Sany Corporation, the China-headquartered heavy equipment manufacturer, is anxious to get moving with construction on its new campus in Peachtree City.
And once it is complete, it will bring a serious shot in the arm to the city’s economy with 150 people initially employed for equipment assembly and research/development.
That number is expected to reach 300 by the end of the third year, officials have said.
On hold for more than a year due to the economy, Sany plans to have construction completed by the end of next year, officials said. Plans include an initial 350,000 square foot assembly building that will include a three-story research and development facility.
The company is projecting to spend more than $1 million on landscaping alone with a total project construction estimate of $62 million. The Sany site is adjacent to Cooper Lighting and Falcon Field; it has already been cleared and graded.
Sany, which already employs 79 people at its leased Peachtree City office, will employ 150 people in the first year the new facility is open, an additional 60 more jobs in the following year and then another 90 by the end of the third year of operation.
Only about 10 percent of the new jobs will be for unskilled labor, with executives being about 5 percent, management at about 15 percent, research/development and engineering at about 40 percent and skilled labor between 30 and 40 percent, according to a Sany representative.
All but about 2 percent of those jobs will be for Americans because the company believes strongly that Americans should handle development and sales to make sure it meets the expectations of U.S. companies, a Sany official said.
Once the buildings are complete and the 10-year phased property tax break expires, the property taxes paid by Sany each year will account for 14 percent of all property taxes paid by all occupants of the city’s industrial park, according to calculations made by the Development Authority.
Sany at that point would contribute about $141,000 in property taxes annually compared to about $989,000 for the rest of the entire industrial park currently, according to city projections.
The company is asking the city to waive $198,000 in impact fees it would otherwise have to pay to the city as a way to account for infrastructure costs incurred by the city. Sany would still pay $66,000 in such fees along with about $370,000 in other fees to the city and state including building inspections, land disturbance permits and the like.
At Monday night’s meeting of the Development Authority of Peachtree City, it was noted that the $198,000 fee waiver would not result in a hit of the same magnitude to next year’s city budget. Instead it will be spread out over a number of years.
The DAPC unanimously voted to recommend to the city council that the impact fee waiver be granted to SANY. The approval was tied to Sany having a certificate of occupancy by the end of 2011; otherwise the company would have to re-apply for the impact fee exemption.
The final decision rests with the council, which is expected to consider the matter at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
Mayor Don Haddix said he would prefer that Sany beef up some of its projections with commitments to meet those projections.
“Council is going to wait to see the bottom line firmed up,” Haddix said.
Sany representatives had hoped to get on the May 20 council agenda, but Haddix indicated council needs more time to develop questions about the company’s plans to be asked ahead of time.
Dennis Drewyer, who is helping Sany with the project, noted that during the worldwide economic downturn Sany as not had to layoff any of its employees, “which is unheard of.”
