Executive management, finance and other corporate administrative functions will be relocated. In all, 25 positions will move to Atlanta.
Rayovac wanted its headquarters in a more central geographic location that is “closer to regional headquarter locations,” according to the company.
“This move to Atlanta improves our access to all global customers and moves us closer to our global markets,” said Dave Jones, chairman and CEO of Rayovac.
The Atlanta metro has emerged as a headquarters center for U.S. and international companies.
These firms need to reach their customers globally, be able find quality talent, and offer their employees an environment with a good quality of life. Atlanta satisfies these needs.
Manufacturers are also expanding in the Atlanta metro.
Production of small engines has begun in a 55,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Griffin operated by Perkins Engines and Japan-based Ishikawajima Shibaura Machinery Ltd. (ISM).
The facility, to be called Perkins Shibaura Engines, is the first Perkins plant in North America.
It is expected to eventually produce as many as 60,000 engines annually.
The plant is located near a Caterpillar Inc. facility. Perkins Engines is a Caterpillar company.
The plant will supply Perkins’ 400 Series engines to North American original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Caterpillar, and to the Perkins and Caterpillar distribution and dealer networks for smaller OEMs and the aftermarket.
Peterborough, England-based Perkins Engines worked with Georgia’s Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism and the Spalding County Development Authority.
The company chose Griffin because of its skilled work force and the opportunity to enhance customer service through improved logistics.
“We chose a location near Atlanta because of the excellent logistics it provides for our North American customers,” said Jeremy Canham, general manager for industrial systems for Perkins Engines. “Being located in the Eastern U.S., the Griffin facility will be in proximity to a high percentage of our North American customers.”
Another company making its first inroads in the United States has also decided to locate in the Atlanta metro.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. chose Bartow County as the site for its first tire manufacturing plant in the country.
Toyo is creating a new subsidiary, Toyo Tire North America, to operate the plant.
The company will also build a warehouse at the site that will be truck- and rail-accessible. This will enable the company to use the facility as a distribution center for for its markets in the southeastern United States.
Toyo initially will employ about 350 workers at the plant, and the company expects to increase employment to as many as 900 based on future demand.
Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the first U.S.-manufactured passenger vehicle tire expected to roll off the line in 2006.
Georgia’s Quick Start work force training program will work with Toyo officials to design and conduct training in the fields related to computer operation and the troubleshooting of advanced manufacturing systems.
Means the article is accessible only to our magazine subscribers.
