Left to right, Commissioner Chris Carr; Mayor Karsm Reed; Krishna Mikkilineni, Honeywell senior vice president; Gov. Nathan Deal; Terrence Hahn, CEO and president of Honeywell Home and Building Solutions; and ‘Bud’ Peterson, president of Georgia TechWith 53 percent of its sales coming from outside of the U.S. last year and a presence in 1,250 sites in 70 countries, the Sept. 12 announcement that Morris Plains, N.J.-based Honeywell is to invest in a global software development center in Atlanta, the city’s technology sector is going to get an enormous boost.
Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced that Honeywell, would invest $19 million in the city and establish a software development center and the headquarters for its $9.4 billon Home and Building Technologies (HBT) business in Midtown.
Mr. Deal praised the investment as “a testament to the state’s thriving technology sector.” He also cited the University System as being instrumental “in attracting Honeywell to our state and will continue to develop a strong workforce to meet the needs of innovative high-tech companies.”
An estimated 100 jobs are to be based at the new Home and Building Technologies headquarters with some 730 high-tech workers to be hired for the new software development center.
According to Krishna Mikkilineni, Honeywell’s senior vice president of engineering, operations and information technology, the development center will be producing state-of-the art products and solutions keeping airplanes, automobiles, buildings, homes, industrial plants, warehouses and workers stay connected through what is known as the “Internet of Things.”
While Honeywell, a Fortune 500 diversified and manufacturing company, is best known for its industrial products such as thermostats, it has invested heavily in networked communication through “cloud” based computers and sensors.
Honeywell Home and Building Solutions President and CEO Terrence Hahn said in the announcement that “Honeywell is a global leader for products and technologies that are installed in more than 150 million homes and 10 million buildings worldwide.”
“These offerings enable homeowners to stay connected and in control of home comfort, security, fire systems, and air and water purification,” he added.
Much of Honeywell’s growth in the past decade has been based in its “High Growth Regions,“including China and India.
The company, however, already employs more than 1,000 people at 11 locations in Georgia, including six locations in the Atlanta area including an automation training facility and cyber security lab for the state’s performance materials and technologies business in Duluth, an aerospace facility that makes antennas and communications systems in Norcross and Intelligrated, an automated material handling solutions provider in Alpharetta.
According to published reports, Honeywell officials have said that the state of Georgia and city of Atlanta offered about $2 million in grants and the state offered another $10 million in tax credits tied to employment totals.
Also participating in the announcement at the Georgia Capitol were Commissioner of Chris Carr of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Hala Moddelmog and Ashley Morris of the economic development department’s Global Commerce Division, and G.P. “Bud” Peterson president of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
