EFACEC Group, a Portuguese company that makes electrical transformers, officially opened a $100 million plant in Effingham County near Savannah on Monday which could eventually employ up to 700 people.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue attended the opening ceremony as did EFACEC President Luis Filipe Pereira and Portuguese Minister of Finance Fernando Teixeira dos Santos.

The new factory makes electrical substations that will be sold in North America. The company hopes to capture 11 percent of the North American market, according to a news release by Mr. Perdue's office. 

EFACEC, formed in 1948, employs 4,500 people in 65 countries. In 2007, the company purchased Atlanta-based Advanced Control Systems Inc., which provides smart-grid systems for utility companies. Advanced Control still operates in Atlanta as an EFACEC subsidiary.

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