Lowe's bringing 600 jobs to Rome

By David Markiewicz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Lowe's decision to build a regional distribution center near Rome, Ga., was based on several factors, but one of the big ones was logistics. When it comes to companies choosing to do business in Georgia, it often is.

The North Carolina-based home improvement products retailer announced Wednesday it expects to complete construction on a $125 million, 1.4 million-square foot facility in 18 months, and hire up to 600 employees to staff it by 2016.

The pay rate for those warehouse jobs hasn't been determined, but it will be at least $10.50 an hour, plus benefits. Officials in Floyd County said the area, hard hit by unemployment, needs the work.

The community was aided in its effort to land the Lowe's facility, which will serve 130 to 150 of its stores in six states, by Georgia's network of transportation, material handling and warehouse services that allow for efficient movement of goods.

State economic development officials have touted that logistics infrastructure as a competitive advantage that can help propel the state through the current downturn into a more prosperous future.

Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Cummiskey said the state has attracted 1,000 new distribution center jobs in the past year -- not counting the Lowe's deal -- and that its infrastructure "is driving these jobs here."

He said 48 retailers have distribution centers in Georgia, with about half taking up 1 million square feet or more.

"It's a great strength we've utilized," Cummiskey said.

Georgia is within a two-hour drive or two-hour flight of 80 percent of U.S. markets. It offers the  fastest-growing container port in Savannah, the most extensive railroad network in the Southeast and the world's busiest passenger airport in Hartsfield-Jackson International, officials said.

Besides having a logistics infrastructure, the state has a logistics industry -- the companies that support it. Georgia is the fifth largest logistics employer in the country and has more than 11,000 logistics service providers. The state's "logistics ecosystem" employs more than 1 million people.

The Lowe's site, in unincorporated Floyd County north of Rome, is within seven miles of I-75 and centered between Atlanta, Birmingham and Chattanooga.

Mike Mabry, Lowe's executive vice president, pointed to the site's "accessibility to major transportation corridors" as one of the reasons for the company's decision. "From the transportation standpoint it was very attractive," he said. He also cited the quality of the area's workforce and the proximity to a large manufacturing base.

Local development officials said the company also will receive  financial incentives, including bond financing and various tax exemptions.

The Lowe's announcement follows news of another major distribution center development in Georgia.

In January, FedEx Ground said it would build a new distribution center in Norcross, the company's fourth such facility in the Atlanta market. The center, to open in the fall of 2012, is expected eventually to employ 550 workers, plus an additional 175 independent contractors.