- Valdosta is set to gain 100 new jobs with the opening of P&B Cold Storage's new facility, contributing to the over 1,000 jobs added to the area in the past two years.
- This $30 million investment will offer high-paying positions, further boosting the local economy and providing more employment opportunities for residents.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors about how this move will impact their wallets.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Valdosta has seen over a thousand jobs come to the area in the last two years.
Now, I'm digging into where another hundred will come from.
"What Lowndes County is doing is great; I think bringing more industry here is wonderful for our community."
I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta,.
I'm taking a look at how these jobs are helping our neighbors' wallets.
Joshua Whittington has lived in South Georgia his whole life.
"South Georgia for a long time we've been known just for our agricultural success and now to step into the industrial atmosphere to step into manufacturing into distribution."
His passion for regional industry led him to his work in economic development for Wiregrass Tech, where he helps students develop skills to work jobs like P&B is bringing to the Azalea City.
"The reason why I'm in education, I like to see people thrive. I like to see people get out there and and use the skills that they've learned not only to to better themselves, but to to better a community partner."
And P&B Cold Storage is here to help with just that by bringing in 100 jobs in supervising, forklift operation and maintenance.
"They provide high paying jobs and are a good investment in the community.
Brad Folsom is the chair of the Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority.
He tells me P&B's $30 million investment is the latest of several projects for the Valdosta area.
"Over the last couple of years we've launched over 1700 jobs and quite a large number of investments, so that has a multiplier effect."
Wages here will range from $19-$25, which Josh tells me is exactly what Valdostans need in this economy.
"Everyone's looking for something that's their niche that that they feel comfortable working in and i think that you know the more options that we have for employment the the more options that we can give our community."
Our region has seen over $1.1 billion in economic investment since 2019. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
