Officials from Walker County and the city of LaFayette meet with Syntec representatives, including chief operations officer Tom Watters, to formally announce Syntec’s plans for expansion. Click image to enlarge. (Messenger photo/Christi McEntyre)
A Syntec employee corrects the alignment of a fiber on a bulk-rolling machine, making sure the spool runs smoothly. (Messenger photo/Christi McEntyre)
The Syntec Industries plant in LaFayette manufactures flooring and fiber materials, most of which end up being purchased for use in the hospitality business. (Messenger photo/Christi McEntyre)
The 120 jobs currently provided by Syntec will not be affected by the move; instead, 60 new jobs will be added over the next six months.
Syntec has been working with Walker County for the past few months to devise a financially suitable working plan that would allow the company’s expansion. Walker County agreed to provide a partial tax relief to Syntec for the next five years in exchange for expanding in LaFayette.
“We chose to expand our LaFayette plant because of the wonderful cooperation we have received from the Walker County Development Authority,” said Syntec Industries chief operating officer Tom Watters. Syntec also has an operation in Rome and could have chosen to expand there.
The expansion will also utilize an estimated $2.5 million worth of new capital investment, including improvements to the south building and many pieces of equipment procured from the sale of a closed, and unrelated, textile plant in Dalton.
Twenty of the 60 new employees have just been hired. Syntec is currently taking applications for skilled textile workers and will continue to add 40 more new employees over the next few months. Interested persons should contact Syntec at 706-638-4878.
Okay, since you believe that "free" means "without cost", I'll draw an analogy that even you can understand. Here goes;
You have a 10 year old son. He wants to go into business with a lemonade stand.He raids the pantry and takes the sugar,the glasses,the Kool-Aid and sets up on the sidewalk. Business is good.(It's 102 outside) He sells a lot of lemonade and Kool-Aid.Later, he goes back to the pantry and takes more sugar and whatnot. Business is so good that soon, he's pretty successful. Later on, he's making more money than you are at a regular 9-5er. He shows you large bankrolls of "profits" that he's made. When you remind him that he's getting the sugar, the glasses and the other stuff from you, he becomes grouchy. He points out to you that he's "hired" the next door neighbor to help him because business is so good. He's "created" a job. Pretty soon, you're gonna get resentful because he got his stuff for free, doesn't pay any taxes and has lots of money to spend. Meanwhile, all of the neighbors are passing by and waving, honking and feeling the love because your kid is a "businessman".
Your kid is pretty smart (he got "free" stuff from you to start a business,didn't he?). Now, he goes for the big score. He promises to "hire" more neighborhood kids if they will all raid their parents pantry so he can make more Koolaid and lemonade. In your whack a do world, this is just fine because it "creates jobs" . You see the benefits (kids with money to spend) ,but you totally ignore the costs.
Your kind of economic ignorance is why the greatest country in the world is broke to the tune of 14 trillion dollars.
I'd love to see how our community would fair with you trying to lure in new businesses or gain opportunities for existing industry to expand.
I'm guessing we'd all be taking part in some of that socialist charity by having to rely on unemployment and food kitchens.
How many have you had?
Instead of just swallowing stuff from the various self interested parties here, why don't you do some critical analysis and realize that tax money should be used for government functions and private capital should be directed to its best, most efficient and profitable use? Why do you willfully make yourself ignorant?
Crony capitalism is the sworn enemy of real capitalism. In real capitalism, capitalists fund projects that make sense and they keep the profits. In crony capitalism, businesses take tax money and mix it with their capital and if the business succeeds, they keep the profits.Then they turn right around and fund the campaigns of the politicians that gave them tax money. This cycle becomes self destructive for both the takers (they think that they are geniuses) and the taxpayers (they pay the costs and businesses keep the profits). The only real winners are the politicians that spend decades in office and retire rich on a civil service salary.
And please don't call these people "job creators". The unemployment rate is 8 % (that's what the government owns up to, the real rate is much higher). Government can't give these people one penny that they didn't take from you first.
Citizens Against Virtually Everything
Let's put this in real people language. If you don't pay every penny of your taxes, they auction your house on the courthouse steps. If Syntec doesn't pay every penny of its taxes, it's "creating jobs" . Socialists in America circa 2012 drive Lexuses.