Georgia Small Manufacturer of the Year is Creating a Major Impact on Thomas County
Cives Steele Company, Southern Division, located in Thomas County, was named the 2016 Georgia Small Manufacturer of the Year (150 or fewer employees). With its annual fabrication and installation of 15,000 tons of structural steel for clients throughout the Southeastern U.S., Caribbean Islands, and Central and South America, the term “small” doesn’t exactly fit the description of Cives Steel.
Greg Orff, president and general manager of Cives Steel Company Southern Division
The award was presented at the 2016 Governor’s Awards Luncheon in Atlanta, as part of Georgia Manufacturing Appreciation Week, which is co-hosted by the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Other winners were Athens’ Caterpillar, which won in the category of 500 or more employees, and Suniva, located in Norcross, which won in the category of 150-500 employees.
Founded in 1952, in Gouverneur, New York, Cives Steel Company has expanded to seven divisions across the U.S. The Southern Division began operations in Thomasville 35 years ago when it purchased an existing building near the airport and has expanded its operations multiple times.
As Greg Orff, president and general manager of Cives Steel Company, Southern Division, walks through the facility, which is located just minutes from the city of Thomasville—known for its historic homes, stately plantations, and massive oak trees—it’s apparent that there is a culture of employee appreciation and dedication that runs throughout the company.
“One of the unique things about Cives is we are employee owned,” Orff said. “So as you walk through one of our facilities and talk to employees, you are talking to an owner of the company.”
Orff explains that employees who have worked for Cives for more than a year receive stock ownership.
“This is a powerful tool that gives employees the opportunity to increase their wealth, but it also gives skin in the game. They have ownership in our success,” he said. “This was started with Cives many years ago with the founding family. They have divested themselves over the year, so the employees are now the majority shareholders.”
Employee longevity is a strong testament to the company’s philosophy, and approximately 20 percent of current employees have been with the company 25 years or more. A few who were part of the original team in 1981 are still employed at the Thomasville plant.
Though the majority of Cives’ projects are located throughout the Southeastern part of the U.S., notable landmarks in Georgia include Turner Field. Cives provided more than 10,000 tons of steel framing to construct the 1996 Olympic Stadium, which then became home to the Atlanta Braves. Cives also provided 3,800 tons of steel and installation for the new international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Cives has provided steel to several nuclear power plants, including Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia, and recently the non-nuclear Albany (Georgia) Green Energy Biomass Combined Heat and Power project.
“We are unique here at Cives in that we have a nuclear quality assurance program that allows us to fabricate components required for nuclear power plants,” Orff said. “It is a safety related application, a stringent program that holds fabricators to a very high standard for components going into a nuclear power plant.”
Locally, Cives hires a highly skilled workforce including technical trade employees in the area of drafting and detailing, general construction, and welding.
Orff said even though Cives’ employees remain with the company for many years, there is a continual need to hire local employees. Having a productive partnership with Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) helps Cives hire and train a highly skilled workforce.
Dennis Lee, vice president for Economic Development at SRTC, said that welding and maintenance technicians are in demand at Cives and other industries in South Georgia.
“The welding program at Southern Regional Technical College is important to our service region because of the companies that require quality welders to sustain their productivity,” Lee said. “Cives Steel, Cleaver Brooks, Hurst Boilers are located in Thomas County, and welding is the backbone of the productivity of each company. The college is eager to work with the businesses in our region to develop the workforce so existing businesses are competitive, and future businesses will have the labor with the skills that are required to meet their requirements.”
SRTC nominated Cives for the Georgia Small Manufacturer of the Year Award, based on demonstrated corporate responsibility including community involvement and educational partnerships; demonstrated economic growth and impact related to revenues and growth of new jobs; and workforce excellence through programs that help employees balance work and family life issues, education programs, and employee recognition.
SRTC also nominated six other regional industries: American Textile Company, Flowers Banking Company, Graco Fertilizer Company, Laurie Jo’s Southern Style Canning, National Beef, and Phoenix Wood Products.
“Cives Steel Company, Southern Division, has been a leader of the manufacturing community in Thomas County for more than 35 years. The company manufactures quality steel products using innovative manufacturing processes, and they are exceptional corporate and community partners,” said SRTC President Craig Wentworth. “This is the first time a company located in this community has won the Manufacturer of the Year Award, and I congratulate Cives Steel Company Southern Division on this extraordinary honor.”
Orff said placing the Southern Division facility in Thomasville has proven to be the best choice for the company to grow and become part of a community.
“There is a strong sense of economic development in Thomasville and we get support from the community and state,” said Orff. “There is a skilled workforce that is important to any company.”
Headquartered in Roswell, Georgia, Orff said each division operates autonomously.
“We are a national company, but each division buys its resources from local vendors. With 145 employees we pump a lot of payroll into the community, along with services and consumable items, such as electricity and office supplies, which are all purchased locally. We also buy the steel we use from local vendors.”
The economic impact of Cives Steel is greatly acknowledged and appreciated within the community.
“Cives Steel is a fantastic community partner, and we are extremely proud of their progress and growth,” said Shelly Zorn, executive director of Thomasville-Thomas County Economic Development Authority. “We greatly appreciate their investment in our community since 1981. They continue to provide jobs, capital investment, and an annual payroll of $5.5 million to our local economy. We look forward to working with them for many years to come.”
Orff said the Thomasville location was selected primarily due to its location in the region. “When Cives established the facility in 1981, they wanted to establish somewhere that could service Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina. Now that has grown to include parts of the Caribbean.”
Finding a “livable city” was another factor in Cives selecting Thomasville for its Southern Division.
“We look for a city where people want to live. When we open a new facility, we often bring some employees from an existing plant to seed that facility and bring the Cives culture. It is important that there is a good quality of life,” Orff said. “To do this you have to put a facility in an area where people want to go, and Thomasville is very much like this, it is a quintessential small southern town.”
Cives and its employees live and work in the community and believe it is important to give back to various organizations and programs.
“We try to be good stewards in the community,” said Orff, who has been in Thomasville six years and with Cives 27 years. “Our employees have children who attend school in the community, and because our employees are owners in the company we have a strong sense of social responsibility to be part of the community.”
Cives supports the Thomasville Center for the Arts, Hands On Thomas County, and the Archbold Foundation.
“Cives Southern Division has been a vibrant part of this community’s industrial economy since 1981,” said Lauren Basford, executive director of the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce. “Their high quality structural steel coupled with their ability to supply projects nationwide have helped put Thomasville, Georgia on the map. But, more importantly, what they are probably best known for is this dedication to making Thomas County a better place for its employees and their families.”