The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • E1

BUSB0928-A-E -Composite Proof 0:21 0:00 RBUSB0928OE1FBUSB0928OE1 Bulldog 1E 1E RR RR BlueRedYellowBlack Blue RedYellowBlack E2 INSIDE TODAY ajc The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Business CONTACT US: Mark Braykovich, Business editor 404-526-5869 ON AJC.COM Up Close: Jed Nitzberg is the spokesman for the troubled Department of Human Resources. SUNDAY, SEPT. 28, 2003 THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION CHECK FOR BREAKING NEWS UPDATES AT AJC.COM E10 let your Web site become a bore, says TechnoBuddy Bill Husted. The answer man a good return on a rental house? Get the answer to that and other financial questions at ajc.com/money By DAN CHAPMAN Burned by the Germans and stuck with a $60 million vacant lot outside Savannah, industrial recruiters are scouring the globe for a replacement car- maker to fill the automotive void left by DaimlerChrysler. It be easy.

Georgia, which has yet to land any of the billion-dollar car plants sprinkled from South Carolina to Texas, faces an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Carmakers, like investment bankers and computer salesmen, chase the Almighty Dollar or, in this case, the Supercharged Yuan. more likely to build new car and truck plants where demand is greatest and, right now, China. The U.S. market is mature saturated even say industry experts, so major car-plant announcements are increasingly unlikely.

And with the Nissans and BMWs yet to realize full- production potential, prospects for further U.S. expansion are limited. Nonetheless, Gov. Sonny Perdue and recruiters with the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism wasted little time last week crying over DaimlerChrysler. maintained a barrage of contact with German, Japanese and Korean carmakers to remind them a readily available parcel of land in Pooler.

They also tout the plot to car-part and other heavy- industry executives. Perdue and his recruitment team head to Japan and South Korea next month, ostensibly, to seek investment and trade opportunities. But they also hinted strongly last week that drop in on carmakers, possibly including Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. GDITT officials will attend the Tokyo Motor Show, largest car and truck trade fair. Their thoughts also will be on Europe.

The hottest and longest- running rumor has Audi AG seeking a North American site to build a car plant. Perdue and trade officials reluctantly confirmed they met with Audi officials in Germany in June. And, perhaps not surprisingly, not given up on DaimlerChrysler. like to stay in contact with all automotive companies, and certainly still in contact with DaimlerChrysler. not writing anything said Tim Evans, assistant deputy commissioner of GDITT.

recognize we have a great site for an Daimler loss stopping Georgia State looks afar for replacement Please see DAIMLER, E5 Photos by W.A. BRIDGES JR. Staff Former Albany Mayor Larry Bays and his partner have revived the assembly line once owned by Ayres Aircraft which shut down abruptly two years ago, costing 627 workers their jobs. The new Thrush Aircraft Inc. will produce the Thrush model of cropduster, a strong seller for Ayres.

By DAVE HIRSCHMAN Albany This factory that used to produce the Cadillac of crop- dusters at a rate of nearly one airplane a day is just beginning to stir again. Nine agricultural aircraft in various stages of completion are lined up on the factory floor on dollies that allow workers to move them around like shopping carts. Some of the airplanes are nearly finished and ready for their first flights, while others are barely recognizable as airplanes. Two years after Ayres Aircraft Corp. abruptly shut down 627 workers lost their jobs a new company, Thrush Aircraft has revived the assembly line.

The new company, owned by former Albany Mayor Larry Bays and publisher Payne Hughes, already has hired 50 workers and expects to add 50 more in the coming weeks. The skilled manufacturing jobs are a boost for this southwest Georgia city with a 5.3 percent unemployment rate, slightly above the state rate of 5.2 percent. But the rebirth is a psychological boost for the area where residents have taken pride in building a variety of aircraft since the 1960s. new owners think it will take long for their airplane to regain its former stature. sell more airplanes this year than any of our said Bays, 54, who worked as an accountant for the previous owner from 1977 until 1998.

a lot of pent-up demand for these airplanes, and getting a very enthusiastic reception in the Bays blames the demise of Ayres Aircraft on the a hulking cargo plane designed for FedEx that soaked up all of the resources but never flew. The company spent $60 million on the Loadmaster and expected to hire 4,000 additional workers to assemble hundreds of the boxy airplanes. Now, a forlorn shell of the original Loadmaster fills a darkened hangar attached to the square-foot factory, its tapered wing stretching from one end to the other. A massive white elephant. Fred Ayres, who owned and operated the plant from 1977 until 2001, when creditors foreclosed, said the Thrush was always a strong seller.

I never got involved in the Loadmaster, the Thrush would have remained in continuous said Ayres, 72. was the cost of the Loadmaster and problems with subcontractors that caused the Bays said he and Hughes decided I never got involved in the Loadmaster, the Thrush would have remained in continuous production. It was the cost of the Loadmaster and problems with subcontractors that caused the FRED AYRES Former owner of Ayres Corp. Aircraft factory enjoys revival Bays walks by the shell of a Loadmaster, the model that led to the demise of Ayres Aircraft Corp. The hulking cargo plane was designed for FedEx but never flew, turning into a $60 million white elephant.

see pent-up demand for cropdusters Please see CROPDUSTERS, E7 DAVID ROLFE Associated Press Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines and Gayle Anderson of the chamber of commerce discuss the cuts. By PATTI BOND Winston-Salem, N.C. Midway through his pack-a-day habit, Bernie Johns was having a smoke last week outside the Camel Pawn Shop, a few blocks away from the downtown headquarters of R.J. Reynolds. Seems natural enough in a city that grew up on cigarettes.

There was only one thing awry, though Johns was puffing on a Tucson. switched about six months Johns said. After sticking with Camel, Winston and other homegrown favorites for years, Johns said he thought about kicking the habit altogether when prices marched past $3 a pack. Then came Tucson at $1.50. could say my vice got a lot he said.

defection reflects the latest attack on R.J. fading hometown empire. These days many of the hot-selling cigarettes are cranked out by knockoff rivals. Profit has fallen at R.J. Reynolds in recent years, but the bottom line has taken a sharper turn for the worse recently amid costly lawsuits and rising competition from discount brands.

R.J. Reynolds and other cigarette giants have increased prices substantially in recent years to pay for tobacco litigation, and that has Aura of R.J. Reynolds ebbs Woes hit its North Carolina home hard Please see R.J. REYNOLDS, E5.