The Belgian American Chamber of the South is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Belgium Channel. Sign up here for monthly newsletters on Belgian trade and investment connections to Georgia.
Hall Booth Smith P.C. is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Europe Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Europe newsletters.
A European provider of warehousing and automation solutions is set to invest $36 million in a new factory in a region of the state where Belgian companies have thrived for decades.
Stow Group says it will hire 200 at the facility in northwest Georgia, where the reputation as the “carpet capital of the world” in the 1970s helped make the state grow to become the No. 1 destination for Belgian firms.
Georgia set up an office in Brussels under then-Gov. Jimmy Carter, partly in response to flooring investments flocking to the region.
Now, it boasts a strong “manufacturing legacy,” says Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson, not to mention proximity to an inland port around which Stow’s main customers — warehouses involved in what the company calls “intralogistics” — have congregated.
Stow’s facility in Gordon County will focus on the “highly automated production” of racking systems that Stow provides as part of its customized storage solutions for customers in logistics, food, life sciences and more, Plant Manager Michael Morgenroth said in a news release from the Gov. Brian Kemp‘s office.
The move does not seem to include the company’s Movu Inc. autonomous mobile robot division, which lists an Illinois U.S. headquarters. Back in Belgium, Movu operates out of a separate innovation center opened in 2023 in Lokeren.
The Georgia site will be the first in the United States for Stow, which is based in Spiere-Helkijn, Belgium, in the West Flanders province near the French border.
The global company employs 2,000 “Rack Stars” across 11 factories and sales offices in 21 countries, including 20 in Europe and another in Australia. The 45-year-old company’s products are sold in more than 60 countries.
The investment comes as steel from Europe faces a 50 percent tariff.
“Expanding our production footprint in the United States is a key milestone for Stow Group. The new facility in Gordon County will allow us to serve our customers faster, enhance our local partnerships, and continue our commitment to innovation and sustainability,” Jos De Vuyst, CEO of Stow Group, said in the release.
Three open jobs are currently listed in Georgia, including two at the Adairsville plant and a supply chain and purchasing manager job in Atlanta. See those here
More production roles are to be announced in profiling, stamping, welding, powder coating, automation, and assembly. Logistics, administrative and management roles are also on the way. Learn more here
Learn more about stow Group here.
The Pendleton Group is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Economic Development Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Economic Development newsletters.