Editor's note: The following is from a press release sent Monday afternoon.
POOLER – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Mitsubishi Power Systems (MPSA) will locate a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility near Savannah, ultimately creating 500 jobs and investing $325 million. The Governor and MPSA Senior Vice President Dave Walsh made the announcement at the plant’s ground-breaking today on the Georgia megasite in Pooler. The facility significantly boosts the next-generation energy solutions developed by one of Georgia’s most strategic industries.
“Georgia delivered all the items on Mitsubishi’s list: a skilled and deep labor pool, easy access to the ports and interstates, and the ideal site to facilitate the company’s global growth and expansion,” said Governor Perdue. “We welcome Mitsubishi Power Systems to Georgia’s international business community and look forward to contributing to its continuing innovations in energy generation.”
Mitsubishi will produce advanced steam and gas turbines on the site, and will also service turbines and related components for power generation. The Pooler plant, which will be constructed in three phases, will serve the company’s customers in North and South America.
MPSA President and CEO Koji Hasegawa, who attended the ground-breaking, remarked, “We are especially thankful for the support provided to us by Governor Perdue and his economic development staff, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, Georgia Power and countless other agencies and officials who joined forces to make Georgia and Savannah an extremely attractive site for our project. This marks another key milestone in our long-term goal of locating equipment manufacturing and critical service support much nearer to our important customers.”
Construction will begin in 2009 on the first phase of the plant, which will manufacture gas turbine combustor components to support operating units in the Western Hemisphere and new turbines worldwide. The company will begin hiring in early 2010, and Quick Start, Georgia’s top-ranked workforce training program, will provide training on the assembly and service of the turbines. It expects to begin making components as early as the fall of 2010.
In Phase Two, Mitsubishi will build comprehensive service capabilities to support turbine rotor, rotor balancing, valve and other large component repairs and upgrades for gas and steam turbines. During the third and final phase, the company will manufacture and assemble the next generation of high-efficiency, low-emission gas turbines.
Mitsubishi chose the Savannah site after an extensive search throughout the Southeastern U.S. that began in late 2007. The 119-acre site, located near the intersection of Interstates 95 and 16 near Pooler, is part of the Chatham County Industrial Site, also known as Georgia’s megasite, and has been ranked by KPMG as the top such location in the Southeast. Its major advantages include ready access to the Port of Savannah, a nearby rail spur, extensive modern infrastructure availability and its status as a “shovel ready” location.
Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Senior Project Manager Scott McMurray assisted the company with its location, as did the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA).
“SEDA could not be more proud to welcome Mitsubishi to Savannah, knowing the addition of this world-class company will invigorate the local economy and put Chatham County squarely in the ranks of an international movement towards the production of clean energy,” remarked Brian Foster, board chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority.
Energy is one of the industries singled out by the Commission for a New Georgia as an area of strategic growth for the state. In 2006 Governor Perdue instituted an energy strategy for the state, providing a roadmap that balances economic growth through traditional and alternative energy sources, with a long-term goal of energy independence for Georgia. As a global leader in the development of power generation technology, including an expanding line of proven renewable energy technologies, Mitsubishi will be a major contributor to Georgia’s innovation economy.
About Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc.
Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA) was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida with key operations in Orlando, FL, Newport Beach, CA, Houston, TX, and Juarez, Mexico. MPSA provides a wide variety of products and services for the electric power generation industry including gas, steam, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric turbines, boilers, selective catalytic reduction systems and solar energy. The company is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), a diversified Fortune “Global 150” company with more than $30 billion in annual revenues and 40,000 employees worldwide. MHI is an international leader in the design and supply of energy, aerospace, machinery, transportation, and environmental systems and equipment.