Gov. Nathan Deal announced Japan-based Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd. will establish its North American headquarters at Georgia’s first eco-friendly park, creating 32 jobs.
“I’m thrilled that this state-of-the-art chemical company has chosen Georgia to establish its North American headquarters,” said Deal. “We have a longstanding, mutually beneficial relationship with Japan, and our top-ranked business climate will continue to carry global companies such as Otsuka Chemical toward success.”
The project was first initiated during Deal’s mission to Asia in 2013. The Otsuka Chemical America, Inc. headquarters, located on a 35-acre site within The Lakes at Green Valley industrial park on Georgia Highway 16, will put the company geographically closer to its customers. The facility will manufacture titanate friction materials for automotive brake pads, an extension of the company’s existing chemical production businesses and one that it intends to expand in the United States.
“As a leading manufacturer of titanate friction material for the automotive industry, we are thrilled to announce the establishment of our new production facility in Georgia,” said Hiroyoshi Tosa, CEO of Otsuka Chemical America, Inc. “We look forward to contributing to the local community while working to meet the needs of our customers across the world through Otsuka Chemical’s environmentally friendly product offerings.”
Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd. is a diversified Japanese chemical manufacturer that offers products for a wide range of applications, including the automotive, construction and pharmaceutical industries. It is part of Otsuka Holdings, one of the largest health care and chemical companies in Japan, making a variety of pharmaceuticals, as well as energy, vitamin and other drinks, including North America’s No. 1 best-selling vitamin brand: Nature Made.
The location of the Otsuka Chemical America headquarters and manufacturing facility is considered the first eco-park in Georgia and resulted from a partnership between the Griffin-Spalding Development Authority and Georgia Tech.
“Georgia Tech is committed to sustainability and the support of manufacturing in Georgia,” said Stephen Fleming, vice president of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech. “By utilizing our leaders from different areas across campus during the development of The Lakes at Green Valley eco-industrial park, we are helping to create opportunities that support new business growth and the creation of jobs throughout the state.”
In order to create sustainable site development and building construction on the once privately owned farm, the authority developed the land to be green-friendly from the ground up and created, with the assistance of Georgia Tech, the first green-rating system to ensure that the construction of the Otsuka Chemical American headquarters, and all future companies, will be friendly with the environment.
“It has been a pleasure working with the company officials of Otsuka in the planning of this project,” said Chuck Copeland, chair of the Griffin-Spalding Development Authority. “They have selected a very attractive site within our Lakes at Green Valley eco-development. We are confident they will be constructing a first-class facility and creating quality jobs for our community.”
Scott McMurray, Director of the International Investment team at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and Joseph Huntemann, project manager on the International Investment team assisted the company on behalf of the State of Georgia.
“Otsuka Chemical could have chosen anywhere in the world to locate its newest business, but it chose Georgia,” said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Carr. “The company is already benefitting from our high-caliber labor pool and top-notch university research. I have no doubt that our booming manufacturing environment will help this company’s newest operations grow.”
About Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1950, Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd. is based in Osaka, Japan, with production facilities and offices in nine countries throughout the world. The company engages in the research, development, manufacture and sale of organic, inorganic, fine and specialty chemicals. Its products include titanate and titanate derivatives, polymerization initiators, resin compounds, resin additive agents, hydrazine derivatives, foaming agents, flame retardants and anti-odor agents for aldehyde.
About the Otsuka Group
The Otsuka Group is a diversified health care group operating under the corporate philosophy of “Otsuka — people creating new products for better health worldwide.” The Otsuka Group takes an integrated approach to health care, building on two main strategic pillars: the pharmaceutical business, which covers a wide range of areas from diagnosis to treatment of diseases, and the nutraceutical business, which supports the maintenance and improvement of day-to-day well-being. Approximately 42,000 employees in 23 countries around the world seek new solutions to health needs with the objective of making humanity’s universal wish for good health a reality for everyone.