Talk of regionalism is breath of fresh air

Not long ago, I wrote about my belief that Richmond County’s political engine was starting to fire on all cylinders (the analogy actually involved a transmission ’ s gears shifting, but you get the point).

Despite the county’s dysfunctional coliseum authority – and some minor hand-wringing over whether the Downtown Development Authority should expand its boundaries and whether south Augusta needs a DDA of its own – I still believe the county’s leadership is pretty much all “on the same page.”

The next natural step? Seeking unity beyond the county line.

Richmond County is Augusta, but “Augusta” is not necessarily Richmond County. There are many who would argue with me, and I suspect they will. To them, I would ask: Is Atlanta only Fulton County?

Augusta is a region, and local leaders are increasingly realizing it needs to start acting like one.

The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, the area’s largest and most influential private-sector organization, has taken the lead by choosing regional unity as its top priority for 2008. It seeks better coordination and cooperation Richmond, Columbia, Burke and McDuffie counties on the Georgia side, in addition to Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina.

The barrier to this, as usual, will be a handful of self-serving government officials who labor under the delusional notion that what happens outside their political subdivision is of no consequence to them. There are honestly some in this community who believe Columbia County could thrive if Richmond County fails, or that whatever happens on the South Carolina side of our region has no impact on the Georgia side. Even worse are the people who, deep down, know that is absurd but choose to ignore it in order to appear stalwart to their political base.

What does all this have to do with business? Don’t underestimate the importance that unity has on a region’s economy.

In the late 1990s, the Georgia side of this region had taken the Bobby Jones Expressway as far as it could go, all the way to the state line. Across the river, zilch. The perception was that South Carolina’s leadership wasn’t interested (I think the fear was that their residents would find it more convenient to shop here, or something like that), but the truth was, as silly as it sounds, it just wasn’t on their radar screen.

The two factions simply weren’t talking with each other. Those darn political boundaries.
Today, of course, you know the expressway crosses the state line. But do you know what it took to get the ball rolling? It all started when no more than a dozen business leaders from both states sat down for a drink (probably a few) at bar in Washington during an Augusta Metro Chamber regional leadership junket and simply talked to each other. That’s how these things happen, folks. *

Nothing but good can happen when you get to know your neighbor.

GREENVILLE SHOOTs; IT SCORES! Greenville, S.C.-based human resources firm (read: outsourced contract workers) Human Technologies Inc. announced last week it has signed an agreement to provide Aiken’s Carlisle Tire and Wheel Co. with 250 employees. The personnel contract was previously held by Augusta-based MAU Inc. (Ouch!)
“HTI is very excited to be working with Carlisle, one of the premier employers in the CSRA,” said Nat Banks, the director of sales for Human Technologies and a former MAU executive. (Double ouch!)

Carlisle is one of the largest manufacturers and importers (read: outsourced foreign workers) of wheel assemblies for agriculture, ATV, golf, aviation, trailer, lawn and garden tires. You might remember last year that another Greenville company, GreenWood Inc., won the contract to oversee 140 maintenance and production employees at Augusta’s NutraSweet plant. GreenWood already has similar contract agreements at other Augusta facilities, including IFF, Solvay, General Chemical, Landmark Aviation and next-door neighbor Monsanto.

Let’s hope some Augusta company is kicking butt in Greenville.

PAGING MR. KIRBY: What? One little meat recall and you’re want to get rid of the whole company?

The Canadian owner of Augusta-based Castleberry Food Co. said it is considering selling the company after last year’s botulism scare that led to Castleberry brands’ disappearance from store shelves for six months and recall costs exceeding $35 million.
Toronto-based Connors Bros. Income Fund, whose core business is its canned fish products (it owns the Bumble Bee and Clover Leaf brands) said last week it was undertaking a “specific strategic review” of its canned- meat business (read: Hey, anybody want to buy this?).

Is there a logical reason for pursuing a sale? I’m sure there is; I just can’t tell what it is. Connor Bros. has previously said that the 90 recalled brands represented only 3 to 4 percent of its annual revenues.

If that’s true, shouldn’t the company try to ride this out and let the decades- old brand re-establish itself in the marketplace? If Tylenol can recover from cyanide poisonings , can’t Castleberry’s make a comeback too?

What could very well be happening is something Augustans have seen time and time again: A local, successful, profitable company attracts the attention of deeper-pocketed outsiders hoping to cash in. Company buys local operation, rapes it for short-term profit to the detriment of the operation and, after it begins to founder, puts it back up for sale.
Was safety compromised for output? Could the shortcuts that led to botulism have been avoided under a different corporate culture? Did I hear somebody mention Augusta’s Solo Cup factory?

Perhaps Robert Kirby, the former Castleberry’s chief executive and largest shareholder, who sold the company to Connors in 2004 for (ahem) $93 million, might be bored with his retirement and in need of something to do.

If so, he can start by calling Kent McNeil, Connors’ executive vice president and chief financial officer, at (858) 715-4076.

BUY THIS HOUSE, OR I’LL SHOOT THIS DOG: I’m a sucker for a good gimmick. Especially a “race against the clock” kind where you’re compelled to buy something before it’s too late. (Order now and we’ll send you not one, but two Samurai Sharks!)
A gimmick that I thought was sure to attract a buyer, the 24-hour open house auction of the house on Stonington Drive in Martinez, so far hasn’t lived up to expectations.
The home, originally valued at $194,900, dropped $100 in price every hour until it was sold. Unfortunately, the house reached a low price of $182,500 without selling, and the price went back up to $189,900.

“We have had some strong interest, but I cannot tell you more until we have an acceptable contract and the inspection period is over,” said Jim Bible III, a broker for Realty Executives of Greater Augusta, who is marketing the house.

When it sells, I’ll let you know. My promise.

MATH FOR DUMMIES: I’m the kind of guy who appreciates it when a friend lets him know when his fly is down or when he has a dryer sheet sticking out from out of his pants leg.

I was a little miffed, then, when nobody noticed my mistake last week when I dissected Exxon Mobil’s profits (the online version of Scuttlebiz was corrected in time). Because of my math error, I overstated Exxon Mobil’s average daily profit during the fourth quarter. It’s only (only?) $12 million.

ALSO LAST WEEK: I mentioned MCG Health Inc.’s estimated impact on Augusta’s regional economy: $835 million. Other local health care systems felt the need to let me know about their impact, too : Doctors Hospital’s figure was $357.6 million. University Hospital, the second- largest hospital in Georgia, had an estimated $909.3 million impact. Trinity Hospital was unable to provide its impact figure.

Adding up the aforementioned three equals about $2.1 billion, or roughly 15 percent of the $14.5 billion gross domestic product, of our metro area. If that’s the case (can somebody double-check my math?) that just goes to show you how important the health care industry is to our region.

* One of these days I’ll write about how Fort Gordon was spared from closure in the 1960s.