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Breaking ground, opening up
Publix
Publix manager Keith Everett. The store will have a grand opening on Thursday at 8 a.m. - photo by Ross Blair

With Publix opening their doors for business on Thursday, and the new Kroger superstore to follow, the grocery store scene in Richmond Hill in about to drastically change.

For one thing, the addition of Publix to a market currently shared by Kroger and Harvey's gives Richmond Hill three supermarkets.

Publix store manager and Richmond Hill resident Keith Everett has high hopes for the new store.

"We’re bringing to Richmond Hill what this area has longed for," said Everett. "Our superior appearance and customer service is a perfect match for this area."

Everett said a common misconception is that Publix has higher prices.

"We’re very competitive with our prices," Everett said. "Once people start shopping here and see what we have to offer, it will far outweigh any reservations they may have from the start. I feel confident of that."

Down the road a ways, on a tract near Richmond Place subdivision, the replacement Kroger store broke ground on Friday. The new 70,000 square-foot store is slated to open in January of 2008.

Linda Hurst will be the new manager of the expanded store. She will replace current manager Bo Cook, who is said to be retiring from the company.

Hurst said the expansion will allow the store to carry a great deal more variety in products. The store will also feature a Starbuck’s, a fuel center and a drive-through pharmacy.

Both Publix and Kroger claim to have a strong employment program which has employed, and will employ, many locals.

Everett said that he just hired 60 Richmond Hill residents, and that he anticipates 75 percent of the store's 128 positions will be filled by local people.

Hurst said the Kroger expansion will open up 50 new job openings when the new store opens.

 

 

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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