South Korean company Duckshin Housing announced this week it will invest more than $15 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing presence in Athens.
Duckshin Housing is headquartered in Seoul, Korea and produces architectural deck plates and frames. The company’s deck plates are made of galvanized steel and rebars. Duckshin Housing’s products are designed for efficient production to be cost-effective, with enhanced safety in mind.
I’m proud that Duckshin Housing has chosen Athens-Clarke County as the home of their first U.S. facility.
With partners on the local level, we remain focused on investing in all parts of the state to ensure hardworking Georgians have jobs and opportunity. https://t.co/gLQu81PmB6
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) August 3, 2023
The company’s new facility will be located on Olympic Drive at the Athena Industrial Park in Athens, with construction expected to begin later this year.
“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 a statement. “By coming to Athens, we can be closer to growing and new construction projects in Georgia and all states of the U.S. We are excited to join the Athens-Clarke community and look forward to this new opportunity.”
Once operational, the company will hire for welder, machine operator, forklift driver, and other operations positions. Duckshin Housing’s investment in Georgia is expected to bring 100 new jobs to Athens-Clarke County, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD).
“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 a statement. “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.”
Duckshin Housing’s investment in Georgia comes weeks after another South Korea-based company, Hanon Systems, announced its intent to create 160 new jobs and invest more than $40 million in a new manufacturing facility in Bulloch County, Georgia, as previously reported by The Georgia Star News.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network.
