For nearly five decades, snack food goodness has come out of the Mars plant on Albany's south side.
Kelvin Graham from Mars Chocolate said, "we've been in the community for many, many years, the plant's been on this site since 1964."
The Mars plant employees around 200 people, and while other companies have left town, Mars has stayed.
Matt Trice from Albany Technical College said, "we've had a lot of turmoil in the economy in this area, that's no secret. Mars has been one of the sustaining forces in the economy in this area."
Running against the tide is never easy, and Mars has done that by adding employees during the economic downturn.
"We're able to continually hire in the last three years," said Graham.
Wednesday, that growth and commitment to the city by Mars was rewarded as the plant was presented with a plaque by Albany Technical College. The college nominated the plant as the medium sized business of the year in Georgia.
The relationship between the two goes beyond a simple plaque. Dozens of Albany Tech grads have gone from graduation to the Mars assembly line.
Graham said, "whether its it maintenance, whether its in operations, whether its in admin whether its in our logistics."
For the city, the jobs that Mars provides help to keep the city running full steam ahead.
Trice said, "here's a company that's here, that's maintaining, that's growing, that's expanding. When that happens, tax base stays at least on a level, and more than likely will uptick."
If the company keeps up its economic growth in the years ahead, then maybe the economy in Albany can be sweet indeed.
Copyright 2012 WALB. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
