 |  |  | View All |  |  | SPOTLIGHT ON: First Data
Fortune 500 electronic commerce and payment processing firm First Data Corp. plans to relocate its global headquarters to Atlanta, Governor Perdue announced. First Data plans to hire new positions to support the business and product development that they anticipate will be needed in the coming years. The company expects to hire up to 1,000 employees in Atlanta over the next three years. | |  | |  | Exide Technologies, a lead-acid battery manufacturer, has received a $34.3 million federal grant and will create up to 200 manufacturing jobs at its location in Columbus. Exide Technologies, a 2009 Fortune 1000 company, is based in Milton, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The $34.3 million grant is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which supports the domestic production of affordable lead-acid batteries incorporating advanced carbon technology. |  | Dendreon Corporation, a Seattle-based biotechnology company, will locate a new $70 million manufacturing facility in Union City. The company expects to manufacture PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T) for patients with advanced prostate cancer. PROVENGE is currently under review by the FDA, and should the product receive approval, the manufacturing plant could generate several hundred new biotechnology jobs in the Atlanta region. | | |  |  |  |  |  | | | | Do you know of a promising small business that might benefit from a mentoring relationship with one of Georgia’s leading corporations? Sept. 15 is the deadline to submit applications for the Mentor Protégé Connection, Georgia’s landmark program that pairs small businesses with global movers and shakers. | | Georgia entrepreneurs and small businesses now have greater opportunities to do business with the U.S. Air Force at Robins Air Force Base and the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC). The WR-ALC’s Office of Small Business Programs recently moved its offices to a more accessible location, eliminating visitors’ need for a pass or permit. The office is now located in Building 205, near the corner of Richard Ray Boulevard and Page Road. | | Pecan and candy manufacturer Tracy-Luckey of Harlem expanded its manufacturing capacity with the purchase of new equipment, recently closing an EIP loan to assist with the purchase. The 117-year-old company purchases pecans from quality growers, processes them and sells shelled pecans to all types of users: retailers, wholesale distributors, candy makers and confectioners, bakers, ice cream manufacturers and other industrial users. Growing consumer demand necessitated the expansion. Tracy-Luckey was assisted by GDEcD regional project manager Adela Kelley.
"Adela Kelley was instrumental in helping us discover all of the opportunities that were available to us through the state of Georgia for the purpose of growing our business."
– Ruth Tracy, CEO | | |  |  | | |  | View All | | | Technology economic development expert Glen Whitley recently joined GDEcD as a project manager on the Health Sciences & Advanced Technologies team. Whitley comes to GDEcD from the technology trade group AeA, now called TechAmerica, where he served as executive director for the Southeast Council. Whitley has an extensive background in technology development, including stints at the British Consulate as Consul for Trade and Investment and Head of Regional Inward Investment. He has also worked for prominent electronics and aviation companies. Whitley holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University and an MBA from Georgia State University. | | Join GDEcD for a delegation to the Americas Competitiveness Forum September 27-29, 2009 in Santiago, Chile. The conference brings together public authorities, businesspeople, and experts from 34 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean. Sessions are designed to promote an increased level of competitiveness in the current economic context. For more information, contact Alex Mejia, Executive Director, CIFAL Atlanta. | | Interested in expanding your business abroad? Meet with Sherwin Pomerantz, managing director of GDEcD’s Israel office, on Sept. 30 to discuss your product’s potential for expansion in Israel or the Middle East. Appropriate sectors include manufactured goods or services with market potential in the Middle East, and there is no charge for the meeting. For more information, please contact senior international trade manager Kathy Oxford. | | | | | | |  | 
 |  | | | Business Resources | | | Upcoming Opportunities | |  | SEUS-Japan
Tokyo, Japan
November 18-21, 2009
Join the GDEcD delegation and attend the 33rd annual joint meeting to explore business investment and trade opportunities between companies in Georgia and Japan. Registration ends September 22, 2009. For more information, contact Kathe Falls.
| | Medica
Düsseldorf, Germany
November 18-21, 2009
Attend or exhibit at the world’s largest forum for inpatient and outpatient medicine. More than 135,000 visitors from over 100 countries are expected to attend this medical trade show. Medica regularly features more than 4,300 exhibitors over 1.3 million square feet of exhibit space. For more information, contact Mary Waters. | | | Dubai Airshow
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 15 – 19, 2009
GDEcD is seeking Georgia export companies and communities interested in joining its delegation to the Dubai Airshow. To help Georgia companies capitalize on the event, GDEcD has created affordable event packages targeting those who would not otherwise be able to travel to the event. For more information, contact Kathy Oxford. | | | | | |
