Japanese-owned power tool manufacturer Makita has purchased 80 acres in Hall County, just up the road from its decades-old factory in Gwinnett.
A news release from California-based Makita USA Inc. provided few details on the land’s specific purpose, noting only that the site is “the target for planned future development to address continuing growth in the United States.”
Makita’s tools include what the company calls the largest lithium-ion battery system in the world — a slide-battery platform where various tools share the same power mechanism. The company said the reach of this system continues to grow with the addition of outdoor power equipment and more.
“This planned expansion will further support our customers, while creating more jobs in the region,” Senior Vice President Joe Blackwell said in the release.
Makita Corp. of America, the company’s U.S. manufacturing arm and one of 10 of the Japanese firm’s factories worldwide, is based in Buford, Ga., about a mile from the line separating Gwinnett and Hall counties.
Makita USA’s headquarters in California didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
Tim Evans, vice president of economic development at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, told Global Atlanta he had no details on the company’s plans in the county, but that the public announcement of the land purchase was welcome news.
“It’s a positive indication that a global company would invest in Hall County,” Mr. Evans said, noting that Makita has been a model corporate citizen in Georgia for decades. “We’d certainly welcome them to the business community.”
The Gainesville Times in December reported that the Flowery Branch City Council had voted to rezone a combined 80-acre site on Falcon Parkway from agricultural to light industrial use.
In January, AccessWDUN.com reported that the city council had voted to give the project second-reading approval, though no further details were revealed about the company behind a secretive project that could include more than 800,000 square feet of industrial space, including 43,000 for office use that could serve as a potential “headquarters.”
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