Savannah Chamber

22 for EVs) will locate a new manufacturing facility at Bruce Yawn Commerce Park. The project represents a commitment of 250 jobs and $325 million in capital investment on 90 acres. Revalyu Resources, an environmentally friendly recycling company, will invest $210 million in a new PET plastic recycling facility in Gateway Regional Industrial Park. When fully completed the site will be capable of processing more than 200 tons per day of used plastic bottles into high quality sustainable PET polymers. This facility will employ 121 people. Two more Hyundai suppliers, Ecoplastic USA and Hanon Systems, were announced in January and May of 2023. Ecoplastic USA, located near I-16, will invest $205 million and employ 456 people. Hanon Systems, located in Gateway Regional Industrial Park, will invest $40 million and add 160 jobs. Effingham County's manufacturing employment soared 30% to 2,304 persons in 2023. This sector is poised for continued growth, with an estimated average annual increase of 6% over the next five years. These developments coincide with the recent announcement of Sewon America, a tier 1 Hyundai supplier, to invest $300 million in the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Rincon, creating 740 new jobs. The Sewon America announcement represents the most substantial private investment ever recorded in the city's history. In response to these plans, the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority (ECIDA) acquired an additional 125-plus acres of land at Grande View Industrial Park, furthering solidifying the ECIDA's efforts to promote manufacturing ventures in the area. New project inquiries in 2022 surpassed pre-Covid levels, with a 31% increase in 2022 compared to 2019. Manufacturing requests rose by 29% during that time. Early indicators point to 2023 as a record-breaking year for new project activity in Effingham County, tracking a 29% increase over 2022 prior to the end of 2023. Liberty County manufacturers employ about 2,150 workers, a 2.1% gain over 2022. Liberty County's manufacturing landscape is expected to grow with Seohan Auto Georgia and SNF Holdings. An $80 million bond was issued for a new 300,000 SF manufacturing facility being constructed for Seohan Auto Georgia in Tradeport East Business Center. The project will create 180 new jobs, and future expansion is expected to grow the plant to 490,000 square feet. The county's largest employer, SNF Corporation, employs approximately 1,700 persons and is the second largest manufacturing employer in the seven-county Savannah combined statistical area. SNF acquired 62 acres of property to relocate Riceboro rail facilities and will create 25 jobs in the area. Georgia Ports Authority The Georgia Ports Authority operates the largest single-terminal container facility in North America. The Port of Savannah is the third-busiest port in the country for container trade and has the largest capacity for container handling in the Western Hemisphere. Georgia's logistics ecosystem provides the environment for GPA's and Georgia's economic success on a worldwide basis. By facilitating global trade, GPA enables international business to thrive in Georgia. The state's political and business leadership view GPA facilities as a state-level asset, one which yielded a contribution of $59 billion to state GDP, $3.8 billion in state and local taxes, $140 billion in revenue to Georgia's economy, and supported 561,000 jobs. In FY 2023 the Port of Savannah handled a record 5.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). Although this was a decrease of 6.7% when compared to the previous year, the decrease represents a normalization of activity toward the more sustainable long-term trend rate of growth. The Port of Savannah moved over 22% of the East Coast container trade, handling more than 12% of all U.S. containerized exports. Current and long-term expansions are projected to increase the Port of Savannah's capacity by 60 percent, growing from 6 million TEUs to 9.5 million TEUs by 2025. Many of these projects have been underway in 2023, with renovations to the Garden City Terminal, Ocean Terminal, and the Port of Brunswick currently in progress. Garden City Terminal is the largest container terminal in the Western Hemisphere, and renovations were completed in August 2023 for Berth 1, allowing the terminal to serve seven ships at once and adding 1.5 million TEU capacity. The Garden City Terminal West storage yard was recently opened in November 2023, resulting in a 100-acre yard for longer-term storage needs. Finally, $44.5 million was approved to build a 300,000 square foot facility for the U.S Customs and Border Protection. This is the only on-port inspection site in the U.S. and renovations will allow more efficient and secure flow of cargo through the terminal. Significant investment in Ocean Terminal occurred throughout 2023. Current work seeks to allow the terminal to serve two container ships simultaneously, offer 2 million TEU annual capacity, and transition the facility to a container-only model. All roll-on/roll of cargo will transition to the Port of Brunswick by February 2024. Renovations for Berths 12 and 13 are slated to be completed in January 2025 and June 2026, respectively. These changes will allow the terminal to service 18,000+ TEU vessels and add 2,650 feet of berth.

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