By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
New company coming to Dawson
Placeholder Image

A Gainesville millwork company plans to break ground next week on a 22,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Dawson County.

The company, Five Star Architectural LLC, will move its operations into the new building, to be located in the Premier Business Park, off Grizzle Road, when construction is completed in August.

This is the first building Ive ever done, and were very excited to be building it in Dawson County, said Five Star Architectural President Eric Sutton. If everything goes well, well start transiting in August and fully occupy in September.

Sutton said he purchased 1.8 acres earlier this month from his father, Russ Sutton. The elder Sutton, owner of Monolith Hospitality, purchased the old H.N. Grogan Industrial Park in 2009 and re-named it the Premier Business Park.

We are very excited to be building in Dawson County, Eric Sutton said. Most of our employees live in Dawson or Forsyth, so it will save them time and money rather than driving to Gainesville.

Currently, Five Star Architecural is a $2 million company with 15 employees. Sutton said his plans include doubling to $4 million in two years and to bring on eight more employees. Five Star builds custom reception desks, breakfast bars, conference tables, bathroom vanities and other millwork items for the hotel and hospitality industry, including Marriott and Hilton hotels.

Sutton began working for his dad after high school, and thats when he learned the millwork trade.

I learned the business and decided to open my own company, he said. I started with a deposit of $10,000 from a job that my dad gave me, and we signed a lease on a 5,000 s.f. building in Forsyth and had three employees. Then, we moved to a bigger facility in Gainesville, and now were ready to grow again.

Sutton noted that jobs his company bid on in 2010-11 when the economy was bad are now coming back around.

In the past two-and-a-half years, things have been good. Theres a lot of construction going on, he said.

Charlie Auvermann, director of the development authority of Dawson County, agrees.

The move is another strong indicator that the local economy is picking up and that business is returning to our area, he said. This move fits very well with the long-term plans by Monolith Hospitality and Five Star to make the Premier Park one of the best locations in our county and along the northern Georgia 400 corridor.

Sutton noted Dawson Countys close proximity to Atlanta and its easy access to Hwy. 400 as additional reasons for moving his company.