Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority

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Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority Economic Development is a process that creates sustainable wealth and improves the quality of life. The terms of the members are five years.

The Development Authority is a joint organization that oversees industrial and economic development in Valdosta and Lowndes County. In 1960, the Authority was formed as an amendment to the Georgia State Constitution. It is made up of a board of five members: two city appointees, two county appointees, and one joint appointee. The offices of the board are Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary. Day-to-day operations are conducted by the staff of the Development Authority consisting of a director, a project manager, marketing and community relations manager, an operations manager, and administrative assistant. The VLDA has a wide range of powers in which to promote economic development in the city and the county. The Authority can buy and sell property. It is charged with recruiting and providing assistance to new incoming industries as well as supporting our ever important existing industries.

Thanks to the Valdosta Rotary Club for inviting the VLCDA team to share an update on its mission and celebrate ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ...
10/14/2026

Thanks to the Valdosta Rotary Club for inviting the VLCDA team to share an update on its mission and celebrate ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค! ๐Ÿญ

๐Ÿญ ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐š๐ง๐ ๐„๐œ๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐œ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ!

Last week, the Rotary Club of Valdosta celebrated ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค and ๐‘๐จ๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ฒโ€™๐ฌ ๐„๐œ๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐œ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก with a presentation by ๐๐ข๐ค๐ข ๐Ž๐ ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ž, ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ & ๐‚๐„๐Ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority

Joining Niki were April Brogdon, VLCDA Research and Recruitment Analyst, and John Waters, VLCDA Project Manager and Valdosta Rotary Club member.

Niki shared how strategic partnerships, industry recruitment, and support for existing businesses are creating quality jobs and strengthening our local economy.

๐Ÿ“Š The numbers tell the story:

๐Ÿ”น 120 manufacturing companies employing nearly 5,000 people
๐Ÿ”น 1,100+ jobs generated through economic development projects from 2024โ€“2026
๐Ÿ”น Approximately $760 million in capital investment during that period

One of Nikiโ€™s key messages: "๐„๐œ๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐œ ๐๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š ๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ!โ€ Success requires collaboration among business, education, government, and community partners working toward a shared vision.

Thank you to the VLCDA team for sharing how economic development is creating opportunities, supporting local industries, and building a stronger future for Valdosta-Lowndes County!



Rotary District 6920

๐ŸŒ‰ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž ๐†๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐†๐š๐ฉ Thank you to Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc. for hosting this quarterโ€™s ...
10/12/2026

๐ŸŒ‰ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž ๐†๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐†๐š๐ฉ

Thank you to Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc. for hosting this quarterโ€™s ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‘๐ž๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐€๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ (๐๐‘๐€๐“) luncheon, which featured a discussion on generational differences in the workplace led by ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ž๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฅ๐ž๐ž, Director of One Valdosta-Lowndes.

Today's workforce, with Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and the emerging Gen Alpha, is evolving. Understanding generational differences is essential for building stronger, more productive teams.

Mary Beth noted the growing number of Americans working beyond age 65 and what it means for employers managing a multigenerational workforce.

She highlighted how communication styles, workplace expectations, and values differ by generation. She emphasized that mutual respect, understanding, and finding common ground are essential for attracting and retaining talent.

More than forty business, education, and workforce leaders attended the BRAT luncheon, where they discussed workplace challenges, exchanged ideas, and brainstormed solutions to strengthen their teams.

Thank you to Mary Beth, Second Harvest of South Georgia, and our BRAT members for another informative and engaging luncheon focused on strengthening our local workforce and business community.

๐“๐จ ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐‘๐€๐“, ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ โžก๏ธhttps://buildlowndes.com/workforce-industry/business-retention/




Locate South Georgia

๐ŸŽ‰ ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค! ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ! โš’๏ธ ๐ŸญFrom industry tours and legi...
10/12/2026

๐ŸŽ‰ ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค! ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ! โš’๏ธ ๐Ÿญ

From industry tours and legislative discussions to visits from state and national leaders, it was a busy week celebrating the people, innovation, and industries powering our local economy!

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority (VLCDA) was proud to recognize ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค, ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿโ€“๐Ÿ—, with several events highlighting the strength and future of manufacturing in our community.

๐Ÿ‘€ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž'๐ฌ ๐š ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐›๐š๐œ๐ค ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค'๐ฌ ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ:

๐Ÿ”น ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐๐ซ๐จ๐œ๐ฅ๐š๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: Thank you to Scott Boda and the Steeda team for hosting our kickoff celebration! City and county leaders officially recognized Manufacturing Week and the employees and industries driving production, innovation, and economic growth in Lowndes County.

