According to a recent analysis by Georgia Southern University’s Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research, the annual economic impact of manufacturing in Bulloch County surpassed $1.17 billion in 2023.
The study, commissioned by the Development Authority of Bulloch County, showed a 32-percent increase in economic impact from a similar analysis conducted in 2020, prior to the COVID pandemic. Also, manufacturing currently supports more than 4,000 jobs in Bulloch at an average annual salary of $56,339.
“This study shows that our county’s manufacturing sector provides significant value to our citizens,” said Benjy Thompson, CEO of the Development Authority. “Our manufacturers invest a great amount of capital in their facilities and provide good paying and well-benefitted jobs to our citizens.
“Due to our partnerships with Bulloch County, the City of Statesboro, Bulloch County Schools, and our education and workforce partners, the DABC is proud to be involved in the recruitment and support of our county’s manufacturers.”
The analysis included local manufacturing employers such as Briggs & Stratton, Great Dane Trailers, Cardinal Glass and other small and large industrial businesses.
“And, with additional industry partners coming online in the next few years, the impact of manufacturing on our county will certainly grow, providing more jobs and economic growth,” Thompson said.
New plants in Bulloch
Hanon Systems’ is building a factory in Gateway Regional Industrial Park and is one of three tier-one suppliers to the Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant, now under construction in Bryan County, that are building in Bulloch County. Two other non-Hyundai related businesses also are building plants in Bulloch.
Their job creation commitments add up to a projected 1,600 employees and their promised capital investments within Bulloch to $1 billion.
In addition to Hanon Systems, the following companies are currently building plants in Bulloch:
• Aspen Aerogels, announced Feb. 17, 2022. Construction is nearly complete underway on the 90-acre site in Bruce Yawn Commerce Park. The company’s commitment is for a $325 million investment and at least 250 manufacturing jobs. Although not linked to the Hyundai factory, Aspen’s plant will make aerogel insulation, which is used in and around electric vehicle batteries.
• Ecoplastic America Corporation, a supplier of injection-molded plastic automotive body parts to Hyundai Motor Group, intends to build a $205 million plant, promised to create 456 jobs, phased in over eight years, on a site owned by the DABC south of Statesboro. Site preparation is underway.
• Ajin USA, supplier of metal auto body parts to Hyundai, has committed to invest $317 million and eventually employ 630 people at its Joon Georgia plant. The site is 83 acres, beside the Aspen Aerogels site in Bruce Yawn Commerce Park.
• Not connected to Hyundai, revalyu Resources, headquartered in Germany, plans to build a PET plastic-bottle recycling plant on a 43-acre site in Gateway Regional Industrial Park. It is expected to create 71 jobs and require a $50 million investment in Phase 1, the only phase counted in the current totals.
Hanon, Ecoplastic and Ajin are all tier-one suppliers because they deal directly with Hyundai Motor Group. A tier-two supplier would supply materials to a tier-one supplier, and so forth.
In addition to the impacts highlighted by the analysis, manufacturers also provide significant revenue to Bulloch County and Bulloch County schools. Gateway Regional Industrial Park, which includes several manufacturing facilities and the Walmart Distribution Center, paid more than $3.5 million in property taxes in 2023.