Gov. Sonny Perdue (center, right), Deputy Secretary General of Hunan province Mei Ke Bao (center, left), Chinese Consul General Qiao Hong (far left) and Sany Group CEO Xiang Wen Bo (far right) prepare to unveil a banner announcing Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. as the newest Chinese manufacturer investing in Georgia.

The recent announcement that a Chinese construction equipment manufacturer is to build its first North American assembly plant in Peachtree City gives Georgia its third major Chinese factory, boosting the state’s growing relationship with the Asian power.

Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., a heavy concrete pumping equipment manufacturer, is based in Changsha, the capital of China’s Hunan province, and is expected to bring $30 million of investment and up to 200 new jobs to the area over the next five years.

A variety of factors contributed to the Sany’s interest in Georgia and the company’s ultimate decision to choose Peachtree City, according to Lincoln Liang, Sany America’s president.

“North America has a large market for our products, and Georgia occupies an important geographical location with convenient transportation,” Mr. Liang said in a press release.  “Most importantly support for foreign investment from the state and local governments in metro Atlanta is systematic and well-structured.  They understand Chinese businesses.”

From left to right: Ken Stewart, commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development; Qiao Hong, Chinese consul general in Houston; Mei Ke Bao, deputy secretary, Hunan province; Liang Wen Gen, chairman, Sany Group; Harold Logsdon, mayor, Peachtree City; Jack Smith, chairman, Fayette County Board of Commissioners, Zhou Fu Gui, senior vice president, Sany Group. photo by Gail Rockburne

Jian Nan Fu, an accountant with Atlanta firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne LLP, told GlobalAtlanta that he is from Changsha and graduated from the same university as Sany’s CEO.  

Mr. Fu, who has been in negotiations with Sany officials about providing tax services for the company in Georgia, noted that promoting the relationship between Georgia and China is essential in attracting Chinese companies to Georgia. 

“Georgia is still not popular in China,” he said.  “Because of the Olympics, most people know Atlanta, but they don’t know the relationship between Georgia and Atlanta,” Mr. Fu said.

Although Mr. Liang praised Georgia’s transportation industry, Mr. Fu said that making transportation more convenient would allow more Chinese investors like Sany to seriously consider Georgia rather than traditionally more convenient locations like California.

He said that Delta Air Lines Inc.’s proposed flight to Shanghai would be a step in the right direction, and officials from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce have echoed his sentiment.

Qiao Hong, Chinese consul general in Houston

Atlanta has “a home base located in the heart of the nation’s fastest-growing region, a low cost of doing business and access to the world through our international airport,” said Sam Williams, president of the chamber, in a press release. “Now we’re working on attracting a Chinese consulate to Atlanta and a direct air route to China.”

Kingwasong LLC, a joint venture between New Jersey-based W.Y. Industries Inc. and Ningbo Lehui Food Machinery Co. Ltd. is now building a plant in Newnan, and in May, China-based General Protecht Group bought 211 acres in Barnesville to build an electrical component assembly and distribution plant.

China is Georgia’s third largest export destination and China accounted for over 43 percent of the Port of Savannah’s total container volume in 2006, according the Georgia Ports Authority.

Georgia has a Chinese population of about 24,000, and state officials are pursuing the establishment a consulate in Atlanta, according to a government press release.