Economic Development

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Irish Chamber Names New President for Time of Transition

The Irish Chamber of Atlanta had insisted till the end that the show would go on. But days before this year’s St. Patrick’s Day breakfast and parade, it became clear that the events posed too much of a health risk, even if a prominent guest from the Irish government could have skipped across the pond. […]

Georgia Nets Third Chinese Flooring Investment Since Tariff Pause

Georgia has netted another investment from a Chinese flooring firm, the third company from the country’s Jiangsu province to pledge that it will set up manufacturing in the northwestern part of the state since December. The timing of Huali Floors’ announcement of a $27 million factory could be seen as questionable, given that U.S.-China tensions over […]

Georgia Maps Manufacturers of Critical Supplies for Fighting COVID-19

The Georgia Department of Economic Development has upgraded its list of suppliers of critical supplies for fighting COVID-19 pandemic to dynamic statewide map. Released in early May as a downloadable PDF, the list is now easier to quickly navigate: It’s searchable by company and can filter providers of products from gloves to face shields, air purifying machines, […]

Italian Investors Sing Georgia’s Praises

Other than a single visit by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2017 and a smattering of locally led trade missions, Italy hasn’t seen the same level of recruitment interest from Georgia as other European locales like Germany and even the Netherlands. Yet somehow, investment from the European Union’s third largest economy has emerged as a major force for […]

Belgian Pharma Giant UCB Planning $47.5M Expansion, 100 New Jobs in Smyrna

Belgian pharmaceuticals firm UCB is set to expand its U.S. headquarters in Cobb County through a multi-phase plan that is to generate $47.5 million in investment and 100 jobs on its existing 47-acre campus. Through its incentive program, Smyrna City Council in a virtual meeting May 4 approved a waiver of $180,950 in building permit and recording fees associated with the first phase […]

New German Chamber President Gets Acquainted With the South — From Southern Europe

Matthias Hoffmann got in before the lockdown. It was early March, and while people in Atlanta had stopped shaking hands, he could still feel the Southern hospitality as he was escorted around a “fantastic green city” by his predecessor. He even ate inside at some of the city’s restaurants — a pastime that now seems […]

European Investors Struggle to Access Pandemic Relief in U.S.

As European firms operating in the United States face disruptions to their supply chains from home, they also seem to be less able to benefit from resources that could help their American competitors more quickly recover from a pandemic-induced recession. European subsidiaries are huge employers in the U.S., with a substantial multiplier effect for the […]

From Singapore to Athens: $260M Factory to Begin Tackling the World’s Plastic Crisis

A Singapore startup’s partnership with the University of Georgia to tackle the global scourge of plastic waste entered a new phase as the company Tuesday announced plans for a $260 million factory and headquarters employing 200 people in Athens. RWDC Industries aims to produce biopolymers called polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs, at a price and formula that will […]

SK to Build Second Georgia Battery Plant, Increase Investment to $2.5B

Georgia’s biggest-ever foreign investment could be poised to grow even larger. SK Innovation, the Korean oil refiner pivoting into electric vehicle batteries, has announced that it will build a second factory on its site in Jackson County and increase its capital investment to $2.5 billion by the time they’re both operational in 2023. The company, […]

Pandemic Speeds Up Launch of Global Health Crisis Center in Atlanta

A center tasked with deepening the collaboration between the private sector and Atlanta’s growing global health community launched this week, its timeline accelerated and relevancy accentuated by the coronavirus pandemic. The Global Health Crisis Coordination Center, or GHC3, is backed by $1 million in seed funding from Microsoft and the CDC Foundation, and has built […]

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