Roper Corporation will invest $118 million to expand its manufacturing operations, creating an additional 600 jobs in LaFayette, GA. The company is a subsidiary of GE Appliances and the largest employer in Walker County.
Roper Corporation’s LaFayette plant manufactures Georgia Made™ cooking products including wall ovens, cooktops, and ranges for the Monogram®, GE®, GE Profile™ and CAFÉ™ brands. Georgia Made is a state program created to celebrate the people and industries responsible for manufacturing a wide variety of products across the state.
“Investing in U.S. manufacturing allows us to be closer to our consumers and serve them better, which is critical to GE Appliances’ business strategy,” said Bill Good, Vice President of Manufacturing at GE Appliances. “Our partnership with Georgia is strong and getting stronger as we continue to build innovative, industry-first cooking products at Roper.”
In addition to new jobs in Walker County, the investment will add cutting-edge advanced manufacturing technology from automation to autonomous vehicles that will improve material flow and increase assembly line efficiency.
“Roper will have the best digital manufacturing processes and technology available for our employees to manufacture the ranges our consumers love,” said Lois Crandell, president and plant manager of Roper Corporation. “The investments made in 2019 and those announced today together will increase our plant capacity by 50%.”
Roper Corporation has been in Georgia since 1973, and employs 2,000 people in the surrounding region. In 2019, GE Appliances invested an additional $43 million in its subsidiary, creating 100 jobs at the LaFayette facility. It was one of three GE investments totaling $130 million that year, in addition to creating the company’s first Smart Distribution Center in Jackson County, and becoming the first company to open a facility near the new Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) in Murray County to take advantage of the Georgia Ports Authority’s inland rail infrastructure. By the end of 2024, GE Appliances will have hired more than 1,000 new employees in Georgia.
“Roper Corporation has been a fixture of the Walker County community for five decades, so it is a pleasure to see GE Appliances invest in the Peach State in this way and continue to emphasize doing business with a leading Georgia-based supplier,” said Governor Brian P. Kemp. “This announcement is a testament to our strong logistics infrastructure, which is supported by the Appalachian Regional Port, and to our strong talent pipeline in northwest Georgia.”
“As the county’s largest employer, Roper Corporation has been a valuable corporate citizen for many decades,” said Walker County Board of Commissioners Chairman Shannon Whitfield. “We admire their commitment to community outreach, and we are grateful for their continued desire to grow locally. This expansion will provide opportunities to strengthen our workforce and the community as a whole.”
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Global Commerce division worked with Walker County Development Authority Executive Director Robert Wardlaw, the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority and its President and CEO Jeff Mullis, Georgia Quick Start, and North Georgia EMC to land the project.
“For nearly 50 years, Roper Corporation has been a vital employer and key member of the northwest Georgia community. And as a great corporate partner, this Georgia Made company has continually found ways to give back,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “I am very proud of the state’s longstanding relationship with Roper Corporation and GE Appliances and thank them for their continued investment. I look forward to seeing the many opportunities this expansion creates across the region.”
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