MACON, Ga. — A $150 million warehouse will soon be chilling chickens in east Macon, also bringing more than 100 new jobs.
Macon is home to numerous long-established industries like YKK, and GEICO. Joining them soon is Agile Cold Storage. Don Schoenl is the company's CEO. He says they'll build in two phases.
"The phase one of this plant will predominantly be servicing poultry companies, producers from the state of Georgia who want to get their products to the port of Savannah," Schoenl said.
Phase two involves a regional distributions center.
"We'll store frozen chicken in phase one. Then we'll store fruits, vegetables, and French fries in phase two," Schoenl said.
They'll ship produce from Miami to Nashville and Raleigh to New Orleans. Mayor Lester Miller says he's looking forward to the growth it will bring Macon.
"With the close proximity to the Savannah port, it makes perfect sense to have a cold storage facility just a shipping container away from getting across not only the United States, but across the world," Miller said.
"We'll be very involved in the Macon community and hiring people that are from the community, so we are looking forward to it impacting a number of families' lives," Schoenl said.
Miller hopes the partnership will be another milestone for Macon-Bibb County.
"We want to spread the love around the whole world, right? And I think chicken and vegetables are a better way to to do that. We are excited about promoting our own products," Miller said.
Folks who want a job at the facility can start applying in the next six months. Phase one, the cold storage site, should open sometime next year.