Companies that recently expanded in Georgia citing the Savannah port:
Vector Global Logistics, which currently has about $110 million in annual revenue, has grown 40% in the past five years.
The Atlanta-based company moves a range of products appliances, furniture, vehicles and other goods for its customers, said Enrique Alvarez, managing director of the 130-employee company. “Having Savannah helped a lot.”
While Vector uses many ports, it has benefitted from Savannah’s expansion, he said. “They usually come through Miami, but some fruit and vegetables from Chile are now coming to Savannah and we are handling some of that.”
Aspen Aerogels, a Massachusetts-based maker of safety materials for electric vehicles, recently began construction of a $325 million manufacturing plant near Statesboro.
The Port of Savannah was a significant lure, said Don Young, the chief executive officer. “We export about two-thirds of our product.”
Stonemont Financial Group, an Atlanta-based investment company, is capital partner in the development of the 1,500 acre Georgia International Trade Center, just eight miles from the Port of Savannah. Created in 2019 with a plan for 7.7 million square feet of warehouses, the site has snagged a series of companies, said Steve Yeager, senior vice president.
“At this point, 90% of that is built or under construction,” he said.
InventureIT has seen business boom since opening an office to exploit the Port’s spin-off growth in 2019, said Stacey Roach, chief operating officer.
The Dalton-based company wires buildings, sets up Internet connections, computer systems and manages tech systems in warehouses and logistics operations around Savannah.
“We’ve gone from three to 30 people in a three-year period,” he said.
Broe Real Estate Group partnered with the Effingham County industrial Development Authority about six years ago to create the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub on 2,600 acres about a dozen miles from the port.
Since early 2020, the Denver-based company has leased roughly 2.1 million square feet of distribution and warehouse space to a small group of companies, said Sean Fitzsimmons, senior vice president for Broe.
Some of the firms are focused on imports, some are angling at export, he said.
“Certainly, there’s been a surge in growth in both the port and in real estate demand,” he said.
Alix Partners, a national consulting company, handles and advises on projects which often involve movement of cargo. The past few years, the company has been steering clients away from use of West Coast ports, said Foster Finley, Atlanta-based managing director.
Savannah is more efficient, he said.
“When I hear feedback from clients, from people who are dealing with the Port of Savannah, they are pretty pleased,” Finley said.
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