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From Freeport, Ill.,
to Alpharetta
A Case Study
in Patience
Around the State: Progress
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GEORGIA SPOTLIGHT
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Peach State Power Play
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t first glance, the economic impact of the Newell Rubbermaid headquarters move to Atlanta may not seem like a big deal. After all, what can a company that sells plastic bins and trash cans tell you about long-term trends in corporate site selection?
But look closer and you'll find something else: an ambitious new Georgia that aims to set the agenda for economic development throughout the Southeast.
From Woodstock to Waycross and from Columbus to Commerce, Georgia is poised to capitalize on the pending economic rebound, Gov. Sonny Perdue says in his exclusive interview with Site Selection (see Q&I). The question is why?
Newell Rubbermaid CEO Joe Galli answered that question when he spoke to several hundred people who gathered on July 11, 2003, to welcome him and his company to Atlanta.
"We could have selected any city anywhere in the U.S," he said. "That was a decision that was made very carefully. Why did we select Atlanta? Atlanta offered us great proximity to our key customers, particularly Home Depot. Atlanta offered us the ability to easily travel nationally and internationally, particularly to Europe, Asia and Latin America. And, most importantly, the people involved in this project fell in love with the community."
A pivotal factor in securing the corporate headquarters of the US$8 billion-a-year company was passage of a last-minute bill in the Georgia State Assembly. The bill extended an important tax credit to the company, which otherwise would not have qualified for it.
Call it an elastic public policy for a plastics company, but it also speaks volumes about where Georgia is headed. Gov. Perdue wants to do nothing less than define the parameters of the ongoing public debate over corporate incentives, state taxes and the fiscal policy management of the South.
Gov. Perdue told Site Selection that he wants to do three things: engage his fellow Southern governors in some frank talk about the nature and scope of corporate incentives; establish some "ground rules" by which future incentives packages will be evaluated; and leverage Georgia's AAA bond rating to recruit businesses from states that are bleeding red ink by the buckets.
That's a game plan for action based upon one fundamental assumption by the Republican governor and former small businessman: "We want to earn the business, not buy the business."
In other words, Perdue is telling corporate executives: We have our own fiscal house in order, and we want to partner with companies that exercise the same degree of conscientiousness.
Will this strategy work? The short-term answer is that it's already working.
But look closer and you'll find something else: an ambitious new Georgia that aims to set the agenda for economic development throughout the Southeast.
From Woodstock to Waycross and from Columbus to Commerce, Georgia is poised to capitalize on the pending economic rebound, Gov. Sonny Perdue says in his exclusive interview with Site Selection (see Q&I). The question is why?
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Newell Rubbermaid CEO Joe Galli answered that question when he spoke to several hundred people who gathered on July 11, 2003, to welcome him and his company to Atlanta.
"We could have selected any city anywhere in the U.S," he said. "That was a decision that was made very carefully. Why did we select Atlanta? Atlanta offered us great proximity to our key customers, particularly Home Depot. Atlanta offered us the ability to easily travel nationally and internationally, particularly to Europe, Asia and Latin America. And, most importantly, the people involved in this project fell in love with the community."
A pivotal factor in securing the corporate headquarters of the US$8 billion-a-year company was passage of a last-minute bill in the Georgia State Assembly. The bill extended an important tax credit to the company, which otherwise would not have qualified for it.
Call it an elastic public policy for a plastics company, but it also speaks volumes about where Georgia is headed. Gov. Perdue wants to do nothing less than define the parameters of the ongoing public debate over corporate incentives, state taxes and the fiscal policy management of the South.
Gov. Perdue told Site Selection that he wants to do three things: engage his fellow Southern governors in some frank talk about the nature and scope of corporate incentives; establish some "ground rules" by which future incentives packages will be evaluated; and leverage Georgia's AAA bond rating to recruit businesses from states that are bleeding red ink by the buckets.
That's a game plan for action based upon one fundamental assumption by the Republican governor and former small businessman: "We want to earn the business, not buy the business."
In other words, Perdue is telling corporate executives: We have our own fiscal house in order, and we want to partner with companies that exercise the same degree of conscientiousness.
Will this strategy work? The short-term answer is that it's already working.