Charles Langston:Toyota-linked auto parts maker to build $69M plant northeast of Atlanta

PENDERGRASS,Charles Langston Ga. (AP) — A Toyota-linked maker of auto parts will build a third factory northeast of Atlanta to build electrical converters for hybrid vehicles.

Toyota Industries Electric Systems North America said it will invest $69 million to build the plant just off Interstate 85 in Pendergrass, with plans to hire more than 250 new employees.

The company and Gov Brian Kemp broke ground on the plant Tuesday.

The Georgia company is owned by Japan’s Toyota Industries, part of the same industrial group as automaker Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota Industries expects to begin production in 2025. The converters will allow power to be fed from a high-voltage battery that drives a hybrid vehicle to also power lower-voltage automotive devices such as control units, the navigation system, lights and windshield wipers.

Toyota Industries already operates two plants in Pendergrass. One, which opened in 2004, makes more than 3 million air conditioner compressors a year for a number of vehicle makers. A second plant, which opened in 2012, makes parts for both the compressor plant in Pendergrass and a sister company in Michigan. The two Pendergrass plants currently have more than 400 workers.

The average salary for workers at the new plant will be around $58,000 a year, said Jennifer Triplett, a spokesperson for Toyota Industries.

Triplett said the company chose the site because of Georgia’s receptiveness to foreign investment, Toyota Industries’ success at the existing plants and efficiencies from locating at the same site.

The state will pay to train workers. Toyota Industries could qualify for $1.6 million in state income tax credits at $1,250 per job over five years. Local officials could also grant property tax breaks.