Not every project is that contentious or uncertain. In fact, through the first half of 2003, there is considerable evidence pointing to an economic turnaround in Georgia. This rebound from a three-year-long slump is being led by a number of high-profile corporate projects in manufacturing, distribution, financial services and life sciences.
        Universal Alloy, a manufacturer of airplane components, announced July 2 that it would expand its Canton factory and increase its labor force by 150 workers in Cherokee County, effectively doubling the size of the plant.
        Chip Poth, a company vice president, says a key factor in the expansion decision was the need to attract electrical and mechanical engineers, metallurgists and other highly skilled maintenance workers. The project could have gone to Texas, he says.
        Gatorade quenched its thirst for industrial space when it landed a 503,000-sq.-ft. (46,728-sq.-m.) distribution center in Fulton County. Instrumental in this location decision was the ability of Atlanta-based Choate Construction to build the warehouse facility immediately adjacent to Gatorade's manufacturing plant.

See the SITES Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism www.georgia.org Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce www.metroatlantachamber.com Georgia Power www.georgiapower.com

        "Choate Industrial Construction was able to deliver this project on time and on budget," says Scott Cupp, project manager for parent company Quaker Oats. "There was no room for scheduling changes, and they made sure that trucks were rolling as scheduled."
        Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia, says that all signs point to a continued robust recovery for Metro Atlanta and for much of Georgia.
        "The South is probably the fastest-growing industrialized economy in the world," he says. "Atlanta is the heart of that economy."