SAVANNAH — The Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership, an outreach program of the Georgia Institute of Technology, recently announced Ben Cheeks has been hired as coastal-region manager.From Georgia Tech’s Savannah campus, Cheeks will serve Bulloch, Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Screven and Wayne counties. He and a team of project managers will work with regional manufacturers to help them develop top-line growth and reduce bottom-line costs through process improvement efforts, ISO management systems, energy and sustainability initiative and business-development services. In this position, Cheeks will work with Jennifer Bonnett, community catalyst with the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), to connect Savannah-based, manufacturing-focused technology startups to Georgia Tech resources.