Food and Beverage Project Expenditures in Georgia on Track for $1 Billion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Food and beverage companies with manufacturing and distribution assets in Georgia are spending heavily on new plants and expansions to the tune of nearly $1 billion. Industrial Info is tracking more than 50 capital and maintenance projects across the "Peach State" with an aggregate investment value of more than $963 million. Those figures are expected to surge well past $1 billion by the end of the year.

Projects range in value from $500,000 to $225 million.

The majority of projects call for in-plant upgrades or expansions of existing facilities. Meanwhile, the value of grassroot construction activity represents roughly 46% of the value of all current project spending plans. The three new facilities that are being proposed include a water bottling plant in Coweta County, a coffee products plant in Richmond County, and a large food distribution center in Fulton County.

Click on the image at right to view a breakdown of project expenditures by county.

Project plans span the range of the industry's segments and include:

• $100 million sugar refinery expansion
• $49 million poultry slaughtering plant expansion
• $20 million tortilla corn mill addition
• $15 million food distribution center expansion
• $5 million beef and pork processing plant expansion

Georgia is well-known for its poultry-processing sector and is the self-proclaimed "poultry capital of the world." Companies such as Tyson Foods Incorporated (NYSE:TSN) (Springdale, Arkansas), Koch Foods LLC, and Fieldale Farms are among the state's leading poultry processors with current expansion plans.

The food processing industry, by as much as 25%, is the largest contributor to Georgia's gross state product (GSP), which measures the economic output of a state. It is also the state's leading manufacturing sector in terms of employment.

Industrial Info's database of active capital and maintenance expenditures in the Food and Beverage Industry across North America and the Sugar Processing Industry and Water Desalination Segment worldwide shows current expenditures of $50 billion and more than 3,000 active projects. The North American portion comes out to more than 1,900 active projects that total more than $29.5 billion.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.