Yamaha Motor’s Impact in Georgia Outlined at Cobb International Reception 

With around 2,600 employees in the state, Japanese motor and music giant Yamaha has made a quiet but profound impact on Georgia since it revved up its first factory here nearly 40 years ago. 

That story, shared by Yamaha Motor Corp. USA CEO Michael Chrzanowski during a Cobb Chamber of Commerce reception celebrating international investment, illustrates how subsidiaries from across the world, and especially Japan, drive local jobs and build community wherever they land across the state. 

Yamaha spun its music unit out into a different company and created Yamaha Motor USA, still technically based in Cypress, Calif., in 1997. 

Already, a factory in Newnan, Ga. — Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp. of America — had been in full swing for nearly a decade, first making golf carts and later churning out wave runners, all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side off-roaders.

To date, the Georgia factory where Mr. Chrzanowski began his tenure with Yamaha more than 20 years ago has churned out 4.5 million units. 

When he became CEO of the North American operation, Mr. Chrzanowski had the option to relocate to California or stay in Kennesaw, where the company’s marine unit was based. 

“I chose Kennesaw because this is where all the action is,” Mr. Chrzanowski said, noting that sales and marketing functions for marine have moved to Georgia in part thanks to the state’s proximity to the boating community, but also thanks to the state’s — and Cobb County’s — welcoming business environment.

The “simple parts warehouse” the company set up on Chastain Road “has really transformed into something remarkable. It’s the heart of our marine business operations, our motorsports operations and our golf cart operations — our three largest business units in the United States, and it’s also a major technical training hub.” 

When he took up the CEO role in 2021, the executive who introduces himself as Mike C. says he was told the company’s footprint — now spread across two facilities in Kennesaw and Marietta — would be sufficient for the foreseeable future. 

“Two weeks in the job, everybody’s knocking on my door: We’re out of space. We’re out of space. We’re out of space. So I feel I’ve been dealing with that for the last three years.” 

In April 2023, the company inaugurated a 75,280-square-foot Marine Innovation Center tacked onto its Kennesaw facility. It now trains representatives from 3,000 nationwide dealers and partners as well as 2,000 technical specialists annually. 

“We’re not just creating jobs, but really careers, for people across the United States. And we’ve made a conscious decision to build classrooms, invest in the people, the training, etc. And that really reflects our belief that success is not just about the products we build, but it’s about who you build it with, and how you sustain it for the long haul.” 

 Gov. Brian Kemp joined Yamaha to celebrate the opening.

“We’re so excited about Yamaha’s commitment to leadership, innovation, but also customer satisfaction — it really makes you a premier brand in the industry,” Mr. Kemp said at the time. 

Working for a Japanese company for 23 years, Mr. Chrzanowski has observed a commitment to humble service in the community, he said. 

“I’m not going to say I’m an expert in the culture, but I think I’ve figured a few things out along the way and really have observed how the Japanese, particularly Yamaha, integrate into the various communities where we reside,” he said, “in what I call a natural and harmonious way.”

That’s true across the company’s 13 facilities around the United States, including its three campuses in Georgia. 

“We want to be good corporate citizens and do the right thing, but in kind of the Japanese way, we try to maintain a low profile,” the CEO said. “You never see us out front, leading or saying things. We just want to do our job, do it well, be a partner, and kind of stay in the background. So we don’t look for accolades or try to gain publicity. But because of that, sometimes we don’t share what we do in the communities very well.”

To a group of 80-100 guests at the chamber, Mr. Chrzanowski ventured to explain a bit more about how the company serves, both in times of acute crisis and in the natural course of its business. 

Each Georgia Department of Natural Resources trailer, he said, is equipped with a Yamaha portable generator, and the company has donated six of its G3 boats to the state. From the plant in Newnan, vehicles are donated each year to local communities, including ATVs to fire departments and golf carts used by schools. 

When Hurricane Helene hit eastern Georgia and the Carolinas in September, “Yamaha was fortunate to donate 1,000 generators to help the people in need,” Mr. Chrzanowski said to applause from the audience. 

He wasn’t sure why Cobb was chosen for the company’s initial investment, but the community today boasts an educated workforce and stellar transportation infrastructure, he said. 

“I can tell you, from my perspective and what I’ve seen the last 10 years: It’s simple. Cobb County has everything we need to thrive.”

In addition to the keynote from Mr. Chrzanowski, the Cobb Chamber’s annual International Company Reception drew trade representatives from Ireland and Japan, as well as diplomats from the Bahamas, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Slovakia and, of course, Japan, represented by Deputy Consul General Hiroyuki Kaneda. 

Mr. Kaneda praised Cobb as one of Japan’s most important partner counties, particularly since the Georgia Japanese Language School, a Saturday school where expatriates send their children to maintain their mother tongue, is based there. Established in 1974, the same year as the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta, the school celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

The event was sponsored by The Manely Firm, an international family law firm, and Freeman Mathis Decisions, a government affairs consultancy attached to the law firm Freeman Mathis & Gary.