Rankin Hobbs, CEO of KaMin LLC, Macon, GA, has been named Georgia’s 2011 Small Business Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

MACON, GA - Rankin Hobbs, CEO of KaMin LLC, Macon, GA, has been named Georgia’s 2011 Small Business Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). KaMin LLC exports about 60 percent of its production of kaolin clay to customers in more than 50 countries.

Hobbs received his award from Terri Denison, SBA Georgia District Director, at an Atlanta luncheon hosted by the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle, a group of active SBA bankers and other small-business lenders. Hobbs was nominated for his award by Rick Martin, Director of the Georgia Small Business Development Center’s International Trade Center. Hobbs will represent Georgia as the state’s top exporter during National Small Business Week, May 18-20.

KaMin is an exporter of kaolin clay and operates mines and processing plants at three locations in middle Georgia. Hobbs has been an executive in the industrial minerals industry for 11 years and serves as both CEO of KaMin LLC and a founding partner of IMin Partners, a business that invests in industrial minerals and specialty chemicals.

KaMin has some 360 employees. Its four largest export markets are Japan, China, Finland and Canada. In terms of tonnage, KaMin is the largest exporter out of the Ports of Georgia.