Gwinnett partnership tallies more than 3,200 new jobs

By David Wickert

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Business relocations and expansions led to more than 3,200 new jobs in Gwinnett County over the past year, economic development officials say.

The county has tallied more than 9,200 new jobs from 112 business relocations and expansions since 2007, according to a report released Tuesday by the economic development agency Partnership Gwinnett. Among the county's successes: persuading NCR to move its corporate headquarters from Ohio to Duluth, a move expected to create 3,000 jobs within five years.

Nick Masino, vice president of economic development for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, said Partnership Gwinnett's aggressive marketing of metro Atlanta nationally and overseas helped win those jobs.

“We’re pounding [companies] with press releases and marketing materials, saying, `Gwinnett is open for business,’ ” Masino said at the partnership’s annual Community and Economic Development Summit at Gwinnett Technical College.

Partnership Gwinnett is an economic development initiative funded by more than 160 governments and businesses. Led by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, it has an annual budget of about $1.8 million.

Before the partnership's founding three years ago, Masino said, the county was reactive in its marketing. “People called and we answered the phone,” he said.

That has changed under Partnership Gwinnett. One of the agency’s chief aims is to trumpet the county’s assets -- such as quality schools, good roads, and parks and shopping -- to companies that might relocate here.

Partnership Gwinnett has marketed the metro region overseas on trips to China and South Korea. It also has targeted companies in this country’s Rust Belt.

Among the chief successes was the work state and local recruiters did, with the help of more than $100 million in incentives, to lure NCR from Dayton, Ohio. The company, which manufactures ATMs and other machines, opened its new Duluth headquarters in April.

Job gains for the past year include:

• QualTex Laboratories, a blood-testing lab, announced plans to move from Texas to Norcross, bringing 125 jobs
• Hettich America, which makes hardware for kitchen cabinets, furniture and appliances, announced it will consolidate its Georgia operations in Gwinnett, bringing 100 jobs.
• Medical Business Services, which provides patient billing services to hospital-based physicians, announced plans to relocate to Gwinnett and bring 120 jobs.

In all, the county saw 79 business relocations or expansions from July 2009 to June 2010, according to the partnership's report.

Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister called the partnership “the heart of economic development in our region.”

Masino said the agency has brought good news to the county even in bad economic times.

“Just telling that story, it’s given the county confidence,” he said. “Good news is hard to come by today.”