Rinnai Triples Down on Georgia With New Griffin Facility, Creating 50 Jobs

Japanese water heater manufacturer Rinnai is expanding again in Griffin, setting up its third facility in Georgia, the longtime headquarters of its North American operations. 

Rinnai America Corp., headquartered in Peachtree City, where it keeps an innovation center, in 2018 built a new factory on 69 acres in Griffin’s The Lakes at Green Valley, an industrial park that has carved out a niche with environmentally conscious Japanese firms. 

Earlier this year, the company leased a new building on 40 acres in The Lakes East, a set of sites spanning 130 acres nearby, approximately doubling its space under roof in Spalding County. 

The new 306,000-square-foot facility, constructed by developer PNK Group and leased by Savills USA, serves as the new home for Rinnai’s commercial products designed to serve hotels, apartments and other large-scale buildings. It’s also a distribution center. Rinnai moved in during February and started work there in March. 

A ribbon-cutting on April 29 attracted dignitaries including Griffin Mayor Doug Hollberg and State Rep. Beth Camp, R-Concord, who highlighted the company’s continued investment in Georgia, according to a news release.

“This investment reflects our confidence in the future of our business and our commitment to serving customers across North America,” said Frank Windsor, president of Rinnai America Corp., said in the release. “It strengthens our ability to deliver reliable, high-performance solutions while equipping the PROs who rely on us every day to help create a healthier way of living.”

Rinnai was among the companies Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called out by name when he headlined his first mission to Japan last October. 

David Luckie, executive director of the Griffin-Spalding County  Development Authority, told Global Atlanta he was glad to see The Lakes at Green Valley’s success as a magnet for Japanese firms continue to pay dividends for the community. 

This “competitive project” meant that Rinnai’s new facility could have landed anywhere, he said, but having adjacent sites that mirrored the park’s high standards was key, he added. 

“We think our park had something to do with it,” Mr. Luckie said of Rinnai’s latest investment.

Japan’s Otsuka Chemical, Marukan, Mitsui Die-Casting and Toppan Printing all operate factories within the park, along with Italy‘s Ecolab.

Despite not technically being located there, the 40-acre site developed by PNK includes ingress carved into the western side of the site, providing access just across the street from Rinnai’s existing facility. 

“They are such a good company, and they are so great to work with, great leadership, and we are very grateful that they are in The Lakes and just as grateful that they have decided to to put this commercial manufacturing facility right across the street,” Mr. Luckie said of Rinnai.

In business for more than 100 years and has grown to a $3.3 billion company globally; it has operated in North America for more than five decades.