For 2022-2023, 24 new and expanding firms added 1,700 new jobs and $1.1 billion in capital
investment to Gainesville-Hall County. Since 2015, 155 new and expanding businesses have
announced 8,800 jobs and $2.7 billion in new capital investment.
• The 2023 Milken Institute Report named the Gainesville-Hall County Metro Area as the Top Small Metro Area in Georgia and top 10 in the Nation for Best-Performing Small Metros. The Gainesville-Hall County MSA has ranked in the Milken Institute’s Top 10 Best Performing Small Metros for nine consecutive years.
• Georgia has earned the #1 ranking for its business environment for an unprecedented tenth year in a row; during that time, Gainesville-Hall County has been the top job producing Metropolitan Area in the state. In 2023, Area Development Magazine and Site Selection Magazine named Gainesville-Hall County one of the top Small Metros in the nation for job creation and investment. Similarly, Forbes Magazine has rated GainesvilleHall County as one of the “Best Small Places for Business & Careers” for the last nine years.
• Firms expanding their North American business include Agilox
North America (Austria), ALBAform (Czech), Boost Transport, CJ
Foodville Corporation (South Korea), Cleanspace LLC (UK),
Corporate Storage, Cottrell, Eskimo Cold Storage, Freedom Trans
USA, Harris Products, Jinsung TEC (Korea), King’s Hawaiian, Kubota
(Japan), Mars Wrigley, Mar-Jac Poultry, medmix Healthcare US Inc.
(Switzerland), Syfan Logistics, XPO Logistics, and Zebra
Technologies.
• Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (KMA) is
constructing a new $190 million manufacturing facility at the company’s campus in Gateway Industrial Centre and will employ an additional 500 workers in Gainesville-Hall County, bringing the company’s total employment in the community to more than 2,500. The new construction follows KMA’s opening of a new Research and Development (R&D) Center on 280 acres near Georgia Highway 365. The new R&D Center for North America created 100 jobs in engineering and other technical fields.
• The Georgia Ports Authority has engaged local construction and engineering services to develop a new inland port terminal, the Blue Ridge Connector, to provide a door-to-door rail connection for container service between the Port of Savannah and Gainesville-Hall County. Carroll Daniel Construction, Simpson Trucking & Grading, and Rochester & Associates are among the local firms that will engineer and construct the new terminal. It is expected to be completed and open in 2026.
• The family-owned, Hawaiian-inspired food company King’s Hawaiian has invested $100 million to expand its Oakwood facility, creating more than 160 new jobs. This new 150,000-square-foot bakery is located adjacent to the King’s Hawaiian’s facility on Aloha Way in the Oakwood South Industrial Park.
• Agile Cold Storage is developing an automated freezer and cold storage operation that will add more than $100 million in new investment and 10 new full-time positions. The new cold storage expansion will serve a large network of food and pharmaceutical manufacturers that rely on cold-chain logistics.
• The Swiss-owned medmix US, a global leader in precision device manufacturing, will open a new medical device manufacturing facility later this year, located at Oakwood South Industrial Park in the City of Oakwood. The company will invest $20 million in the new 300,000 square foot operation and grow to 200 employees in the next five to seven years.
• The City of Gainesville has developed the infrastructure for a new, 1,300-acre business park located between Athens Highway and Candler Road in Gainesville-Hall County. The new Gainesville 85 Business Park will include water features and walking trails and will provide major business infrastructure to support business growth in the community. AT&T has designated the new park as “Fiber-Ready” for its gigabit plus service.
• Cottrell, an industry leader in manufacturing and assembling car haulers and equipment, is completing a new manufacturing facility in Gainesville-Hall County in the new Gainesville 85 Business Park. The company is investing $157 million in the new, 600,000-square-foot facility, which will serve as the North Campus and will be located adjacent to their existing South Campus.
• CJ Logistics America, a subsidiary of Korean based CJ Foodville, is developing a 270,000 square-foot cold-chain logistics facility storage warehouse in Gainesville-Hall County. This new 270,000 square-foot facility has direct access to I-985/Hwy 365 and is adjacent to the Georgia Ports Authority’s new Blue Ridge Connector.
• BTS Bioenergy is planning to open a 51-acre
bioenergy facility in Gainesville that will
process wastewater and produce renewable
natural gas. This facility will also produce a soil
amendment, which is a crucial component in
soil blending. Onsite will be an odor control and
wastewater treatment building that will help
prevent air emissions from leaving the facility.
• Gainesville-Hall County companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Societal CDMO, R&D Systems (formerly Atlanta Biologicals), medmix USA, Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network, Apotheca, Inc., and Theragenics, are among the top life science firms in Hall County.
• Pattillo Industrial Real Estate plans to develop another 200,000-square-foot facility in Flowery Branch. Pattillo, Logistics Property Company, Radial Property Group, Crow Holdings Industrial, Seefried Properties, Taylor & Mathis, Prologis, Presco Property, FD Stonewater, CA Ventures, and The Adams Companies have/are developing speculative buildings for new and expanding industries in the area.
• The Business Incubator at Brenau University is a public-private partnership that provides support to start-up companies, inventors, and entrepreneurs.
• According to the Georgia Department of Labor, 5,908 business establishments represented Gainesville-Hall County employment in 2023. Ninety-nine percent of businesses are categorized as small, using the Small Business Administration’s definition of fewer than 500 employees. Ninety-four percent employ fewer than 50 people.
• Twenty small business owners earned the Greater Hall Chamber’s “Certified Small Business Partner” designation for 2023. Each “Certified Small Business Partner” participated in at least six of the Chamber’s Small Business Success Seminars last year.
• According to the Greater Hall Chamber’s logistics study, Gainesville-Hall County has a growing cluster of 76 logistics firms that employ over 4,800 and provide freight brokerage, 3PL, cold-chain logistics, and transportation services.