Southern Business & Development magazine, a publication dedicated to reporting on economic development and site selection in the South, recently named Liberty County as one of the “Ten Southern Markets that are Manufacturing Location No-brainers.”

“In choosing our 2012 Top 10 category, ‘Ten Southern Markets that are Manufacturing Location No-brainers,’ we looked closely at manufacturing sector location trends and product available for locating manufacturers, as well as the available labor shed in over 150 communities in the South,” Michael Randle, SB&D editor and publisher, said. “Based on that data, we chose 10 communities in the region that we feel are the best locations — or more specifically, ‘no-brainer’ locations — for prospective manufacturers.”

Liberty County was included on the list with Columbus, Miss.; Northeast Tennessee; Martinsville-Henry County, Va.; Memphis, Tenn.; Tishomingo County, Miss.; Henderson, Ky.; Calvert City, Ky.; Cullman, Ala.; and the Mississippi River Corridor. The list was part of the magazine’s winter issue.

Ron Tolley, chief executive officer of the Liberty County Development Authority, said he and his staff were happy with the designation.

“We are honored to be the only Georgia community included as a top-10 manufacturing location in the South,” Tolley said. “Liberty County’s strategic location, just 30 minutes south of Savannah, our unique labor force and our availability of sites ready for immediate development position us well as we try to recruit additional manufacturing companies to the area.”

Tolley and the SB&D article focused on the number of foreign-based companies that have already established plants in Liberty; SNF (France); Interstate Paper (Lebanon); and Firth Rixson Forgings, LLC and International Greetings (United Kingdom), as well as companies headquartered domestically as proof of the county’s international appeal.

“Manufacturers will find ample site options in Liberty County’s Tradeport Business Center, a 5,300-acre development with foreign trade zone designation. Tradeport East is located less than one mile from I-95, is Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development certified, and has Opportunity Zone designation. In GRAD certified Tradeport West, companies can take advantage of large rail-served sites with immediate proximity to U.S. 17,” the article said.