Economic Development Aroud the State
Best Places to Live: U.S. News & World Report ranked 150 of the most popular metro areas to live in the U.S., and Savannah (No. 37) and Atlanta (No. 64) both made the list. To be included, the areas had to offer good “value” based on affordability, be a desirable place to live and have a strong job market and a high quality of life.
Bainbridge Batteries: Anovion Technologies, which supplies synthetic graphite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, is building a 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Decatur County. The $800 million investment will create more than 400 jobs. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2025.
Bulloch Automotive: Hanon Systems, which provides automotive thermal and energy management solutions, is investing more than $40 million to build a manufacturing facility in Bulloch County. The facility, which is expected to begin operations in May, will add 160 new jobs to the area.
Rome Rubber: Swami Compounding, which makes semifinished natural and synthetic rubber compounds, is building a 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Floyd County. The $8 million investment will result in adding 100 employees over the next five years.
Newnan Expansion: Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas Inc. is expanding its existing location in Coweta County into its regional headquarters. The $33 million investment will create 92 jobs.
EV Batteries: Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solutions recently announced plans to build a $4.3 billion EV battery manufacturing plant adjacent to Hyundai’s Metaplant under construction in Bryan County. The facility, which will begin production in late 2025, will account for 3,000 of the anticipated 8,100 jobs and produce enough batteries annually for 300,000 electric vehicles. The batteries will be used to power Hyundai, Kia and Genesis models produced domestically.
Health Innovation Center: Wellstar Health System is opening an innovation center in Atlanta for its venture firm, Catalyst. Founded in 2021, the firm recently announced the creation of a $100 million venture fund to make its own investments. The center opening is planned for October.
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