An Illinois wholesaler will add 300 jobs in Henry County as part of a plan to use metro Atlanta as a hub for shipping through the southeast.
S&S Activewear, which ships "imprintable material" – including shirts, jackets, hoodies, aprons and coolers – will add a 505,000-square-foot warehouse at the Midland Logistic Center in McDonough by mid-2018, according to an announcement by the company and state officials.
The materials, made by a range of manufacturers, is imprinted with company, school and team logos.
The company's announcement follows many others for retailers and wholesalers, from Amazon to Walmart to Dollar General, who have been opening warehouse and distribution centers in metro Atlanta.
For example, state officials a year ago announced plans by Wayfair, which sells home furnishings and décor online, to created 150 jobs in opening a distribution center in McDonough.
Logistics – the storage, handling, shipping and delivery of goods – has become a big part of the metro Atlanta economy, representing more than 100,000 jobs, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state promotes logistics as a growth opportunity for out-of-state companies.
S&S, which was founded in 1988, already has similar warehouse and distribution centers in California, New Jersey, Illinois and Kansas, according to a statement by Frank Myers, the company's chief operating officer.
The McDonough plans are part of an expansion that includes a large warehouse to be opened in Fort Worth, Texas, he said. “The strategic location and sophistication of the new facility will allow us to provide our industry’s best service and product to our customers in the southeast.”
The McDonough facility, about 35 miles southeast of Atlanta on I-75, would give it accelerated access to those customers, he said.
The new jobs will include warehouse, supervisory and management positions, the company said.
Henry County has an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, just slightly higher than the 5.5 percent rate for the state of Georgia. The county has 109,556 people in the workforce, according to the most recent data from the state Labor Department.
The county has 6,237 people who are out of work, but looking for a job, according to the Labor Department.
About the Author
