DUBLIN, Ga. — On Tuesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced a new manufacturing facility is coming to Dublin, creating over 460 new jobs in the Emerald City.
Hwashin is a South Korean auto parts supplier, and Mayor Joshua Kight said they've committed to an average wage of $18 for their employees. Hwashin also said their weekly payroll will total over $300,000 when they're fully employed.
"The goal of our economic efforts is to make sure that every citizen of Dublin and Laurens County has an opportunity for a good paying job, and that means a good paying job in this community," Kight said.
Kight said about 60% of high schoolers in Dublin don't attend college, so this could be a great opportunity for them to find a competitive job without having to leave their hometown.
Ryan Waldrep is president of the Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority and said the city and county have worked with Hwashin for the past seven months. The company expects to break ground in January 2024 and is scheduled to begin production in late 2025.
"They have a facility in Alabama and were looking to grow specifically to support the new Hyundai Meta Plant that's being constructed right now in Bryan County," Waldrep said.
Of those 460 jobs that are coming with the new facility, Waldrep said they've emphasized to Hwashin they want a majority of them to be filled by locals. All those jobs won't open up at once.
"It'll be a ramp-up of jobs and job creation. Certainly, there will be some jobs, a lot of jobs will be created during the construction period itself, but as the company begins to install equipment and begins training, they will start hiring employees right, from right here in Dublin and Laurens County," Waldrep said.
The facility chose to build their company at the Georgia Highway 257 Rail Served Site.
Hwashin will be the seventh international company that chose to build a plant in Dublin and Laurens County.
"That is tremendous for a community of our size, to have that large of a presence of international companies and international manufacturers located right here," Waldrep said.
If those jobs do get sourced to people outside of the area, Dublin realtor Matt Meeks said that could add to the housing shortage in town.
"Without anybody moving in, or even with just the current people who are in town, the supply is not there. And that's what has caused all the crazy demand. It drives prices up, people wanna sell their homes, but they can't find anywhere to go. So with that being said, it just furthers the shortage," Meeks said.
That's why he said now is a great time for people to start building.
"That's why one of the things we try to do to prepare and I'm doing even personally is building. Because when you build these houses, you're creating more opportunity for these people to come in and buy," Meeks said.
Hwashin has additional facilities in the United States, Asia and South America.