Yamaha Motor Co. will transfer its all-terrain vehicle production in Japan to the company’s factory in Newnan, a suburb of Atlanta.
ATVs are already manufactured at the Newnan factory and the product line will be expanded to include models with larger engines once production is transferred from Japan. The transfer will start next year and will be completed by 2013, the company said Friday.
Yamaha did not disclose how many jobs will be added in Newnan. “The ATV production transfer is still in the planning stages, and while we expect the move to have a positive impact on the local economic community, we don’t have an estimate for the number of jobs it might create,” Yamaha spokesman Steve Nessl told GlobalAtlanta.
The Newnan plant also produces golf carts, personal watercraft (commonly known as jet skis) and two-seat off-road vehicles known as side by sides.
The Newnan plant, which currently employs more than 1,000 people, is the largest private employer in Coweta County, Greg Wright, president of the Coweta County Development Authority, told GlobalAtlanta.
Yamaha is also a magnet for other Japanese investment in Georgia.
Earlier this month, a Japanese fuel tank manufacturer, Yazaki Corp., announced it will put a new plant and its North American headquarters in Gainesville.
Yazaki, based in the city of Iwata, will initially employ 20 at the Hall County production facility. Production is slated to begin late this year, and the company plans to eventually create 30-40 jobs.
Yazaki chose Georgia in part because of Gainesville’s relative proximity to Yamaha, one of Yazaki’s main customers. Yamaha Motor’s parent company, like Yazaki’s, is based in Iwata.