While many in our local community have never toured an actual industrial manufacturing facility, Bulloch County has been significantly impacted by many such beloved beasts since the 1960s, and now, the granddaddy of them all, the Hyundai Metaplant is in our backyard.
The 1960s-70s set the foundation here. Rockwell-Brooks-Daniel-Brodie to this day produces highly technical, state-of-the-art flow meters. ITT Grinnell came along next with a massive half-million square foot foundry delivering cast iron pipe fittings and industrial flanges.
Not far north of that site on Old River Road, Cooper Industries opened its Wiss Plant in the former J.P. Stevens textile facility in 1978. Producing top quality scissors, shears and aviation snips, expansions later added H.K. Porter bolt cutters and Plumb hammers into the mix.
For differing reasons, both Wiss and Grinnell closed, but by then the Gateway Industrial Park off Highway 301 South began to develop. Briggs & Stratton arrived about 1995, producing more than 25 million engines. Today that factory has been purchased and repurposed by KPS Capital Partners, continuing to be an innovative manufacturer and vital employer.
Nearby, Viracon, now Cardinal Glass, was an assembly plant opened in 1998. Employing more than 500 workers at its peak, one claim to fame is the actual production of framed glass panels used on the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta! Unfortunately, Cardinal announced it was closing the plant in December.
Of course, there are more contributors who have provided a specific niche to the fabric of our home in here in Southeastern Georgia. I have worked at two of those mentioned above, more than 50 years ago, and toured others as well.
Just a few weeks ago, however, I witnessed “one giant leap” with a trip to the Metaplant.
The first thing one notices, after traversing 1,2, or three of those mind-boggling round-abouts off the I-16 exit, is the employee parking. Acres of roofing with solar panels provides both shade for the vehicles and generates 5% of the total electrical needs!
Pre-admittance seemed rather intricate with personal identification, yet we were warmly greeted and soon ushered into a spacious, welcoming room. A video explained the operation and philosophy, which led to questions from many in our group.
The actual tour lasted less than an hour. Our guides were Sarah and Sean. Their enthusiasm was sincere and contagious as we boarded two “stretch-limo golf carts” and adjusted our headphones. A quick look-see around the huge campus pointed out numerous buildings and the purpose for each. Some were for actual production; others were on-site suppliers of critical components. It seemed somewhat similar to a NASA tour of Cape Canaveral years ago.
Moving indoors, we beheld a bright, open, OZ-like environment with immaculate house-keeping, bright lights – and natural sunlight from above! The noise was mostly a hum, with beeps and buzzers as AMR, autonomous mobile robots, in all shapes and sizes, passed around and between us.
The assembly line was arranged into a gigantic “U” shape. Beginning with just the lower vehicle frame, the entire vehicle was built step by step on a moving conveyor, with crews on fixed platforms performing specific tasks such as attaching left-side doors to the chassis.
The doors were retrieved from a parked AMR robotically, moved into position mechanically for welds or fasteners, as the human crew checked for minute alignment and activation. Each vehicle platform could be raised or lowered to meet the optimum ergonomic benefit for health and safety of the crew.
The paint process is very detailed and runs thru various stages. First, a conversion coating to remove petroleum and welding residues. Next comes the electrostatic deposition where the pain has a positive charge while the auto body has a negative charge – instant bonding that covers places humans cannot reach.
The finished vehicles are moved off the line and ready for delivery, with gemstone glitter that creates a “Wow,” for many upon first glimpses of the sporty Ioniq 5 & Ionic 9. Original estimates for vehicles annually were set at 300K, which has now become 700-800K by 2028.
Hats-off to this modern wonder and to those that are making it happen. Great jobs. Immaculate working conditions. Cutting-edge technology creating superior vehicles from a vital corporate neighbor.
Hadley Campbell is a long-time Statesboro resident and a freelance writer for the Statesboro Herald.