(The Center Square) — Georgia officials did not dole out any discretionary incentives to lure a construction materials manufacturer to build its first U.S. facility in Athens-Clarke County.
Duckshin Housing plans to spend more than $15 million on the facility on Olympic Drive at the Athena Industrial Park. The company, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, produces architectural frames and deck plates of galvanized steel and rebars and expects to create 100 jobs with the Athens project.
“Construction companies of all sizes need new types of well-designed and efficiently made deck-plates for workers to safely work from,” Myung Hwan Kim, chairman of Duckshin Housing, said in an announcement. “By coming to Athens, we can be closer to growing and new construction projects in Georgia and all states of the U.S.”
A Georgia Department of Economic Development spokesperson confirmed to The Center Square the lack of discretionary incentives. Officials expect construction on the facility to start this year.
“Locating construction material companies like Duckshin in the state not only creates jobs for our communities but can reduce construction costs for future facilities,” GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson said in an announcement. “Advanced manufacturing is one of Georgia’s leading industries, which announced more than 7,700 new jobs through economic development projects across the state in the last six months of 2022. The new facility in Athens-Clarke County will be able to support continued growth in this industry.”
