Apparently, Newnan was doing something right.
A German company that had been renting a distribution center in the west Georgia community now plans to set up its U.S. headquarters there, a new 50,000-square-foot building where it will manufacture and distribute wheels and casters.
Blickle USA’s new digs are set to be completed next November and will include enough room to expand to four times its initial size if needed in the future.
The announcement comes as Newnan and Coweta County make new strides in training the area’s workforce early under an education and apprenticeship model common in Germany. The pilot program, known as the Georgia Consortium for Advanced Technical Training, or GA-CATT, is backed by German companies like Grenzebach and E.G.O. North America, which also have factories in the area.
The first teenagers in the program are studying industrial mechanics and will eventually shift from their academic work at the West Georgia Technical College into practical, on-site work when they turn 16.
Having such a unique program shows that the area is preparing its future workforce, adding a different dimension to Newnan’s existing advantages, including its proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Interstate 85, Greg Wright, president of the Coweta County Development Authority, told Global Atlanta in an email.
“Having a local apprenticeship program like GA CATT – the first of its kind in the nation – helps demonstrate to companies that Coweta County is an innovative community, particularly when it comes to the education of our future workforce,” Mr. Wright said. “We think that is a strong selling point to our international prospects, particularly to German companies who are already familiar with the apprenticeship model.”
The German-American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S. Inc., based in Atlanta, has been a strong proponent of the apprenticeship model as a way to help build a pipeline of quality employees for German companies, both around Georgia and in the South.
GACC-South Vice President Stefanie Jehlitschka recently won the Woman in International Business Award at the World Trade Center Atlanta’s Governor’s International Awards earlier this month for her role in helping set up the program.
