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Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., which makes ATVs, boat engines, personal watercraft and more, is set to move its headquarters from California to Kennesaw.
The relocation of Yamaha Motor Corp. USA will take place gradually starting this year and continuing through 2028, the year the company will mark its half-century anniversary in the United States.
Yamaha purchased the land for its headquarters in Cypress, Calif., in 1978, slowly building up its business in the U.S. market from the 25-acre site, which will be liquidated under a sale and leaseback transaction once the transition is competed.
But in some ways, this week’s move is the culmination of a more gradual eastward migration that has resulted in the consolidation of much of Yamaha Motor’s inventory, executive team and manufacturing in Georgia, where it boasted about 2,400 employees across divisions even before the latest decision.
Yamaha Motor moved its marine division to Kennesaw in 1999 and later consolidated sales and warehousing functions for its outboard engines there. In 2023, that operation was expanded with the opening of a 75,000 square feet Marine Innovation Center in Kennesaw, prompting a visit by Gov. Brian Kemp to the ribbon-cutting. That space complemented the “humble parts warehouse” on Chastain Road that the company had kept long after outgrowing it.
The motorsports business had been relocated to Georgia in 2019 as well, a move that made sense given the proximity to a Newnan factory for Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp. of America that spans 1.3 million square feet, employs 2,000-plus people and has churned out close to 5 million units in 30-plus years of manufacturing, from ATVs to waverunners and side-by-sides. That unit recently contracted with DHL to manage logistics on its site, transferring 175 of its employees to the German third-party logistics provider.
Yamaha Motor USA CEO Mike Chrzanowski worked on the Newnan site some 20 years, then climbed to the top executive position in the U.S. two years ago. He was given the option to relocate to Cypress or to stay in Kennesaw.
“I chose Kennesaw because this is where all the action is,” Mr. Chrzanowski said during a 2024 celebration of international investment at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
The consolidation is benefiting Georgia amid a tough operating environment in the U.S. for Yamaha Motor, which is “undertaking structural reforms aimed at improving the profitability of its U.S. operations in response to cost increases resulting from U.S. tariffs and changes in the market environment,” according to a news release.
In addition to cutting costs, the company is working on tying profitability less to relentless top-line revenue growth and more to new innovations.
Its move gives credence to a thesis espoused by Metro Atlanta Chamber economist Jerry Parrish early in the tariff turmoil of 2025, who postulated that pain elsewhere in the U.S. could end up being good for metro Atlanta as companies look to cut costs and centralize corporate functions in a city with a diverse industry set, competitive cost structure, and strong talent base.
For Yamaha’s part, it is focused on creating kando, which it describes as “a Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.”
Learn more about Yamaha’s journey in Georgia here:
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