Help for Georgia's Traditional Industries

[From the Source - Summer 1997]

Georgia's "traditional industries" - pulp and paper; food processing; and apparel, carpet, and textiles - have historically been the backbone of the state's industrial base. Virtually every county in Georgia is home to at least one of these industries, which combined, employ half of the state's manufacturing workers. Despite their size, these leading industries in Georgia face serious international challenges to their competitive position, especially from companies in low-wage regions of the world.

Recognizing the importance of these industries to Georgia, Governor Miller and the state legislature established the Traditional Industries Program in 1994. The program is designed to bring industry leaders and university-based researchers together to develop and implement practical solutions to improve the competitiveness of pulp and paper, food processing, apparel, carpet, and textile companies in Georgia.

Since 1994, Governor Miller has directed the investment of over $25 million to provide research, technology development, and technical assistance to Georgia's traditional industries. Projects generally focus on immediate industry problems and solutions must show quick economic returns. Research highlights from each of the three initiatives are presented below.

Food Processing - The Food Processing Advisory Council (FoodPAC) works to enhance the industry's productivity, help develop new products, strengthen food safety, and facilitate efficient waste management and regulatory compliance:

• FoodPAC researchers developed a process to convert vegetable wastes into microbial gums which are used as viscosifying agents in the oil recovery and food industries, and as suspending agents in the cosmetic industry.

• Researchers discovered an edible coating, containing antimicrobial agents, which when applied to mature green tomatoes reduces the incident of Salmonella Montevideo while extending the life of product firmness and color. These findings have broad potential to extend shelf life and improve product safety for the fruit, vegetable, and meat industries.

Pulp and Paper - The Pulp and Paper Consortium conducts research and develops technologies to increase Georgia's fiber supply, improve the paper manufacturing process, and address environmental concerns:

• Researchers are developing reforestation technologies such as somatic embryogenesis which permit mass culturing of pine tree embryos in the laboratory. Small trees are produced from these lab trees which can then be planted in the field. To better understand seed development in trees, researchers are studying the activity of thousands of genes in embryos in the lab.

• Researchers developed sensors to measure chlorinated organics in waste treatment lagoons, and discovered that a technique called impulse drying has excellent potential for dewatering sludge produced in the papermaking process. This discovery could decrease the amount of solid waste that ends up in Georgia's landfills.

Apparel, Carpet, and Textiles - Wastewater treatment, solid waste management, and air quality top the list of concerns identified by the Consortium on Competitiveness for the Apparel, Carpet, and Textile Industries (CCACTI):

• Researchers developed and implemented a closed-loop wastewater treatment system for a large textile mill. The new system and related equipment upgrades have cut the mill's wastewater discharge in half.

• A non-formaldehyde wrinkle-free textile finish which performs better than formaldehyde-based finishes available on the market today was developed, and a Georgia-based chemical company plans to begin marketing the finish next year. This project is critical to Georgia companies because some foreign markets now ban products with formaldehyde-based finishes.

• Technologies to recycle apparel, carpet, and textile waste are being developed which use waste to reinforce concrete and to stabilize roadbeds, and as a wood substitute in products such as pallets.

For more information about the Traditional Industries Program, contact Susan Shows at 404-894-6113, or by e-mail at susan.shows@edi.gatech.edu.