๐Ÿ”น ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐•๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ฌ: U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler toured Blue Ops, highlighting South Georgia's skilled workforce, strategic location, and growing potential for advanced manufacturing.

๐Ÿ”น ๐‹๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐Ÿ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ: VLCDA and Blue Ops proudly sponsored the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, featuring Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns and local state legislators, who discussed key legislative issues and priorities for the 2027 session.

๐Ÿ”น ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐€๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ: VLCDA joined Blue Ops in welcoming Chamber members and business leaders for an exclusive tour of the company's facility, offering a firsthand look at innovative, high-tech manufacturing happening right here in Valdosta-Lowndes County.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ? In Lowndes County, more than 5,000+ employees work at 120 manufacturing companies, representing nearly 11% of our workforce. These industries create quality jobs, attract investment, support local businesses, and strengthen our economy.

To our manufacturing employees, industry partners, elected officials, and community leadersโ€”THANK YOU! Your hard work, innovation, and commitment continue to move Valdosta-Lowndes County forward.

๐“๐จ๐ ๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ, ๐ฐ๐ž'๐ซ๐ž ๐›๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐š ๐›๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž!



๐Ÿš€ โš™๏ธ ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ!Manufacturing is more than just what happens on ...
10/07/2026

๐Ÿš€ โš™๏ธ ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ!

Manufacturing is more than just what happens on the production floor. It brings jobs, investment, innovation, and economic opportunity to our whole community.

๐“๐จ๐๐š๐ฒ, ๐Ÿ“,๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ– ๐ฉ๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฃ๐จ๐›๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ. ๐“๐ก๐š๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ,๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ฃ๐จ๐›๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ง ๐ฐ๐ž ๐ก๐š๐ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ฌ ๐š๐ ๐จ!

๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ข๐ง ๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ:

๐Ÿ”น Approximately 11% of our workforce
๐Ÿ”น 120 manufacturing companies
๐Ÿ”น $68,083 average annual wages

The impact goes far beyond the jobs. Manufacturing creates a strong ripple effect in our local economy, helping suppliers, transportation, restaurants, retailers, housing, and many other local businesses.

๐Ÿ’ต ๐…๐จ๐ซ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ $๐Ÿ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š ๐ญ๐จ๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ $๐Ÿ.๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ— ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ฒ.

During National Manufacturing Week, we celebrate the people behind these numbers. Thanks to the skilled employees who make, build, innovate, and keep our economy moving forward.




Lowndes County, GA
Valdosta, A City Without Limits
Locate South Georgia

โš™๏ธ โš’๏ธ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค, weโ€™re celebrating more than an industry; weโ€™re celebrating the 5,028 people who ...
10/02/2026

โš™๏ธ โš’๏ธ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค, weโ€™re celebrating more than an industry; weโ€™re celebrating the 5,028 people who produce, innovate, and build in Lowndes County every day.

In an op-ed, ๐•๐‹๐‚๐ƒ๐€ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ & ๐‚๐„๐Ž ๐๐ข๐ค๐ข ๐Ž๐ ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ž shares why building the next generation of skilled workers is critical.

Georgia is expected to add 36,600 manufacturing jobs over the next decade, as the state has again earned the No. 1 ranking for business by Area Development magazine for the 13th consecutive year.

โBuilding a strong workforce pipeline is essential to sustaining our economic momentum. This requires introducing students to manufacturing careers earlier, aligning education and training with employer needs, and helping people understand that todayโ€™s manufacturing careers are very different from those of previous generations.โž

๐ŸŽ“ Weโ€™re building that workforce pipeline locally through strong Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs at Valdosta and Lowndes High Schools that provide hands-on experience and introduce students to career pathways aligned with employer needs. Plus a regional approach to workforce development with the new WIN (Workforce Innovation Network) Regional College & Career Academy, which opened in August to serve students from Valdosta City Schools and the Berrien, Clinch, Cook, Echols, and Lanier County school systems.

During National Manufacturing Week, Oct. 2โ€“9, join us in celebrating the people behind the products, technology, and innovation that keep Valdosta-Lowndes County moving forward.

โžก๏ธ ๐‘๐ž๐š๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฉ-๐ž๐: https://buildlowndes.com/manufacturing-week-celebrating-the-people-who-power-our-economy/




Lowndes County, GA
Valdosta, A City Without Limits
Locate South Georgia

๐Ÿญ ๐Š๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ!Thank you to Steeda for hosting this yearโ€™s Na...
10/02/2026

๐Ÿญ ๐Š๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ!

