NEWS RELEASE
The Board of Trustees of the Joint Apprenticeship Training Fund and the membership of The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 926 announced today that they will be relocating and expanding their training facility to 90 acres in the Cedartown North Business Park.
The investment will include land for heavy equipment training purposes that will include pipeline training, excavation, and cranes as well as the construction of a new state of the art training facility to include mechanics, classrooms, and a simulator room.
“We welcome this new training facility to Polk County,” said Jennifer Hulsey, Chair of the Polk County Commission. “Our board is committed to bringing positive economic development and opportunity to our community.”
The members of the union who are accepted into an apprenticeship program will be required to attend regular training at the new facility.
“The value of this new training center will be as an attraction for corporate tourism. The members will come from all across the south east and stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and spend their money here before going home,” said David Williams, Chair of the Development Authority of Polk County. “There is also potential for a partnership with Georgia Northwestern Technical College in the future. We are fortunate they chose to locate in Polk County.”
“We looked at many sites to bring our program to a community that wanted to be a partner to continue to provide opportunities for the surrounding area. The professionalism of the Polk County Development Authority and the Commissioners felt like a natural fit and we are excited about what our future holds moving forward.” stated Mitchell Byrd, Business Manager of The IUOE 926.
The location of the facility in Cedartown was a joint effort of the Development Authority of Polk County, the City of Cedartown and the Polk County Commission.