Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas (MPSA) will locate a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility near Savannah, investing $325 million and ultimately creating 500 jobs. Groundbreaking took place September 21, 2009 on a 19-acre, shovel-ready site that is part of the Chatham County Industrial Site, also known as Georgia’s “megasite.”
MPSA President and CEO Koji Hasegawa remarked, “We are especially thankful for the support provided to us by Governor Sonny 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.”
The economic development team is investing $54 million in the project.
In the first of a three-phase construction effort, the plant will manufacture gas turbine combustor components to support operating units in the Western Hemisphere and new turbines worldwide. Hiring commences in early 2010, and Georgia’s Quick Start workforce training program will provide training on the assembly and service of the turbines. It expects to begin making components as early as fall 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.
Brian Foster, board chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, remarked that the company will “invigorate the local economy and put Chatham County squarely in the ranks of an international movement toward the production of clean energy.”
Energy is one of the industries singled out by the Commission for a New Georgia as an area of strategic growth for the state.