Club Car Opens New Urban Vehicle Manufacturing Facility
This month Club Car, a leading manufacturer of golf, utility and personal transportation vehicles, celebrated the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Appling, Georgia.
The new facility is located in the White Oak Business Park which is located at the intersection of US 221 and I-20 just west of Augusta. The Club Car plant is flanked by two new Amazon fulfillment centers.
The new 105,000 square foot facility is a combination production and warehouse space to support growing demand for Club Car’s Urban vehicle, a versatile model with the durability of a pickup truck and the efficiency of an EV.
The Club Car Urban is available in both street legal and non-street legal versions. The Urban also features a variety of bed options ranging from 5.25 feet to 6.9 feet and even a box van configuration with barn style rear doors.
The street legal version of the Urban has a capacity for 1,400 lbs. and starts at $28,124. The non-street legal version has a 2,204 lbs. capacity and starts at $26,874.
French Aircraft Manufacturer To Build New Plant In Sarasota
An upstart French maker of a revolutionary light aircraft has announced plans to build a new manufacturing facility at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ).
Established in 2015, Elixir Aircraft was founded with the goal of building safer light aircraft borrowing an approach popular in the world of competitive sailing: casting the structure in one piece to enhance safety and lower operating costs.
From its home base in La Rochelle, Elixir has manufactured and delivered 20 aircraft to date while orders for new aircraft exceed 200, according to the company’s press release which gives additional details on the new Sarasota manufacturing facility:
Elixir Aircraft’s US facility will reassemble aircraft with components shipped from Europe in order to deliver them to US-based customers. The Florida establishment will also provide administrative and post-sales support to the US market.
With the new manufacturing facility in Sarasota and another just announced in Western France, Elixir hopes to ramp up annual production to 400 aircraft per year by 2030 while also growing its staff to 1,000 employees from 150 currently.
Scientific Games Celebrates New Instant Scratch Game Technology
Scientific Games, the largest creator and manager of lottery instant games in the world, held a ribbon cutting this month at their Global Headquarters in Alpharetta to celebrate a major investment in instant scratch game technology.
The $65 million investment promises to provide “the highest level of game security, quality and innovation in the lottery industry.” And this new investment has global implications considering that Scientific Games accounts for 70% of the world’s instant game retail sales.
This month, La Fleur’s Magazine, showcased five of Scientific Games’ instant scratch games that were extremely popular over the recent Christmas holiday. These games highlight the company’s many scratch lottery innovations including holographic treatments and scented inks.
Founded in 1973, Scientific Games has offices and facilities in over 40 cities around the world including major operations in five cities: Atlanta, Montreal, Vienna, Santiago (Chile), and Leeds (UK).
Florida Manufacturing Sector Shines In Inaugural Report
A new report on the state of manufacturing in Florida will probably surprise many outsiders who thought the Sunshine State was not a manufacturing powerhouse.
The inaugural Florida’s Manufacturing Report found that the over 25,000 manufacturing facilities in Florida contribute more to the state’s GDP than traditional industries like agriculture, transportation and even tourism.
As the graph above shows, Florida and Georgia are the two states with the highest growth rates in manufacturing employment over the past decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other notable finding regarding the manufacturing sector in Florida include the following:
- Higher Wages: The 2022 average annual wage for workers in the manufacturing industry cluster exceeded the average annual wage for all industries by 17.%.
- Multiplier Effect: For every 100 direct manufacturing jobs in the manufacture of durable goods, another 744 indirect jobs are sustained.
- GDP Growth: Florida’s manufacturing GDP has grown from $43 billion in 2014 to $73 billion in 2022, a 68% growth rate over 9 years.
- Eclipsing New York: Florida’s manufacturing employment reached 422,800 in September 2023, passing New York to become the 10th largest state in the country for manufacturing employment.
Shaw Industries Installs Innovative Solar Technology
Shaw Industries Group, one of the world’s largest carpet manufacturers with over $6 billion in annual revenue, has announced the installation of innovative solar technology at the company’s manufacturing and recycling facility in Adairsville.
The half-acre solar installation went live at Shaw Plant T1 in mid-April and was commemorated with an official “flipping of the switch” ceremony at the facility on April 16.
Shaw’s new solar installation is expected to generate approximately 300 kW of power, enough to power more than 45 homes’ electricity, according to conversion factors from the EPA.
Shaw, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, has reportedly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 57% since 2010 and plans to achieve net zero operations by 2030.
Contact CII Today
If you own an established manufacturing business in Florida or Georgia and would like to get a better understanding of the current market value of your company and important steps you can take today to maximize that value, get in touch with a CII business advisor today.