A tenant in Columbia County’s White Oak Business Park is expanding its production line to include a street-legal, utility vehicle.
Governor Brian Kemp participated in the ribbon cutting for the 105,000-square-foot building. It will house 40 employees who can produce 20 vehicles a day. It represents an $8 million investment. The first Urban LSV was to roll off the production line just hours after the ribbon cutting.
Called the Urban, it comes in two configurations. The Urban XR is non-street legal, while the Urban LSV is street-legal. It has seatbelts, mirrors and taillights, turn signals, and a backup camera. It can navigate tight spots and carry up to 2,204 lbs.
“This vehicle is a street legal, electric utility vehicle used by universities, governments, municipalities, manufacturing to achieve their green sustainability goals while they do their work,” Mark Wagner, President of Club Car, told the crowd.
“In the last five years, this region, including Columbia County, has welcomed almost 6,000 jobs, and over $2.7 million of investment. And that does not even include the local organic growth that’s going on, like today’s expansion and other things that existing businesses and small businesses are doing every single day,” said Kemp.
This marks the third time in less than three weeks the Governor has been in the area. He participated in the Red Carpet Tour during Masters Week and helped break ground for the new Columbia County hospital in early April.
Currently, the Urban is built in Poland with finished vehicles shipped in response to orders. That changes with the expansion in Columbia County.
“American made, American designed, American tested, American proven,” Wagner told ABD. “The Club Car difference. We can apply not only American manufacturing, but also reliability, quality, and safety. You know, when vehicles are coming from overseas, it’s not necessarily that they’re meeting any of those three things. Everything manufactured by Club Car, unequivocally will meet our reliability, quality, and safety requirements.”
Wagner added the market for such vehicles is fast growing. Moving the manufacturing to Columbia County means customers will get their vehicle more quickly.
Russell Lahodny, President and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, told ABD the county welcomes the growth.
“I always go back to the Chamber perspective, it’s all about jobs for us,” he said. “And, when local companies expand here, that’s just more jobs. That provides a bigger base for our growing community, which, as we grow, we need to have more professional jobs in our community that support that growth that people want to be here for. And it kind of completes that circle of good jobs.”
Lahodny also said the success of Club Car and other businesses in the White Oak Business Park, including two Amazon facilities, gives Columbia County a tool to attract more new businesses to set up shop in the county.
More details about the Urban LSV are at: www.clubcar.com/en-us/commercial/street-legal-vehicles/club-car-urban
