Zep, Hiring, Partners with Lowe's

A specialty chemicals manufacturer and marketer with a plant in Bartow County is set for more retail shelf space. In a new partnership with , 50 commercial Zep cleaners and maintenance products will be for sale in stores across the country by March.

While it already carries Zep's Enforcer pesticides, Lowe's is looking to enhance its offering of cleaning and maintenance chemicals, according to a press release. Zep's commercial cleaners are marketed to small businesses and homeowners "who want to clean like a professional." 

The deal may come at a good time for Atlanta-based Zep, which saw profits fall 28 percent in the last quarter of 2011, Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The monetary terms of Zep's deal with Lowe's were not made public.

At its near Emerson, Zep Commercial's Enforcer Products division employs about 159 workers, putting it at No. 9 on the list of Bartow's top 10 manufacturing employers.

While , down from 11.7 in December 2010, local unemployment is higher than in the metro Atlanta region at 9.4 percent and a smaller, 10-county northwest Georgia region at 9.7 percent.

The local plant, which produces a long list of chemicals—from pesticides to tile cleaner to floor sealer—has participated in Georgia Quick Start, a state-funded program that provides customized, job-specific training as an incentive for companies locating or expanding in Georgia.

Manufacturing more than 3,500 sanitation and maintenance products it supplies to industrial, institutional and retail customers in a variety of industries, Zep has a number of available positions posted on its Careers website.

Among the openings are manufacturing jobs bill puller and compounder, in addition to a logistics position, at the local facility. A number of other jobs are listed for Zep's Marietta and Fulton County locations.