Finnish company Admares plans to invest $750 million to build a modular housing factory in the U.S. state of Georgia and hire 1,400 workers, officials said Wednesday.
The company plans to mass-produce housing in highly automated factories. Admares, which was founded in Turku, Finland, said it is in the process of moving its headquarters to the United States.
The company said its Waycross factory will be 232,000 square feet and production is scheduled to begin in late 2025. The company plans to build six such factories worldwide, each of which will produce 5,000 to 6,000 houses per year.
Such homes would only require a foundation and utility connections at the site where they are built, Admares said, and could be built with 80% less material waste and 75% less carbon emissions than homes built the traditional way.
“With our advanced technology, we are adopting successful practices common in other advanced industries,” said founder and CEO Mikael Hedberg in a statement.
The company said it chose Waycross because of its easy rail and highway access and proximity to a port in Brunswick.
Officials in Georgia were concerned that workers could find affordable housing. Pat Wilson, the state’s commissioner for economic development, said Admares could help solve this problem.
“Housing workers is a growing national challenge and Georgia is no exception. The new Admares facility helps meet that challenge and fill a niche that is critical to economic development,” Wilson said in a statement.
Admares could be eligible for $28 million in state income tax credits, at $4,000 per job over five years, provided workers make at least $31,300 per year. The state will also fund workers’ training. The company could qualify for other incentives, including Waycross or Ware County property tax breaks.
