GAINESVILLE - The Gainesville City Council held an Executive Session midway through its regular meeting Tuesday evening to finalize details that will allow for the sale of 110-acres in the new Gainesville Business Park to local trailer manufacturing company Cottrell for a price of $5.8-million.
Earlier in the day Cottrell announced plans to invest $125 million for the purpose of constructing a new 500,000-square-foot facility in Gainesville.
The city council then resumed its regular meeting and passed the resolution, authorizing the acreage to be transferred to the Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority for sale to Cottrell.
City Attorney Abb Hayes said, "This would be the first property that we have sold in our new business park, and this (resolution) will enable us to get it closed by the end of the month and get Cottrell started on their development."
The company's new facility will be the second in Hall County and serve as its North Campus near the exisiting South Campus, according to a statement sent this afternoon by the Office of Governor Brian Kemp. Cottrell employs 1,000 people at the current Gainesville location and this new facility will bring even more jobs to the ever-expanding area.
“With a nearly 50-year history in Hall County, Cottrell has been a valued member of Georgia’s advanced manufacturing community for decades,” Governor Kemp said in the statement. “It's great to see Cottrell double down on their investment in Gainesville and put highly skilled, hardworking Georgians back to work.”
Cottrell opened its first campus in Gainesville-Hall County in 1973. Plans for the new North Campus include to bring many of the company's current operations under one roof. Upon completion, some aspects of production will be moved to the North Campus, while the South Campus will be used for future business development, according to the statement.
“Hall County has been an extraordinary place to grow our business, and we are excited to continue our next phase with the people of this community,” said Cottrell CEO Danny Zink. “This new state-of-the-art expansion will allow Cottrell to meet and exceed customer and employee needs and expectations for decades to come.”
“The City of Gainesville is pleased to support Cottrell’s next phase of growth in the new 1,300-acre Gainesville 85 Business Park," said Gainesville City Manager Bryan Lackey. "Cottrell’s new facility will occupy the first phase of the new park. We have worked closely with Cottrell to coordinate the city’s development of the new park to meet their development schedule and allow Cottrell to continue their growth in Gainesville-Hall County and Georgia.”
Construction on the new facility is expected to last between 24 and 30 months. The company intends to break ground on the project sometime later this year.
Cottrell is currently hiring for some positions at the existing Gainesville campus. These positions include MIG welder, aluminum welder, CNC laser operator and CNC drill operator. Interested applicants can find out more at CottrellNowHiring.com. Applicants can also apply in-person at 2125 Candler Road in Gainesville.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/2/980388/cottrell-to-invest-125-million-in-gainesville-expansion