A Czech plastics manufacturer today announced plans to invest $20 million in a Peachtree City factory, creating at least 20 jobs.
SILON’s polyester fibers and polyolefin compounds are used in the automotive, construction and medical sectors, among others. The company got its start in 1950 as a state-owned company making nylon fibers used in women’s stockings.
The building in Fayette County will house manufacturing, warehousing and storage functions. The jobs will be in engineering, management and production, according to a news release from Gov. Nathan Deal’s office.
Wolfgang Riediger, CEO of SILON LLC, said the Tábor, Czech Republic-based company’s first factory in the U.S. will put it closer to customers.
Fayette County has a diverse stable of foreign companies, from household names like Japan-based Panasonic to newer firms like Sany America, so far Georgia’s only major Chinese manufacturing investment.
The county’s development authority chairman, Darryl Hicks, said in the release he looks forward to the “cultural experiences that will be exchanged as a result of this international company’s addition to our family.”
The investment comes amid increased interest in Georgia from Central and Eastern Europe.
Nico Wijnberg, head of foreign investment for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told Global Atlanta that the region has become a steady and substantial source of inbound projects in the last few years. That was evidenced this week by the arrival of a delegation from Hungary that tacked on a few days in Atlanta last week after the SelectUSA summit in Washington.
Mr. Wijnberg also pointed to Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia as countries to which Georgia is paying attention.
“They’re a little bit on the periphery, but they shouldn’t be,” said Mr. Wijnberg, a Netherlands native.
The data bear him out: Often, investments from smaller countries can pay big dividends for communities. Czech-based ALBAform grew its Hall County operation from an initial four employees in 2013 to now more than 55, with plans to hire 10 more. Latvia-based Valmiera Glass, which Mr. Wijnberg helped bring to Laurens County, is one of the largest employers in the city of Dublin. Slovenia’s ambassador to the U.S. recently visited Mr. Deal and Georgia economic development Commissioner Pat Wilson to talk about a Slovenian auto supplier potentially setting up shop in the state.
View a video about SILON below:
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