Two industries in Peachtree City — Rinnai and Gerresheimer USA — are expanding their facilities, some good news for the local economy.
A conceptual site plan proposed by Rinnai Corporation for nearly 63,000 sq. ft. of renovation and an addition to the company’s south Peachtree City facility was approved April 10 by the Peachtree City Planning Commission.
Rinnai at its International Drive facility wants to renovate a 25,110 sq. ft. building and add a 37,560 two-story building. The company is known for its tankless water heaters and has operated a distribution, research and training facility in Peachtree City since 2001. One of the world’s largest gas appliance manufacturers, Rinnai is headquartered in Japan and operates in 13 countries, according to its website, rinnai.us.
Commissioners by unanimous vote approved the request with the condition that all ordinances must be followed before removing any trees.
A portion of the proposal included adding 293 parking spaces in two phases. The first phase would add 244 spaces, followed in the future with the addition of another 49 parking spaces.
While noting that additional parking was needed at the site, commissioners were concerned that applying such a significant amount of asphalt for the new parking spaces would make the requirement to add the appropriate number of trees to the property difficult due to space limitations.
That concern led to the condition that all ordinances, including those pertaining to landscaping, be met before construction can commence.
Rinnai will be back later in the project for issues such as building elevations, the landscape plan and final site plans.
Commissioners at the meeting expressed the idea that the approval process be revised so that landscape plans can be included with conceptual site plans.
A request by Gerresheimer USA to attach 20,000 sq. ft. of tooling facility space to the company’s facility on Ga. Highway 74 South was approved April 10 by the Planning Commission.
Planning commissioners on a 4-1 vote approved the conceptual site plan request to attach a 20,000 sq. ft. expansion at its facility with the conditions that the building expansion not encroach into the 60-foot tree-save landscape buffer along Hwy. 74 South and that elevations must meet ordinance requirements.
Chairman Frank Destadio, the lone opposing vote, expressed concerns such as the placement of the expansion area on the existing building.
Gerresheimer representatives said the project was requested because the high-tech machine shop needed more operational space.
The company manufactures specialty glass and plastic packaging for medicines, things like insulin pens, inhalers, injection vials and syringes, as well as cosmetics packaging. It employs 10,000 workers on four continents and lists annual revenue of EUR 1.4 billion, or about $1.5 billion in U.S. dollars, according to its website, www.gerresheimer.com.
