Japanese Firm Announces New Norcross Office During Gwinnett Mission

A Japanese manufacturer of machines for coatings confirmed that it would open its first U.S. office in Gwinnett as a delegation from the county visited its headquarters in Nara.

Hirano Tecseed Co. Ltd., whose machines are used in industries from displays and electronics to adhesive tape and wallpaper, will put a new outpost employing three people in Norcross, according to a Partnership Gwinnett news release.

It was not immediately clear how much capital it would invest in the expansion, which company President Kaoru Okada said was designed to “better serve our American clients and expand our footprint in the U.S. market.” Founded in 1935, Hirano posted sales of nearly $300 million during its 2023-24 fiscal year.

Gwinnett business and government leaders joined representatives of Partnership Gwinnett in Japan designed to thank existing investors and recruit new ones. The group intersected with the Georgia Department of Economic Development office in Tokyo, which last year marked 50 years of recruiting companies to the state. Pat Wilson, commissioner of the department, credited the state’s investment in “subnational ties” with helping woo the company.

The announcement came during the same week that registration opened for the SEUS-Japan alliance annual conference, a conclave bringing together leaders from Southern U.S. states and Japan. This year it will be held in Charlotte and sponsored by Toyota, which is investing nearly $13 billion dollars in a battery plant in North Carolina.

Georgia Power, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the city of Norcross all also played a role in landing the Hirano project, according to Partnership Gwinnett.

“This new office will not only strengthen our international business community but also create new opportunities for collaboration and economic growth in the county,” Gwinnett County Commissioner Kirkland Carden, who joined the trip, said in the statement.

Learn more about the project in this news release.