Thank you to Steeda for hosting this yearโ€™s National Manufacturing Week Proclamation event. ๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ๐š๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐’๐ฅ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ž๐ซ and ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š ๐Œ๐š๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ-๐“๐ž๐ฆ ๐€๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐†๐ข๐›๐›๐ฌ officially recognized ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐จ ๐Ÿ— ๐š๐ฌ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š, ๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ. This week celebrates the employees and industries that drive production, innovation, and economic growth in our community.

๐Ÿ“Š ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ:
๐Ÿ”น 5,028 people work in manufacturing
๐Ÿ”น 1,102 manufacturing jobs have been added in the past five years
๐Ÿ”น Careers include advanced manufacturing, automation, food production, glass, automotive, chemicals, and new technologies.

๐•๐‹๐‚๐ƒ๐€ ๐๐จ๐š๐ซ๐ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐š๐ ๐…๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ discussed how manufacturing supports our local economy. When manufacturers invest, grow, and hire, the benefits reach beyond the plant floor and support businesses, families, and opportunities across our community.

โš™๏ธ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐ž๐๐š ๐ƒ๐ข๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐œ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐š shared how the company opened its Valdosta operation in 2008 with half of its manufacturing here. Today, 100% of Steedaโ€™s manufacturing takes place in Valdosta.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ? ๐’๐œ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐ฆ๐š๐ฃ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐๐ฏ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ฌ:

๐Ÿ’ฒ Cost of doing business
๐ŸŽ“ Strong technical education and workforce training
๐Ÿšš Easy access to I-75 and I-10

๐•๐‹๐‚๐ƒ๐€ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐„๐Ž ๐๐ข๐ค๐ข ๐Ž๐ ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ž thanked Steeda for welcoming the community and giving guests a firsthand look at modern manufacturing with a facility tour. Guests also enjoyed some extra fun with test drives in Ford performance vehicles.




Lowndes County, GA
Valdosta, A City Without Limits
Locate South Georgia

โš“ ๐‚๐„๐‹๐„๐๐‘๐€๐“๐ˆ๐๐† ๐๐‹๐”๐„ ๐Ž๐๐’ ๐ƒ๐€๐˜ ๐ˆ๐ ๐•๐€๐‹๐ƒ๐Ž๐’๐“๐€-๐‹๐Ž๐–๐๐ƒ๐„๐’ ๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“๐˜! ๐ŸŽ‰๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ โ€” celebra...
09/22/2026

โš“ ๐‚๐„๐‹๐„๐๐‘๐€๐“๐ˆ๐๐† ๐๐‹๐”๐„ ๐Ž๐๐’ ๐ƒ๐€๐˜ ๐ˆ๐ ๐•๐€๐‹๐ƒ๐Ž๐’๐“๐€-๐‹๐Ž๐–๐๐ƒ๐„๐’ ๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“๐˜! ๐ŸŽ‰

๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ โ€” celebrating an exciting new chapter in Valdosta-Lowndes Countyโ€™s economic growth and growing technology sector.

๐Ÿ”น $๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ
๐Ÿ”น ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐›๐ฌ
๐Ÿ”น ๐€๐๐ฏ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐ญ๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐›๐ž๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ

The celebration included proclamations recognizing Blue Ops Day, along with the christening and launch of the โ€œ๐€๐ณ๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐š ๐‚๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ,โ€ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ฌโ€™ ๐•๐š๐ซ๐ข๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐Ÿ• ๐”๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ๐ž๐ ๐’๐ฎ๐ซ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐•๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ. VLCDA President and CEO Niki Ogletree had the honor of christening the vessel. โš“๐Ÿพ

Blue Opsโ€™ decision to invest in Valdosta-Lowndes County shows our community can compete for high-demand, technology-driven companies. We have the workforce, infrastructure, partnerships, and business environment needed to support companies developing and manufacturing the technologies of the future.

Economic development is always a team effort. Niki thanked the VLCDA Board and staff, and local and state partners who helped move this project forward.

Most importantly, she thanked the Blue Ops team for choosing Valdosta-Lowndes County and investing in our community.

๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ฌ! ๐–๐žโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐ž๐ฑ๐œ๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐š๐ก๐ž๐š๐. ๐Ÿš€โš“



Georgia Department of Economic Development
Locate South Georgia

๐Ÿ—๏ธ $๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”.๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ˆ๐‹๐‹๐ˆ๐Ž๐, + ๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ• ๐๐„๐– ๐‰๐Ž๐๐’Recruiting new industries often gets the spotlight, and itโ€™s an important part of growing...
09/17/2026

๐Ÿ—๏ธ $๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”.๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ˆ๐‹๐‹๐ˆ๐Ž๐, + ๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ• ๐๐„๐– ๐‰๐Ž๐๐’

Recruiting new industries often gets the spotlight, and itโ€™s an important part of growing our economy. ๐ŸŒŸ But equally important is helping the companies already here grow, invest, and create new opportunities.

๐ˆ๐ง ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”, ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž:

๐Ÿ’ฐ Investing $26.2 million in our community
๐Ÿ‘ท Creating 77 new jobs
๐Ÿข Expanding and building new facilities
โš™๏ธ Upgrading equipment and technology
๐Ÿ“ˆ Improving production and preparing for future growth

When an existing industry chooses to invest again in Valdosta-Lowndes County, it sends a strong message of confidence in:

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Our workforce
๐Ÿค Our business environment
๐Ÿ“ Our community
๐Ÿš€ Our future

Supporting existing industries and helping them prepare for whatโ€™s next remains a top priority for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority.

๐„๐œ๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐œ ๐๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จโ€™๐ฌ ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ง๐ž๐ฑ๐ญ; ๐ข๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ž๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ!

๐Ÿ”— ๐‘๐ž๐š๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž: https://buildlowndes.com/existing-industry-growth-brings-26-2-million-investment-77-new-jobs/

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐‹๐š๐›๐จ๐ซ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ, ๐–๐ž ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž ๐“๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ The ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ...
09/04/2026

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐‹๐š๐›๐จ๐ซ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ, ๐–๐ž ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž ๐“๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ 

The ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ proudly recognizes the hardworking men and women who keep our local economy growing, our industries moving, and our community building for the future.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ๐Ÿงฐ A strong, skilled workforce is one of our greatest economic development assets and one of our most powerful tools for recruiting new industry to Valdosta-Lowndes County. Just as importantly, our existing industries depend on well-trained, dedicated employees who show up, work hard, and help their companies grow.

๐Ÿญ From manufacturing and logistics to healthcare, construction, agriculture, and countless other industries, our workforce makes economic growth possible.

๐“๐จ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐›๐ฎ๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ โ€” ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ข๐ญ ๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก ๐๐š๐ฒ.

In observance of Labor Day, our offices will close at noon today and reopen for regular business hours on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

๐‡๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐‹๐š๐›๐จ๐ซ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š-๐‹๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ!

๐ŸŽ‰ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐ˆ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ โ€” ๐‚๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ!๐Ÿ†We congratulate Hunt Industries, Inc. on being named ...
09/02/2026

๐ŸŽ‰ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐ˆ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ โ€” ๐‚๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ!

๐Ÿ†We congratulate Hunt Industries, Inc. on being named the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Corporation of the Quarter!

Hunt Industries is a great example of what makes our local business and industry community so strong. Founded right here in Lowndes County in 1987, this homegrown company has built a successful business with an impact that reaches well beyond our community.

For nearly four decades, Hunt Industries has grown into a leading full-service industrial construction company, providing specialty construction and general contracting services throughout the Southeast and beyond. Their continued growth shows companies can start here, grow here, and make a global impact right here in Valdosta-Lowndes County.

Just as important, Hunt Industries continues to invest in the community it calls home, supporting local organizations and initiatives while building a reputation for quality craftsmanship and professional service.

We are proud to have Hunt Industries as part of our local industry family and congratulate their entire team on this well-deserved recognition!


Locate South Georgia

๐Ÿ† Corporation of the Quarter!๐Ÿ†

The Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber is proud to recognize Hunt Industries, Inc. as our Corporation of the Quarter!

Founded in 1987, Hunt Industries has grown into a leading full-service industrial construction company providing specialty construction and general contracting services throughout the Southeast and beyond.

For nearly four decades, Hunt Industries has built a reputation for quality craftsmanship and professional service while also giving back to the community through support of local organizations and initiatives.

Weโ€™re proud to recognize Hunt Industries for its continued leadership, growth and commitment to Valdosta-Lowndes. Congratulations! ๐Ÿ‘

๐Ÿ“ 5426 Inner Perimeter Rd, Valdosta, GA 31601
๐Ÿ“ž 229-244-6707

A special thank you to Renasant Bank for sponsoring our chamber corporations!

Address

103 Roosevelt Drive
Valdosta, GA
31602

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+12292599972

Website

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