ELK Group International, a Pennsylvania-based designer and importer of lighting fixtures, is outfitting a former yarn mill in Sylvania as a distribution center projected to employ more than 100 people.
Georgia Department of Economic Development and Screven County Development Authority officials announced the project last week as a new industry for Screven County.
The building ELK is occupying, with a reported investment of $2 million, is the former Sylvania Yarn Systems mill, which closed in December 2009 with the loss of 150 jobs. So, the ELK group investment represents recovery in job numbers. A larger apparent gain for Screven County, an Indian-headquartered company's construction of a new $70 million yarn mill that was to have employed 250 people, was announced in July 2014 but has never materialized.
"Georgia is a hub for thriving companies such as ELK Group International, and their decision to open a new facility in Sylvania is a great win for the region," state Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said in a news release. "With access to a skilled workforce and an efficient transportation infrastructure, ELK will find it easy to meet the growing demands of their customers and expand their business in Sylvania."
The announcement referred to the jobs as "new employment opportunities over the next three years to include positions in office and warehouse operations."
Founded in 1983, ELK designs and imports indoor and outdoor, residential and commercial lighting fixtures and home decor items. The Sylvania distribution center will be ELK's seventh U.S. location. The fixtures ELK sells are manufactured in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Major customers include Home Depot, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond, Bealls, Kohls and Stein Mart.
"Expanding our distribution network to the Southeast allows us to support current and future growth while enhancing service levels for our customers," said Todd Webb, chief operating officer of ELK Group International. "The management of the Screven County Development Authority and the city of Sylvania were instrumental in the decision process, and we look forward to being an active member of the local community."
ELK Group International is headquartered in Nesquehoning, Penn. It distributes products under the brand names ELK, Dimond Lighting, Stein World, Dimond Home, GuildMaster, Sterling, Thomas Lighting, Lamp Works, Pomeroy, Mirror Masters, Ryvyr and ELK Hospitality. The company has showrooms for various assortments of these brands in Atlanta; Dallas; High Point, N.C.; Tupelo, Miss.; Las Vegas; and New York.
Back to business
The former yarn mill is a big building, measuring 420,000 square feet. ELK Group purchased the property in December and has been renovating it, said Dorie Bacon, executive director of the Screven County Development Authority.
"When we met Mark Fludgate, president, and Todd Webb with ELK Group International, we immediately knew this could be a seamless fit in our community," said Bobby Smith, the Development Authority's chairman, quoted in the news release.
"The former Sylvania Yarn Systems Building has housed a vital part of our industry mix in Sylvania for decades prior to being shuttered in 2009," Smith said. "It is great to see it active again and even better to see a vibrant and strong partner joining us in Screven County. I also want to thank the Screven County Board of Commissioners, the city of Sylvania, the Georgia Department of Economic Development and our other partners for their support of economic development efforts."
Alyce Thornhill, Georgia Department of Economic Development regional project manager, represented the Global Commerce division in working with the Screven County Development Authority and the city of Sylvania.
ELK has a goal to begin moving products through the new center in March, "a pretty aggressive timeline," Bacon told the Statesboro Herald. The 100 jobs are to be phased in over several years, and the company has not announced a number of jobs to be created this year, she said.
Jobs postings will be listed through the Georgia Department of Labor site, http://employgeorgia.com, as they become available, she said. A Department of Labor staff member confirmed this but said none had been posted yet.
Yarn mill not built
In July 2014, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and ShriVallabh Pittie Group Chairman Vinod Pittie of India came to a field on the edge of Sylvania and broke ground with other state and local officials for an announced $70 million yarn-spinning plant. It was to be SV Pittie Group's first plant outside India, where it operated 12 at the time.
The Development Authority provided a 70-acre site for the mill, but nothing has been built. SV Pittie remains under an agreement, set to expire June 30, with the state, Bacon said. If nothing is built, the Development Authority keeps the property, she said.
Screven County and its Development Authority did not have to provide incentives to ELK Group International, which purchased the existing building from Sylvania Yarn Systems, Bacon said.
"They're here and they're a great company, and we're very excited," she said.
Information available online from the Screven County Tax Assessors office shows the site and buildings valued at $720,300 for tax purposes based on a $750,000 sale Dec. 19, 2016, from Sylvania Yarn Systems to Alan James Georgia LLC.