We may be starting to see some of the beginning of EV-related spin-offs,” says Grant Buckley, executive director of the Cordele-Crisp County Industrial Development Council and chair of Locate South Georgia. “I’m hearing among my colleagues, and I have one or two inquiries as well, of maybe not Tier 1 suppliers but Tier 2 or Tier 3 suppliers. It’s all related to the EV industry.”

“We’ve talked this regional stuff for years, but we didn’t really believe it,” McCaskill says. “It was just the ‘in’ thing to do. We all knew where the county line was and knew on the other side of the line it wasn’t helping us a bit. But we’ve learned that most of these projects now are going to be regional and our economic development community has done a good job of grasping that. That regional marketing effort, by Locate South Georgia, and the mindset that all these projects help us all have been a real benefit.”

Article by Patty Rasmussen , Georgia Trend Magazine

Anovion Technologies holds groundbreaking ceremony

Anovion Team alongside City and County Officials breaking ground at the construction site.

A sizable crowd gathered off of Newton Road on Tuesday, all coming together for the groundbreaking ceremony for Anovion Technologies. Having previously announced their plan for a Bainbridge facility last month, the Chicago-headquartered company specializes in the production of synthetic graphite, a key component in lithium-ion batteries. According to Anovion CEO Eric Stopka at the initial announcement, this facility will be the first large-scale factory of its kind in North America.

Development Authority Vice Chairman Andy Bell took to the podium first, recognizing all of the state and local officials present. After this, County Commission Chair Pete Stephens delivered the invocation.

Mayor Edward Reynolds spoke at the event as well, introducing Governor Kemp. “Throughout Governor Kemp’s first term, Georgia has consistently broken economic records, with jobs and investment coming to every corner of the state, including Bainbridge and Decatur County,” the mayor said, “which is a long way from Atlanta.” He continued to tout the mayor’s record during the introduction, including tax cuts, teacher pay raises and a crack-down on human trafficking.

When the governor took to the podium, he thanked all the other officials present first, before discussing Anovion itself. “You know for us, today represents many great victories for our state, and as I’ve said before, it’s a culmination of a lot of hard work on a lot of local communities, and certainly this one,” Kemp said. “Projects like this are the result of many months of careful and sustained talks and efforts, not only at the state level through the Department of Economic Development, but also as I mentioned, the support of the members of the general assembly, and certainly our team.” Kemp went on to praise Anovion’s business, and the company’s stated commitment to build up the American supply chain for lithium-ion batteries, with much of it currently based in Asia. He reiterated the 400 new jobs the facility will create, as well as the $800 million investment it represents. “With this project’s groundbreaking, literally now, all four corners of our state have seen major investment and significant job creation, as a result of the work of us leading the next Industrial Revolution of our time, here in Georgia.”

After Governor Kemp, Anovion Executive Chairman Chip Dunn spoke. Dunn recounted how he met Governor Kemp, and how Anovion was persuaded to come to Georgia; he stated factors such as Bainbridge’s inland port and access to waterway and land transport contributed. According to him, they are the “only commercial sale battery-grade synthetic graphite company in North America.” Dunn discussed the particulars of which components in lithium-ion batteries use synthetic graphite, and also emphasized Anovion’s commitment to being climate-focused. He particularly focused on the company’s commitment to reduce the emissions associated with producing synthetic graphite; “Importantly we’re focused on shifting the narrative of a rather environmentally unfriendly process, if we’re being honest, in China, and demonstrate what our vision is, and what it truly means to be climate tech-driven through our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.” According to Dunn, Anovion hopes to reduce its production’s carbon footprint to zero over time. “We think that we can be the first major manufacturing business in the world to be carbon-free. It’s an ambition, but we think we have a chance to make it.”

After Dunn finished, Congressman Sanford Bishop took to the podium, discussing how the state and national government were involved in the process of bringing Anovion to the state, as well as how the state in general has benefitted from federal manufacturing incentives. “We have seen federal resources flow into our great state, which combined with the resources from the governor and the general assembly, are making historic improvements in high-speed internet, that better connect our families, our schools, and our businesses,” he said. “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is improving our roads, our ports, our railways, bridges and airports, the arteries through which our commerce flows.”

SRTC President Jim Glass delivered the closing remarks, revealing to the audience that Anovion will be working to offer scholarships in the future, with updates to come in the future.

The ceremony concluded with the officials present finally breaking ground. The facility is projected to be operational by 2025.

Story provided by Ethan Reddish of The Post-Searchlight.