ATLANTA — It might not be a lucky number, but Georgia’s political leaders are celebrating the state’s ranking as the top location for corporate expansions for the 13th year in a row.
The designation was based on a survey of 50 corporate site selection consultants nationwide.
“Georgia’s 13th consecutive year as Area Development’s No. 1 Top State for Doing Business is an extraordinary achievement and reflects a level of consistency that few states have been able to match,” Dennis Shea, president and publisher of Area Development, said in a statement.
The quarterly magazine, founded in 1965, covers corporate site selection and relocation.
States were scored on more than a dozen factors. Georgia took the top spot in several, including access to workers with manufacturing skills, government cooperation and responsiveness, and help in expediting the development process.
“That consistency is exactly what has allowed Georgia to sustain its position as Area Development’s top state for doing business,” Shea said.
Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement Wednesday that the ranking showed Georgia was core to “the American comeback story across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing.”
Fellow Republican, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, credited tax cuts and efforts to develop the workforce. House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, echoed those sentiments and noted the Legislature’s investments in early literacy.
This year, Kemp signed House Bill 1193 into law, giving schools $70 million a year to put about 1,300 literacy coaches into classrooms.
Kemp’s office credited $28 million in funding to help rural communities prepare industrial sites.
Earlier this week, Pirelli, a global tire producer based in Italy, announced a $1.2 billion expansion of its U.S. operations base in northwest Georgia, adding as many as 1,000 jobs at its Rome facility over seven years.
Last month, German industrial giant Siemens announced plans to create 1,400 jobs in northeast Georgia. Siemens Group USA already employs more than 1,700 people at two plants and six offices across Georgia. The company said it planned to invest $185 million to establish a half-million-square-foot facility near Pendergrass.