Georgia Chopsticks's products reach all the way from Americus to Asia.
Their factory in Americus is producing the traditional Asian utensil.
Sean Nelson, outside supervisor, says, "We make 2,400 chopsticks a minute, and that's close to 1 million chopsticks per day."
Poplar and sweet gum trees are peeled with machinery to make sheets of wood. "We cut them down to 17 inches and we run them through a veneering machine which peels them out into a sheet," says Nelson. "Then we run them through a chopping machine. "
With demands from China, Japan, and Korea, the company is looking to expand and hire more people to help the growing business continue to thrive.
"What we would like to do is run this plant 24 hours a day and do three to four million chopsticks a day fairly quickly," states Part-Owner David Hughes.
Hughes worked in construction for 30 years, but a conversation with friends sparked his interest in going into the chopsticks business. "I met these guys from Korea and had just conversations about needs in Asia, and we discussed wood, so we went to my farm and cut trees and sent them to Asia. They seemed to work, so we bought some equipment," says Hughes.
He says Asian buyers prefer Georgia wood products and the low prices.
"I think it's a great thing for Georgia and America that we can ship anything to China and employ people here," says Hughes.
Sean Nelson says, " Well, now China will be getting something that says made in the USA instead of all of us getting our products saying made in China."