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Retailer to ship
from Dublin

Fred’s, a Memphis-based retail chain, added 150 new jobs in the central Georgia area with the construction of a Southeast Distribution Center in Dublin. The distribution center will open this spring and supply merchandise to more than 200 of the chain’s 424 stores. The facility will rely on the efficiency of Quick Start-trained employees in all functions of the operation.

“We’ve been fortunate to find a place like Dublin,” said Don Seymour, the center’s director of operations. “The city and county have been fantastic. They have been there for us 110 percent.”

Another partner in the project was the Department of Labor’s Dublin Career Center, which screened over 1,400 applications. “For Dublin, this was a huge project,” said Monte Craft, manager of the center. “Fred’s is great for this area.”

The company entered a training agreement with Quick Start this past fall, and training has included core skills such as conveying systems, labeling and distribution-center
fundamentals. Trainees also learned job-specific skills in inbound and outbound procedures such as RF scanning, case packing and inventory control.

Randall Peters, Heart of Georgia Technical College president, cited the importance of conducting the training early. “If the locomotive is on track,” he said, “the rest of the train will be OK.”

Only two years old and growing fast, Unique Plastic Packaging is doubling its workforce to nearly 80 with the addition of three new blow- molding machines. The 81,000-sq.-ft. plant, located in Jackson County in northeast Georgia, manufactures PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles for several markets, including household products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Quick Start and Lanier Technical College are training the new workers in safety, lift vehicle operation, ergonomics and industrial control. Quick Start is also providing training in advanced technology as well as Lean Manufacturing.

“We’re excited about working with Quick Start,” said Plant Manager Bryant Martin at the recent training plan signing. “Our business is growing, and we need the training.”

Unique Plastic Packaging is a division of Belgium-based Resilux, a firm that’s well-known in Europe and making its first PET foray into the United States.

Orange Glo bottles march out of the blow-molding machine. The company has room to add more blow-molders as the business grows.

Turbo training

A manufacturer of automotive turbochargers has set up shop in Rossville, in Gordon County, and will hire 15 people. Tennessee Turbocharger Components is getting Quick Start training in Lean Manufacturing, turbocharging concepts and TS 16949, a quality management system that ensures compliance with automaker quality directives.

“We have only witnessed the tip of the iceberg of this training project, and so far the quality far exceeds our expectation,” said Honor Brandao, the company’s operations director. “The support we have received from Quick Start and the staff of Northwestern Technical College has been exceptional.”

“We have only witnessed the
tip of the iceberg of this training project, and so far the quality far exceeds our expectation.”

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