Since the early 1950s, electronics manufacturing has been an important part of the Gwinnett County economic base. 

Along with computer manufacturing, electronics manufacturing is a subcategory of “Advanced Manufacturing,” one of five targeted industries that the Gwinnett Chamber focuses upon in its economic development business recruitment and retention efforts. Together, computer and electronics manufacturing can include firms that are involved in making computers,hard drives, cellphones, graphics cards, central processing units (CPUs), microchips and semiconductors, instrumentation,resistors and capacitors and global positioning system (GPS) units. 

Prime location: Greg Chesnutt, Prime Technological Services CEO, sees benefits to being in Gwinnett County.

Electronics manufacturing is a major generator of well-paying jobs in Gwinnett County, said Troels Adrian, project manager, Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management for the chamber. 

The county has been the scene of more than a dozen electronics manufacturing expansions and relocations during the past four to five years, Adrian reports. And with a total of just over 5,000 jobs, “Gwinnett has the largest base of electronics manufacturing in Georgia,” Adrian said. When research and development (R&D) jobs are factored in, he said, electronics manufacturing wages average above $100,000 annually.

In addition to being home to the headquarters of global transaction-processing hardware and electronics maker NCR Corp., Gwinnett County has a long-standing reputation as a locale for electronics manufacturing. 

It started in 1951, when a group of Georgia Tech engineers founded Scientific-Atlanta, one of the first startup technology companies in metro Atlanta. The Lawrenceville-based company grew during the next 50 or so years to become a global supplier of set-top boxes, end-to-end video distribution networks and video system integration.

Purchased for approximately $7 billion in 2006 by San Jose, Calif-based Cisco Systems Inc. (a huge player in today’s Gwinnett County economy) Scientific-Atlanta is widely credited with generating dozens of tech-company spinoffs, many of them Gwinnett-based electronics manufacturers founded by company alumni. 

One of these is Prime Technological Services LLC, a contract manufacturer that makes, programs and tests printed circuit boards and electronic assemblies for OEM (original equipment manufacturers) clients in North America and Europe. 

Founded by Scientific-Atlanta alum Neal Johnson, this 80-employee company currently operates from a state-of-the-art, approximately 50,000-square-foot electronics manufacturing facility in Suwanee, its third location in Gwinnett County during its 25 years of existence.

Gwinnett has been Prime’s location of choice for several reasons, according to President and CEO Greg Chesnutt.

“First, Gwinnett has a strong legacy as a destination for technology companies, particularly hardware companies,” he said.

The county also boasts an ample supply of skilled employees; excellent engineering and technical resources; close proximity to important suppliers and business influencers; and excellent access to Georgia’s transportation systems, he said. “In short, all of the infrastructure required to build an electronics manufacturing business are here.” 

 Premium content from Atlanta Business Chronicle by Martin Sinderman, Contributing Writer. Photo by  Joann Vitelli

Date: Friday, November 16, 2012, 6:00am EST