Home Fashion Company Announces Liberty County Distribution Facility

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

April 19, 2023

(The Center Square) — A design house concentrated on home fashion plans to open a new Liberty County distribution and light manufacturing facility.

New Jersey-based Creative Home Ideas, a YMF company, plans to spend more than $15 million on the facility, which state officials said will create 70 jobs. Operations at the new facility at 1962 Sunbury Road in Midway should start in 2024.

In an announcement, Yaron Shemesh, CEO of YMF Carpets, said the facility "will include light manufacturing which will allow us to grow our business and reach company goals while taking advantage of the proximity to the port of Savannah."

While state development officials were quick to trumpet the announcement, they were tight-lipped on what the news might cost Georgia taxpayers.

In an email to The Center Square, a Georgia Department of Economic Development rep said, "the project is still active." The designation allows state officials to decline to release details about tax incentives the state offered to entice a company to locate in Georgia.

The family-owned Creative Home Ideas started in 1981, and its collections include bedding, window treatments and rugs.

"By working with Georgia Ports Authority, Liberty County has created a successful environment for companies to grow by connecting them to domestic and international markets," GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson said in a statement. "Port activity supports one in nine jobs across the state, and that impact continues to grow as Georgia solidifies its position as a global business and logistics hub."

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.