Heavy equipment assembly plant is put on hold due to economic downturn; company still hiring engineers, sales staff

Sany Corporation, the Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer, is evaluating whether to proceed with building its planned assembly building in Peachtree City.

Sany makes equipment tailored to the construction industry, and the decline in the U.S. economy has company officials wondering if there will be a market for their products in the near future, explained Matt Forshee, CEO of the Fayette County Development Authority.

Funding for the project is not an issue, Forshee said.

“They have the funds to build the facility and they know they need to be in the U.S.,” Forshee said.

Sany is continuing to hire design engineers and sales staff as it operates its headquarters from leased space in Peachtree City, Forshee said. The company said it has about 40 employees now including eight new hires in the last 60 days.

Sany sent notice to the state before the election declaring their intent to take 90 days to evaluate the situation on their assembly building plans before deciding how to proceed, Forshee said.

The company has already cleared and graded the assembly building site, and 15 percent of the steel for the building has already been manufactured while 60 percent of the steel has been designed, Forshee added.

“We will continue working with them,” Forshee said. “... The last thing we want is to have a big building there and they won’t be able to use it.”

He noted that the company has already purchased the land for the assembly buildings and a separate site for its U.S. headquarters. The assembly site will be on 180 acres located in the industrial park adjacent to Cooper Lighting, and its headquarters facility will be on 44 acres off Ga. Highway 74 between Wilden and Panasonic.

The company wants the U.S. presence to be able to provide better service to its U.S. customers, officials have previously said.

Sany’s signature item planned for its first operation in the United States is a concrete pumper truck that can be used for high-rise buildings. The company also manufactures other heavy equipment such as excavators and mobile cranes.

The assembly buildings planned for Peachtree City will be able to host between 15 and 20 different production lines, Forshee said.

The property tax break Sany receives will begin in January regardless of whether construction is on the way, but the break won’t be as big if the land remains undeveloped, Forshee said. The tax break is calculated on a percentage of the value of the land, which will be much higher once the buildings are complete.

Sany’s current headquarters operation is located in an office building off Kedron Drive across from the headquarters for World Air, Forshee said.

The assembly plant will not manufacture components but will assemble them from overseas shipments and U.S. suppliers, officials have said.

Sany plans to employ about 200 people at an average salary of $50,000 a year after its first five years in business here, officials have said.

The company initially projected to hire about 600 people by the end of its first 10 years with many employees being skilled laborers such as electricians, welders, plumbers and the like. By comparison, that would put Sany at the level of Cooper Lighting, which is the county’s second-largest corporate employer currently next to Panasonic Automotive, which has about 1,200 employees.