Cherokee Wins Deal Of The Year Award For adidas Project

WOODSTOCK, GA -- The Cherokee Office of Economic Development has received Georgia's Deal of the Year award in the large category for landing the adidas SPEEDFACTORY project.

In August 2016, adidas released its plans to create 160 new jobs over the next five years with its 74,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility at Cherokee 75 Corporate Park along Highway 92 just east of Interstate 75. The project is a joint venture between adidas and Oechsler Motion to develop a SPEEDFACTORY to manufacture sneakers. This innovative facility is the only one in the U.S. and has target production of 50,000 pairs of shoes in 2017.

“We are proud to receive this designation for one of our most significant projects to date and are thankful to the state and the Georgia Economic Developers Association for this recognition,” said Marshall Day, Cherokee Office of Economic Development chairman. “This win was a team effort between the Site Selection Group, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Power and Cherokee County."

The Deal of the Year award is given each year by the Georgia Economic Developers Association to recognize outstanding achievement in the location or expansion of new businesses in the state that meet community economic development goals and involve significant community program support. The award was presented Monday, Nov. 13 by Gov. Nathan Deal at the Association’s Annual Awards Luncheon.

"Having a factory in Georgia, helps us to create product much quicker and closer to our U.S. customers than ever before," said Robert Leimer of adidas. "Cherokee County was really attractive for us with its incredible business climate, close proximity to a lot of consumers, and to the sports city, Atlanta."

adidas chose Cherokee County over three other finalists and is one of the brands now being used for COED’s new campaign, Cherokee by Choice. This new branding initiative outlines the many ways Cherokee County is excellent for life and business. Cherokee by Choice will be used as a positioning strategy moving forward for attracting business and industry.

“The site selected in Cherokee 75 Corporate Park will give the company room to grow, with capacity for two expansions," said COED President Misti Martin. "Since they are developing innovative technology that has never been done before, the north Atlanta location on the Cherokee 75 Corporate Corridor gives adidas access to the right people and the right place. Having a talented workforce of 1.7 million all within 30 miles and immediate access to I-75, it is the perfect location to deliver speed to market.

"Our first adidas site visit quickly turned into a realization of shared goals, with the SPEEDFACTORY project not only being a natural fit for Cherokee County’s sustainable outdoor lifestyle of trails, water and greenspace, but also for its technology and mechatronics based talent pool," added Martin. "The project also perfectly complements our dedication to becoming a leader in innovation, focusing on the connection between our students and STEM education with companies like adidas."

Previous recipients of the Large Deal of the Year have included Houston County for the Sandler Nonwoven Corporation project in 2016, Fulton County for the Mercedes-Benz USA project in 2015 and Douglas County for the Keurig-Green Mountain project in 2014. Cherokee County previously received the award in 2013 for Inalfa Roof Systems, a global sunroof manufacturer and major supplier to BMW.

Photo: from left to right are Heath Tippens, COED project manager; Jerry Cooper, Cherokee County manager; Dean Tidball, adidas; Robert Leimer, adidas; Buzz Ahrens, Cherokee County Commission chairman; Misti Martin, COED president; Adam Jones, Oechsler Motion; Justina Brown, Oechsler Motion; Steve Holcomb, COED vice chair; and Mark Goddard, COED board member. Credit: Cherokee Office of Economic Development