LAFAYETTE, Georgia - With unemployment at historic lows across Northwest Georgia, Walker County's biggest employer is in the midst of one of its biggest expansions ever to keep up with demand for its ovens, stoves and other appliances.
GE Appliances' Roper Corp., which has already boosted staffing, output and distribution facilities with more than $130 million of investments in Northwest Georgia since 2019, plans to hire another 646 workers in the next couple of years to expand its staff to nearly 2,700 workers as part of another $113 million upgrade of the sprawling, 1.2 million-square-foot appliance plant in south Walker County.
Across Northwest Georgia, Roper is adding more than 1,000 jobs with its first Smart Distribution Center in nearby Jackson County and a distribution outlet at the new Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County.
"To see these jobs coming to the United States and Northwest Georgia - it doesn't get any better than that," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday during a tour of the Roper plant. "We're doing better than most states with the lowest unemployment rate we've ever had in our state and the least number of people on our unemployment rolls in decades."
Kemp and Roper executives acknowledged that filling all of those jobs could be a challenge with unemployment below 2% across Northwest Georgia, according to the latest figures compiled by the Georgia Department of Labor.
"It's a good problem we have in our state, even though everybody is looking for more people," Kemp said.
To entice workers into the Roper plant, the appliance maker recently boosted production pay by $1 an hour for most workers here and added attendance bonuses that Roper President Lois Crandell said effectively adds another $1 an hour pay in worker paychecks. New employees are able to earn up to $18.50 an hour, plus benefits, on their first day of work, Crandell said.
"We're trying to be creative and reward our workers as we continue to grow," she said.
Manufacturing wages are rising at many growing manufacturers in the Chattanooga region. Volkswagen officials said Friday they are raising pay for production workers in Chattanooga by 10%, and Southern Champion Tray is offering a $1,500 sign-on bonus to lure new workers.
Crandell said Roper has focused on creating a culture of worker involvement and listening to employee concerns. In response, the company has added an app to provide workers more flexibility in their work and schedules, "and that is working very well." The company also offers up to $40,000 in tuition reimbursement for those looking to further their education. Roper last year won the top Torch award for marketplace ethics from the Better Business Bureau.
"Hiring is a challenge for employers everywhere, but this is a great employer that people can work at and retire from," said Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield.
But even with its improvements in pay, flexibility and status, Roper is competing for workers in a labor market that still hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, even with the lowest jobless rates in history.
Unemployment at the end of 2021 fell in Walker County to 1.8%, the lowest rate on record, and the jobless rate was similar or even lower in neighboring Catoosa, Dade and Whitfield counties.
Investing in America
General Electric sold its century-old appliances business to China-based Haier for $5.6 billion in 2016 to focus on other businesses. But even under foreign ownership, GE's appliance division has kept its corporate identity and invested more in the United States than any other appliance maker over the past five years.
At GE Appliances' Roper plant here in the past three years, nearly $250 million has been spent or allocated to boost appliance production capacity by up to 50% while improving the supply chain.
"When you look around the country and see what has happened with the supply chain problems, what is happening here is so crucial," Kemp said. "We are going to be part of the solution by manufacturing in America, right here in Georgia."
Kemp said he is committed to keeping Georgia as a pro-business state and opposes government mandates or restrictions on how businesses and schools operate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've seen around the country that when kids are not in school and when businesses are closed, students don't do as well and livelihoods are hurt in ways that could last for decades," Kemp said. "Fortunately, we've seen less of that in Georgia."
Kemp said giving industry more flexibility has helped the state's economy and business growth.
Home appliance sales grow
While pandemic-induced labor shortages have challenged hiring activity, Roper has benefited from pandemic-fueled spending on home devices and upgrades close to home.
GfK (Good for Knowledge), an industry consulting firm, estimated total appliance sales in 2021 reached a record $362 billion, up 8% from the previous year when plant shutdowns in the spring of 2020 limited some appliance production.
"The focus on people's homes is further fueled by the buying mood," GfK spokeswoman Julia Richter said in an industry report last year. "When it comes to storage, food preparation, cooking and even cleaning chores, consumers value performance/capacity, high quality and top class."
Roper officials said they are responding to the increased and shifting demands of consumers with new and improved products, manufacturing processes and distribution channels. The company produces more than 240 different products under four different labels at its Lafayette plant, and the latest investment will produce some new upgrades in ovens and stoves, officials said.
"Investing in U.S. manufacturing allows us to be closer to our consumers and serve them better and faster, which is critical to GE Appliances' business strategy," said Bill Good, vice president of manufacturing for GE Appliances.
A new economic impact report prepared by GE shows the Roper facility has boosted Georgia's gross domestic product by more than $2.4 billion, driven in part by the company's more than $77 million in purchases from 256 Georgia suppliers.
Kemp said state and local governments offered tax and training assistance to encourage Roper to make its latest expansion.
Whitfield said the appliance maker was granted property tax breaks on much of its $118 million upgrade, but the company will still pay an additional $1 million a year in taxes after the expansion.
"It's a win for manufacturing , a win for jobs and a win for our schools that will get more funding as a result of this expansion," Whitfield said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.