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Vanguard National Trailer Corp., a leading semi-trailer manufacturer based in Monon, Ind., invested about $30 million in a new manufacturing facility in Dade County, starting production in August 2016 with 70 employees at the Trenton, Ga., plant. Once operating at full capacity, the new location is expected to create 400 jobs.

“We are excited to welcome Vanguard National Trailer Corp. to Dade County,” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. “Their decision to establish a manufacturing and assembly plant in Georgia is a testament to our economic development assets that are critical in generating job opportunities for Georgians. I am confident that Vanguard Trailer Corp. will benefit from opening a new facility in our state and further prove why Georgia is a top destination for job creators.”

Vanguard National Trailer Corp. broke ground on the nearly 100-acre site in the Dade County Industrial Park on September 3, 2015 and built the new 356,000 square-foot facility over the course of a year. Vanguard National Trailer Corp. manufactures dry freight and refrigerated semi-trailer vans for the North American transportation industry. The newly-created jobs include both office and manufacturing positions. Vanguard National Trailer also took advantage of Georgia’s Quick Start program, the nation’s No. 1 workforce training program.

“We are excited that Vanguard Trailer Corp. is locating to Georgia and taking advantage of one of the state’s greatest economic development assets in Quick Start,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who was Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development at the time of the announcement. “I am confident that Vanguard will be successful for many years to come and will find Georgia to be an excellent place in which to do business."

Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Director of Logistics, Energy, Agribusiness & Food Processing, Brittany Holtzclaw, supported the company on behalf of Georgia in partnership with the Dade County Industrial Development Authority, the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, Georgia Power and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

In May of 2014, Audia Group announced plans for a new manufacturing plant in Northwest Georgia. Audia International, Inc. is a plastics compounding, color solutions, and distribution company with a 60-year history of customer focused growth.

Since the announcement, plans for the Walker County facility have already grown from a 240,000-square foot manufacturing facility to more than 300,000 square feet of space and will be the anchor tenant for the new 460-acre Walker County Business Park.

“They first contacted our office in August of 2012,” says Keith Barclift, project manager for the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority. “Audia was looking for an existing building at the time, but over next few months the project began looking into a new build-out. Larry Brooks with Walker County did a wonderful at job at keeping the project active and interested in Northwest Georgia.”

Barclift says that having an anchor tenant for the 460-acre park is exciting because it increases the marketability of the greenfield park.

“Everyone has land they could market, but unless you have the infrastructure in place it is hard to convince a prospect that the site is viable,” Barclift says. “Having a tenant in the park with roads cut, industrial-grade utilities in place, and all the due diligence done is a huge step for the new Walker County Business Park and we commend Commissioner Heiskell for her foresight.”

Audia will be investing over $50MM and will create 200 jobs in Northwest Georgia when the build-out is complete. Site preparation work has already begun with operations expected to be up and running in the third quarter of 2015.