A Thursday luncheon to officially welcome the Sany Heavy Industry Corporation to Peachtree City was as much a blending of cultures as the announcement of a significant corporate venture coming here.

As happy as Sany Executive Vice President Zhou Fugui was in his remarks, he acknowledged that the announcement was merely the beginning of the company’s work ... and also what he hoped would be a mutually beneficial friendship.

Although most of Fugui’s speech was in Chinese and translated for the audience, he managed to slip in some American humor after a round of applause: “Thankyouverymuch,” in a style resembling that of Elvis Presley.

Sany is bringing 200 jobs to Peachtree City in its first five years, with an average annual salary of $50,000. The company also hopes to expand to 600 jobs in future years while also locating their U.S. headquarters here.

Sany’s facility will be an assembly plant producing concrete pumper trucks that are used largely for high-rise developments. The company is China’s number one supplier of concrete pumps for the construction industry there, and its chairman, Liang Wengen, was honored in 2005 as the distinguished person of the year in the Chinese economy.

If the schematics of Sany’s other worldwide plants are any indication, the company will also be making an architectural contribution to the city’s industrial park. The company’s initial investment in the facility and site is $30 million and once the headquarters is built and production line expanded in the future, that number will jump to $100 million.

Sany signed its official Georgia paperwork Tuesday and after a reception Wednesday night in Atlanta they were feted at The Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center.

“I am very excited today, excited in my heart because we have found such a high-quality city to develop our facility here,” Fugui said, adding that one of his main concerns is “to prove that you will not be disappointed by us.”

Sany wants to be a good corporate citizen and provide not just jobs but also a chance for both Chinese and U.S. cultures to blend, Fugui added.

“Just like the mayor said, we not only ‘plan to stay.’ We plan to stay forever.”

Fugui also invited those in attendance to visit the company’s headquarters in Hunan Province.

“I will treat you like an honored guest, and one of our best customers,” Fugui said, drawing hearty laughter from the business leaders in the audience.

Mayor Harold Logsdon invited the company’s representatives to make sure that they “bring their golf carts” to enjoy the paths in Peachtree City.

Fayette County Commission Chairman Jack Smith also welcomed Sany officials.

“We are humbled and honored that you chose Fayette County,” Smith said.

Logsdon was one of the key local officials who helped convince Sany to come here, and a special thanks was also given to Matt Forshee, President and CEO of the Fayette County Development Authority.

Hans Gant of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce noted that in Forshee, Fayette County has “a premier economic developer on your team here.”

“He worked really hard to make things happen on your behalf,” Gant said.

Attorney Guanming Fang of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice was also recognized for being the leadership team’s “secret weapon,” in helping bring Sany to Georgia.

While the company is getting a 10-year property tax abatement as part of its incentive package to help purchase the land, it is also getting a grant of $1.25 million, including $900,000 from the state, $150,000 from Fayette County, $150,000 from the Fayette County Development Authority and another $50,000 from Peachtree City.

All of those incentives are tied to “clawback provisions” that require the company to meet all of its goals for the first phase or pay a percentage of the incentives back based on the amount of jobs they said they would create and the amount they actually created in that time span, Forshee said.

The initial assembly facility will be built on a 180-acre site behind the Cooper Lighting tract, and Sany’s site extends all the way back to the railroad although they do not initially plan to use the rail. Sany is also purchasing a 40-acre site between Wilden Plastics and Panasonic which is earmarked for the company’s future U.S. headquarters.

The company sells its products in more than 60 countries, and it hopes by having a U.S. location it will be able to improve its service force. The company places a high importance on quality and tests each component of each truck before it leaves the assembly plant.

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