Where Business is Our History
Pro Business Attitude Fuels Growth
Thomasville and Thomas County recognize the importance of quality growth. At a time of shrinking industrial opportunities nationally, Thomasville has led rural Georgia with new project locations.
The reason for success? Thomasville has the enviable position of offering a high quality of life coupled with very aggressive rural economic development tools provided by state and federal programs. The OneGeorgia Authority provides, on a competitive basis, incentives for job creation in rural areas. Thomas County is a Tier Two community, which means special grant opportunities for industries that create new jobs. A Georgia Tech study found that the local economic development effort was so effective that more jobs were created in the community than population growth.
When a Fortune 50 company such as Caterpillar chooses Thomasville over hundreds of possible locations, it is a validation of the aggressive, pro-business attitude of community leaders.
One hundred fifteen industries call Thomas County home. No one industry has over 400 employees. With this strong, diversified base, the community has achieved a degree of stability that could be a national model. The percentage of industrial jobs for the community is 20 percent, significantly higher than the l5 percent state average.
Locating in a pro-business state and community are of critical importance to the success of a business or industry. Thomasville is located on the Florida line, 28 miles from Tallahassee (the capital of Florida). This strategic location to the nation’s fourth largest state provides Thomasville with the ability to serve Florida efficiently while enjoying the benefits of Georgia’s aggressive incentives for job creation.
Florida, with a population of over 17 million coupled with Georgia’s 8.7 million, gives a highly concentrated market total population that can be served efficiently from Thomasville.
Financial Services
You work hard for your money, and it is important for your future to be financially secure. If you enjoy knowing your banker and receiving personal service, then you have a choice of 11 excellent financial institutions from which to choose. They all tailor banking products and services to fit your needs – always with a smile and a handshake.
There are also financial planning service businesses in the area with professionals who can provide sound advice and assistance with investment counseling.
Strength Through Diversity
One hundred fifteen industries are located in Thomasville and Thomas County.
From Flowers Foods (Thomasville’s flagship industry, baking products since 1919) to American Fresh Foods LP (ground beef processors to open 2005), Thomasville is home to quality industry.
Thomas County is home to heavy industry such as boiler manufacturers, fuller earth mining industry, food processing and timber.
The diversity of Thomas County industry has been a great strength in times of economic downturns.
With full fiber optic and broadband high-speed data connections, Thomasville has the infrastructure to support the most demanding technology needs of business and industry.
Agriculture
From the 1820s to the present day, Thomas County has been defined by its agricultural roots.
Thomas County has 421 farms with an average size of 427 acres per farm. Major crops are cotton, corn, peanuts, and pecans. Vegetables are increasing in importance to area agriculture. The Farmer’s Market in Thomasville is the number one Georgia- grown market in the state. Georgia’s largest economic input with over 15 billion dollars. Agriculture is dominant in southwest Georgia. From vegetable processing, with canning and freezing capability, to the most sophisticated cotton ginning available, Thomas County can produce food and fiber, as well as process value added products.
Unique Transportation Options for Industry
River and sea transportation options are available to Thomas County businesses. The Port of Bainbridge, 38 miles west of Thomasville on four-lane divided Highway 84, provides a navigable artery with a public barge dock.
The Port of Savannah (located on the Savannah River 209 miles northwest of Thomasville) offers a maintained channel depth of 42 feet, a 208-acre terminal area and 500-foot channel widths. The Ocean Terminal uses state-of-the-art facilities to maximize shipping convenience.
The Port of Brunswick has developed a niche in agriculture and car importation and export. The Port of Brunswick is 165 miles from Thomasville on four-lane highways.
Southwest Georgia at a Glance
Thomasville is the market center of the five-county area of Brooks, Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell and Thomas counties. The market population is 151,000, and Thomasville has 50 percent of the retail sales in this market.
With a vibrant, dynamic economic base, Thomasville and Thomas County enjoy an industrial employment of 20 percent of the total workforce. This is 25 percent higher than the Georgia state average industrial employment, and is a result of an aggressive recruitment program.
Flowers Foods’ Roots Go Deep in Thomasville
As a public company with sales close to $1.45 billion, Flowers Foods had its pick of which city or town to call home. It chose Thomasville, Georgia.
Actually, it was the Flowers brothers who chose Thomasville. Back in 1919, William Howard and Joseph Hampton opened Thomasville’s first bakery, aptly called Flowers Baking Company. From that single bakery, the company has grown to become one of the nation’s leading wholesale baking companies, with more than 30 bakeries stretching from the mid-Atlantic to the Southwest.
As the company grew over the decades, management considered moving its headquarters elsewhere. During the 1960s, W. H. Flowers, Jr. (then chairman of the board) conducted a study to find out if the company should relocate to Atlanta, New Orleans or a comparable metro area.
What the study found was that the quality of life in Thomasville was so good that moving wasn’t necessary.
“Thomasville is a progressive small town with a vibrant sense of community and family set in a beautiful, natural environment,” explains Marta Turner, Flowers Foods’ senior vice president of corporate relations. “Recruiting executives has not been a problem. Also, city and county leaders are responsive to the needs of businesses, and are willing to work together on projects. We’ve considered our Thomasville address to be a very real asset for us.”
Turner notes that being headquartered in Thomasville has not stopped the company from growing. Flowers today serves national markets with its frozen bakery foods and a 17-state region with fresh baked foods.
“With today’s technology and electronic communications, a large company like ours can be located in a small town and still be in constant touch with our bakeries and employees anywhere in the country,” says Turner. “The nearby municipal airport also allows us quick access to our bakeries by corporate jet.”
Driving around Thomasville, you will find Flowers’ presence spread out like an old live oak. The bakery built in 1919 still stands on Madison Street, turning out fresh loaves of Nature’s Own and Sunbeam breads. Operating today under the name Flowers Baking Co. of Thomasville, the bakery recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation that included installation of doughnut and honey bun production and an exterior facelift that added a park and gazebo.
Since the 1970s, Flowers Foods’ corporate office has been located on 15 acres of forested land on the edge of Thomasville, housed in a Williamsburg-style building that looks more like a stately home than the nerve center of one of the country’s leading bakery food companies. Flowers’ expert information technology department is located near Paradise Park, and its Shared Services Center recently relocated to the old J.C. Penney building on Broad Street, which has been restored to its former architectural glory and renamed the Langdon S. Flowers Building.
While Thomasville has been a good home for Flowers Foods for 85 years, Flowers has also been good for Thomasville. The company donates money to many local charities and organizations, including the YMCA, United Way, Thomasville Cultural Center, Junior Service League, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, local schools and many others. In addition, Flowers’ officers and employees are involved in key capacities in many local organizations.
“Our company has had a long tradition of giving back to the community to help preserve the quality of life here, as well as to help our neighbors in need,” Turner explains. “In a town the size of Thomasville, every person has the opportunity to really make a difference. We find that very gratifying.”
