A company from the small European nation of Latvia has launched a massive expansion of its factory in Dublin, Ga., proving that investments of hefty economic impact don’t have to come from the most traditional sources.
Valmiera Glass Group first announced its central Georgia factory in 2014, promising $20 million in investment and 125 jobs. Now, the company is committing to spend $90 million more over the next six years and hire 425 more people, which would make it the largest employer in Laurens County, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The company, which also has a factory in the United Kingdom, melts down and spins glass into fibers to be sold on spools or fashioned into heat- and water-resistant coated fabrics that can be used in a variety of applications in many industries like aerospace, automotive and construction. The company’s quick success in the U.S market sped up its timeline by three years, executives said in the department’s news release.
Latvia, a eurozone nation of 2 million people bordering the Baltic Sea, might seem an unlikely source for such a huge investment, but in recent years small countries eager for a portal into the U.S. market have sent hundreds of millions of dollars of manufacturing investment Georgia’s way.
Israel, a nation of 7 million people, has been a consistent source of technology deals and factory announcements in recent years, while frequent efforts to court investments from major countries like China have seen less consistent payoffs. Many manufacturers from Sweden and Austria, other countries with fewer people than Georgia, have set up shop here. The largest Latvian investment investment in the state now exceeds Georgia’s biggest Chinese win, the $60 million Sany America factory first announced nearly a decade ago.
Visit www.valmiera-glass.com/en for more information about the company.
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