MOULTRIE — A longtime Moultrie manufacturer is moving forward on an expansion. It involves only a few new employees, but after a rough 2014, the news opens the new year on a brighter note.

Helena Chemical Co., located on Old Doerun Road, plans to acquire land south of its current location for warehouse and tank storage. The land — about 5 acres currently owned by the Joint Development Authority of Brooks, Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell and Thomas Counties — was rezoned from Residential (R-1C) to Commercial (C-3) during the Moultrie City Council meeting on Tuesday.

The company, which came to Moultrie in 1972, employs 16 people now, according to Branch Manager Rick Sloan, and the expansion will call for three or four new positions, although not right away.

At first, the area will be used to store liquid fertilizer made at other Helena Chemical plants, Sloan said, but long-term plans call for the Moultrie plant to start making fertilizer here.

Darrell Moore, president of the Joint Development Authority, welcomed the news.

“They’re land-locked where they are right now,” said Moore, who also serves as president of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority and as executive director of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce.

Last year was a tough time for Moultrie’s economy with the loss of Riverside Manufacturing Co.’s production line and the closing of Winn-Dixie. Between them, the moves cost about 220 local jobs.

Riverside, which ended production here in April, continues to maintain some offices, and Moore said the company that bought its assets in October told him they did not expect to make further cuts here.

A home-grown industry that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, Riverside makes uniforms for various companies. Production has now moved offshore, Moore said.

Winn-Dixie closed in June, a victim of its parent company’s acquisition of Harvey’s Supermarkets. In Moultrie, the two grocery stores were right across the street from one another on First Avenue Southeast.

However, a glimmer has returned to that site as well. Tractor Supply Co. has signed a lease on a part of the space formerly occupied by Winn-Dixie, Moore said, and renovation work is now under way.

“I’m not sure when they’re supposed to open,” he said, “but it’ll be great to have somebody else in the building.”

Tractor Supply will take up something over half the space of Winn-Dixie, Moore said, so about 20,000 square feet will still be available there for another retailer.