A major international employer is setting up shop in Columbus, Ga.
JS Link America, a U.S.-owned subsidiary of JS Link, a Korean company, said in a news release through the office of Gov. Brian Kemp that it will invest $223 million to create a rare-earth permanent magnet facility in the western Georgia city.
The facility is expected to have a production capacity of 3,000 tons, according to the company.
Rare-earth magnets are critical components for an array of manufactured products including automobiles, wind turbines, elevators, home appliances and more.
JS Link America also plans to bring 524 jobs to Columbus.
Selvin Hollingsworth, chair of the Development Authority of Columbus, described those positions as "high paying," with an average salary of $89,000 per year. During its hiring process, the company will be looking for engineering, production, construction, administrative and management personnel, according to the news release.
"On behalf of Choose Columbus and the economic development team, we are proud to have JS Link join our corporate community," Hollingworth said. "This location will have a large impact on our entire regional economy, and we look forward to helping them establish and grow their U.S. presence in Columbus."
Founded in 2000, JS Link is a Korean biotechnology company specializing in research and development.
The facility will be in a 130,000-sq.-ft. building at the Muscogee Technology Park. Operations are expected to begin there in late 2027.
The news is the first economic development announcement from Choose Columbus, a standalone organization focused on job creation, capital investment and business recruitment in the Chattahoochee Valley.
"It takes the whole community working together to showcase what the community has to offer to a new business or a new manufacturing facility," said Missy Kendrick, who was chosen as the inaugural president and CEO of the group earlier this year.
JS Link America ‘Perfect Fit' for Columbus
Local officials described JS Link's arrival in Columbus as a "perfect fit" for the greater Chattahoochee Valley.
Pace Halter, chair of Columbus 2025, an economic development plan developed by the Regional Prosperity Initiative Inc., told the Ledger-Enquirer that JS Link's arrival is "checking a lot of boxes" for the greater economic vision in Columbus.
"The majority of that plan, in one way or another, is centered around development," Halter said. "Economic development creates investment. It creates jobs, and jobs employ our community. [Those jobs] will allow people to pull themselves up if they are below the poverty line. It is about how we make our region more prosperous, and creating jobs, this number of jobs that are high paying, is a perfect fit for that."
Halter also outlined how JS Link fits in with the manufacturing industry in Columbus.
Beginning in 1828, the city became known as a textile hub powered by the Chattahoochee River. Eventually, it grew be become one of the South's largest industrial complexes.
JS Link's investment in Columbus is reminiscent of that rich history, Halter explained.
"This is a nice addition to the ongoing manufacturing industry that has existed for decades, … arguably centuries, in Columbus," he said. "This is a wonderful city for manufacturing. We're built for it."
The city's rich history of manufacturing was a part of the pitch to get JS Link to set up their facility in Columbus, according to Hollingsworth, with its workforce and community being the other major selling points.
"One of our big secrets here is that we've got Fort Benning," he said, referring to the massive U.S. Army post on the south side of Columbus. "You're talking about people that are leaders, who are the best of the best, and you're adding that type of talent to the local market every day."
Hollingsworth also emphasized that JS Links' job opportunities fill local and national needs.
"In any community, you're as strong as your middle class, and these will be very good jobs for our middle class," he said.
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson echoed those sentiments.
"These are the kind of jobs we need in Columbus," Henderson told the Ledger-Enquirer. "We want to make sure that if somebody is employed, they are employed to the point where they can afford [their] mortgage plan or the car payment. And to have over 500 jobs making an average of $89,000 is significant."
