VALDOSTA — CJB Industries Inc. was named the Manufacturer of the Year at the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce’s ninth annual Salute to Manufacturers Early Bird Breakfast and Awards Ceremony Thursday.

Speaking on behalf of CJB Industries Inc., Jeena Beeland said, “We’re grateful to all our co-workers whose hard work enabled us to win this award, and we’re very grateful to the chamber.”

Clinton Beeland said that CJB’s corporate values include respect, integrity, trust, excellence and stewardship.

CJB Industries Inc., located at 2114 Cypress St. in Valdosta, is a 12-year-old custom chemical formulating, processing and packaging company.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a company that turns agricultural crops into a variety of products — including animal feed, food ingredients and agriculturally derived fuels and chemicals — was a finalist for the award.

Candidates for Manufacturer of the Year are judged based on their economic impact on the community, corporate citizenship and workplace excellence, said Greg Justice, director of manufacturing for last year’s winner, Regal Marine Industries Inc.

Suzanne Sitherwood, Atlanta Gas Light president and incoming chairperson of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, was the keynote speaker.

Sitherwood said that because of a 17 percent drop in state revenue a lot of focus during the upcoming legislative session will be on “what to do about revenue.” She also said she expects a lot of action to center around taxes because of their potential impact on business. Other legislative priorities will likely be water, transportation and trauma care, she added.

Regarding energy independence, Sitherwood pointed out that the U.S. currently has 120 years of natural gas reserves and that 99 percent of all natural gas consumed in the U.S. is produced domestically. Natural gas leaves a much smaller carbon footprint than other major domestic fuels and is more efficient, with only a 10 cents per dollar cost for processing and transportation, compared with 30 cents per dollar for other fuels, she said.

Bruce Bailey, energy conservation advisor for Colquitt Electric Membership Corporation, presented the results of the chamber’s most recent Business Retention and Expansion Program (BREP) survey of local manufacturers. The survey shows that the top concern of companies is the economy, he said, while their second concern is the availability of skilled workers.

Overall satisfaction of manufacturers with local services and institutions improved, Bailey said. One hundred percent of survey respondents said Georgia is a good place for manufacturing.

“Rest assured,” Bailey said, “the chamber will address any issues you (manufacturers) may have with our state and national representatives.”

Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Director Myrna Ballard said, “I don’t know of a better way to create wealth in a community than to support manufacturing.”

Ballard said the BREP survey results have become more meaningful over time because it’s now possible, after 15 years of surveys, to see the trends in manufacturing in the state.

To learn more, call the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce at 229-247-8100 or visit www.valdostachamber.com.