NEWS - Construction & Building

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Evans General Contractors, one of the Southeast’s leading commercial design/build general contractors, recently broke ground on a new Great Dane manufacturing facility in Statesboro, Ga., which will produce more than 4,000 refrigerated trailers annually. Construction on the 450,000-square-foot project is expected to be complete in October of 2011.

The refrigerated trailer manufacturing plant will employ more than 400 area residents and provide a boost to the local economy in Bulloch County. The total project cost is approximately $35 million.

“The value the new Great Dane facility brings to the region is tremendous,” said Tim Evans, president of Evans General Contractors. “This facility will bring skilled technical jobs to the area and benefit the regional economy. We’re delighted to be part of this important project.”

Great Dane, the world’s leading trailer manufacturer, originally announced the new facility in August of 2010. The state-of-the-art plant will be located at the Gateway Regional Industrial Park near U.S. 301 and I-16. Great Dane joins Wal-Mart, Briggs & Stratton and Viracon Georgia at the Gateway Regional Industrial Park.

Great Dane, which produces dry vans, refrigerated and platform trailers, is known for its innovation, technology and quality. Founded in Savannah in 1900 as the Savannah Blowpipe Company, Great Dane maintains one of its two division offices in Savannah, home of the company’s sales, marketing, engineering, and research and development center.

The company has seven other manufacturing plants in the U.S. In addition, Great Dane utilizes a network of company-owned branches, full-line independent dealers, and parts-only independent dealers and has distribution points across North and South America.

The Statesboro plant’s advanced technology will rank the facility the most efficient Great Dane plant in the world. Macgregor & Associates of Atlanta serves as the architect for the project.

“This new building will truly set the national standard for Great Dane’s manufacturing plants,” said Evans. “Our goal is to build this plant as safely, quickly and cost-effectively as possible, ensuring that Great Dane can fast-track refrigerated trailer production at this exciting new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.”