MADE IN AMERICUS GEORGIA USA

Lisa Law
The Americus Times-Recorder

AMERICUS — Georgia Chop Sticks, LLC, located at 102 Brady Road, was featured on NBC’s Today Show Monday and has received national media attention from other entities in recent months because the Georgia grown and manufactured product is being shipped to China and Japan.“We were on the Today Show this morning. We have also been on NBC and CNN,” said Jae Lee proudly of his company that produces two million chopsticks a day.“We started production in June and we are producing two million a day and hope to produce four million a day by the end of the month and 10 million by the end of the year,” he said.The chopstick manufacturing company cut the ribbon for their business on May 24 of this year and started  production in June. It employs  a staff of 81 and hopes to expand, creating many more jobs in the future.Office manager, Susan White said the company chose south Georgia because of the accessibility to the south’s popular and sweet gum trees.“They are just the right kind of wood to make chopsticks,” she said referring to the wood’s  softness.As presses run 24 hours a day, six days a week, machines are fed large pieces of wood that is peeled like a potato, and then fed through a machine called a chopper.  The chopper chops the sticks into tiny sticks. The sticks are, then, packed into boxes and stamped “Georgia Chop Sticks, Made in the USA”.Roller Operator, Curtis Burns said, “I love it. If more businesses in America were like this one, making the products and shipping it them.” More export businesses similar to Georgia Chopsticks could provide more job opportunities for Americans.  Another employee, Mackenzie Mentor said “I just like the job. We get the job done here.”Jorain Scott, a packer said, “With the economy the way it is, it’s a great place to be and I see nothing but growth for the future.”Another employee, Edmund Jones said “I appreciate to have the opportunity to have some place to work. Jae came down here and opened up more chances for employment. I only see expansion for the future and I am looking forward to it