Qcells supplier to invest $147M in new Cartersville manufacturing facility
The new manufacturing facility will create more than 160 new jobs in the city of Cartersville.
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Gov. Brian Kemp says Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, Inc. (HAGA), a manufacturer of lightweight advanced materials for sustainable technology, will invest an estimated $147 million in a new manufacturing facility to supply the Qcells facility in Cartersville, creating more than 160 new jobs.
“Georgia is leading the nation in attracting next-generation jobs,” Governor Kemp said in a statement. “Since we first welcomed Qcells to our state in 2018, we’ve announced more than 4,000 related jobs for hardworking Georgians. We’re proud that Hanwha Advanced Materials is adding to that growing number as it becomes a valued member of the Bartow County community.”
According to a news release, Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hanwha Group and will supply Qcells with encapsulant film. These materials are used in solar cells to ensure long-term panel durability. HAGA will be the only company in the United States manufacturing solar encapsulants.
“The products we make are an important piece of the clean energy supply chain puzzle, and we are excited to meet this need,” Inhwan Kim, CEO of Hanwha Advanced Materials, said in a statement. “Building our cutting-edge, advanced materials in Georgia will not only create new careers in solar but help bring more affordable, reliable clean energy to customers across the country.”
The proposed project is in state representative Matthew Gambill’s district. Gambill said he’s already looking for ways for these trades to be taught in schools.
“We have a healthy industrial base, that’s something that has been worked on for decades. We have opportunities for these students to know about these industries and prepare to go to work,” said Gambill.
“Q CELL’s announcement to expand its manufacturing in Georgia - already the largest solar manufacturing investment in U.S. history – is the direct result of my economic plan. With the support of Senators Warnock and Ossoff and Georgia House Democrats, clean energy manufacturing announcements in Georgia are creating thousands of good-paying jobs making solar panels and components here at home and tackling the climate crisis. This is another reason for optimism for Georgians in the year ahead, and as we debate the budget moving forward one thing I won’t accept are MAGA House Republicans’ proposals to defund our historic investments in America, which would endanger this manufacturing boom in Georgia and across the country,” said President Joe Biden in a statement.
Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, says this move is bringing jobs back to America
“The world is going to need clean energy. and the president feels strongly that we should be making that product here. We’ve seen offshoring of jobs, offshoring, in particular, manufacturing jobs as these big multinational corporations decide that it’s cheaper for them to produce in China, or in southeast Asia, or other parts of the world. and it’s really helped hollowed out the middle class in America. that’s one of the reasons that the president ran it was to rebuild the American manufacturing sector,” said Ramamurti.
HAGA will construct a new manufacturing facility located at Highland 75 Corporate/Industrial Park, a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certified site in the city of Cartersville. The facility is predicted to come online in Summer 2024. The company will be hiring for engineers and line operators. Interested individuals can learn more about working at HAGA by visiting www.hwam.co.kr.
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