Cooper Lighting first discovered Georgia on a Red Carpet Tour several years ago, and its future here gets brighter. In April 2000, the company was named Large Manufacturer of the Year, and, since its initial foray into Georgia, Cooper Lighting has expanded its facilities to include four locations. Americus and Ellaville are home to two manufacturing plants; the Preston facility is a tool-and-die plant; and Peachtree City is home to the company's division headquarters, a warehouse and distribution center, and a customer service center. The company currently employs more than 1,500 Georgians.

Cooper Lighting manufactures innovative, high-quality lighting fixtures and related products that are sold worldwide to commercial, industrial, residential, and utility markets. Consumers would recognize its brand names, which include Halo, Regent, and Metalux, in stores like Home Depot and at all major electrical supply distributors. Braves fans enjoy Cooper Lighting products at Turner Field, and visitors to Bill Gates' home in Seattle would have Cooper Lighting to thank while taking a tour of the house.

"Georgia has become a mecca for the lighting industry," explains Tim Forse, Cooper Lighting's director of marketing services. "We were courted heavily by three states when we were trying to decide where to locate, and are Georgia's Red Carpet Tour and the services offered by Quick Start were two of the main reasons we're here."

Fritz Zeck, the company's president and one of the founders of Cooper Lighting, brings more than 30 years of experience in the industry with him to Georgia and believes his company is well positioned to become number one.

Quick Start and Cooper Lighting have worked together four times, starting back in 1997. At the company's warehouse and call center in Peachtree City, Quick Start helped with everything from the basics of forklift use to training scenarios used in recruitment, as well as extensive visual study aids for equipment use. In 2001, Quick Start helped in high-performance leadership training and software training, which was administered from the Quick Start mobile technology lab.

"Quick Start worked with us diligently to determine our needs, develop training, and schedule Microsoft Project (training) and other classes at times that fit our needs," Forse says.

He adds that his only problem with Quick Start is a good one to have: "We simply don't have the time to take advantage of all of Quick Start's services. I wish we did!"

Moving the company headquarters to Georgia put the management team closer to its manufacturing locations, combined the offices of product development, and connected the customer service arm of the company. "Economic developers around Georgia should not underestimate what Quick Start can do for them in the effort to land new businesses in their counties. I highly recommend the Quick Start team." QS