German Robotics Firm Plans Georgia Plant, But Incentives Remain Unknown

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

December 5, 2022

(The Center Square) — A global cable and robotic machinery manufacturer plans to spend more than $30 million to build a new Cherokee County manufacturing facility, but it’s unclear whether Georgia taxpayers will be on the hook for any incentives.

Becker Robotic Equipment, based in Dülmen, Germany, said it plans to create 137 new jobs at the Canton facility, located at The Bluffs at Technology Park. The location will house Becker’s North American headquarters.

"The investment in Georgia builds on our previous success in the state and enables us to bring about a new phase of growth for our high-tech manufacturing operations, incorporated in a mixed-use, campus-style development with beautiful homes and astonishing recreational areas," Johan Broekhuijsen, a Becker Robotic Equipment Corp. representative, said in an announcement.

A Georgia Department of Economic Development communications representative told The Center Square that the project is "still active." The designation allows state officials to decline to release details about tax incentives the state offered to entice a company to locate in Georgia.

"Metro Atlanta is ideally suited for Becker’s new North American headquarters and manufacturing facility, given its thriving automotive and mobility ecosystem," Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick said in an announcement. "Becker will surely benefit from the collaboration between the region’s innovative companies and universities, access to talent, and the already robust German business community."

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.