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A Glass Act

French firm settles in Georgia with a plant to decorate perfume bottles

rural Georgia county is getting an economic boost from a company originally founded to help restore the economy of 17th-century France.

Created by Louis XIV to train glass artisans for the Palace of Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors, Saint-Gobain recently opened a plant in Hancock County to decorate glass perfume bottles. The new, 65,000-sq.-ft. facility is located in Sparta and is providing 200 much-needed jobs to an area hard-hit by the decline of the textile industry.

Vying against a town in Mexico for the plant site, Sparta and Hancock County worked diligently to attract Saint-Gobain. The community was able to outmatch the competition with construction funds from the OneGeorgia Authority and workforce training from Quick Start.

Left: Saint-Gobain Plant Manager Tristan Thommasson explains the decorating process to Secretary of State
Cathy Cox during a tour of the new Sparta facility. Center: Patricia Ward inspects a perfume bottle.
Right: Decoration Director Rita Poole chats with Sandersville Tech VP of economic development Leigh
Evans at the plant’s opening celebration.

“The community support we received was a key element in our decision to invest in Sparta, and continues to reinforce our reasons for choosing this community,” said Plant Manager Tristan Thommasson at the Oct. 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In addition to Quick Start and Sandersville Technical College, he gave special nods of thanks to Betty Hill, Hancock County Commission chairperson; state Rep. Sistie Hudson; R.K. Sehgal, Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism commissioner; and the GDITT’s Deborah Lohnes, whom Thommasson cited as “a real asset.”

Transportation was also in Sparta’s favor in landing the plant, since Saint-Gobain’s glass-blowing facility in Covington manufactures the bottles that are decorated at the new plant. Yet another advantage was the quality of the workforce.

“We had the technology,” said Thommasson. “Now we have the people who will make the difference with the competition.”

The Sparta plant has hired a number of people who had worked for years in the area’s now-closed textile mills. Decoration Director Rita Poole commended their work ethics. “Many of our employees were inspectors at the sewing plants,” she said, “so they already had good eye-to-hand coordination.”

Inspection is a key function at the decorating plant, where the
etching of designs and logos must be perfect for customers that include Lancome, Calvin Klein, Estee Lauder, Victoria’s Secret, Chanel and Bath & Body Works. The glass bottles are dipped in solution to give a frosted, satin finish, and brand names are applied by a screen-printing process. Inspectors look for such defects as broken letters or ink that’s too heavy.

To help the plant’s inspectors, technicians and packers increase their skill level, Quick Start and Sandersville Tech are providing training in productivity enhancement, manufacturing skills and technology, computer skills, and leadership and human resource development. Job-specific training is taking place for the decorating machines, the frosting operation, the screen preparation room, and ink mixing and color matching. Pre-employment training is also aiding the plant’s hiring efforts.