Maury Alliance quarterly update: SGB invests $1.7M to create 40 new jobs

The current state of economic development appears to be in good standing, according to a quarterly report presented by the Maury Chamber and Economic Alliance.

Maury Alliance President Wil Evans presented the latest data to Columbia City Council earlier this month, discussing topics such as job growth, major pipeline projects and economic projections over the next year.

Starting off, Evans acknowledged a recent "fantastic win" for the city with the announcement regarding SGB Enterprises relocating its headquarters to Columbia, as well as expanding the company's design and manufacturing operations.

"The company specializes in designing and manufacturing procedural training systems, like flight simulators, maintenance trainers and other simulated avionics and control components for the aerospace industry," Evans said. "They are investing $1.7 million to create 40 new jobs. The best part of this announcement is that it hits right in that sweet spot of our recent strike zone ... which is high wages or high-quality jobs, industry diversification and appropriate use of site and infrastructure."

Mayor Chaz Molder added that a big reason SGB's announcement can be considered a valuable win is that it not only will bring new jobs to the area, but quality jobs which also pay well.

"Of course, we like job announcements of all kinds, and we certainly celebrate them, but in this market we are currently in, sometimes the quality is just as important as the quantity," Molder said. "It's just truly a win-win that should be noted. Columbia will certainly benefit from it, as well as the county as a whole."

Evans continued saying the city's current project pipeline "remains strong," with a lot of current projects focusing on expansion of existing businesses.

"Everything is kind of on par, though the unemployment rate has kind of ebbed and flowed between low 3% to high 2% rates over the last two years," Evans said. "The median rent is also up from $1,381 last year, though the home price has decreased 8% from this time last year. Nothing to be alarmed with, but that's where we've seen some of the most notable changes."

October is also recognized as Manufacturing Month, and to celebrate, Maury Alliance will partner with Maury County Public Schools and Columbia State Community College for an opportunity to teach career and technical education (CTE) students. This year's event will take place Oct. 27.

"The CTE students will tour various manufacturing facilities across the county, specifically JC Ford here in Columbia, as well as GCP Applied Technologies and Fuel Total Systems in Mt. Pleasant," Evans said. "This will give them close interaction with the manufacturing operations of today. We will also be hosting a lunch at Columbia State with Ultium Cells, where they will talk about the types of jobs that are available out there."

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Maury Alliance quarterly update: 'economics and job growth are strong'