Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
GRIFFIN, Ga. – United States Secretary of Energy Chris Wright walked onto an elevated stage in the middle of a factory floor alongside Georgia Republican Congressman Brian Jack, Georgia State Senator Marty Harbin, and Rinnai America Corp. President Frank Windsor.
Rinnai America Corp., a Peachtree City-based subsidiary of Japanese tankless water heater company Rinnai Corp., opened its doors at its Griffin facility for Wright to celebrate what he believes is an example of a successful job provider during the first 100-plus days of the second Trump Administration.
“What you make every day is part of the American dream for all Americans,” Wright said to a crowd of over 100 Rinnai employees gathered around the stage. “Georgia is a manufacturing powerhouse.”
The Rinnai facility employs 250 people, according to Windsor. Both Jack and Wright mentioned the impending closure of the plant and loss of hundreds of jobs due to government interference during the Biden Administration.
In direct contrast to what they said on Friday, Rinnai’s 2024 annual report (page number 26) has information that says there were plans to invest in that plant to make “condensing” tankless water heaters.
The visit to Griffin, the county seat of Spalding County, marked what the Department of Energy billed as the “First 100 days of unleashing American energy victories.” That said, it is also the first time a member of the Presidential Cabinet visited Spalding County.
“This is a massive win for this community and proof of what happens when we work together,” Jack said of the Rinnai facility.
Windsor spoke about the more than 30 adjoining acres of land near the facility and the company’s plans to utilize that for expansion.
“There are 33 acres on the side of the building that we are planning to out more manufacturing for different products,” he said.
Wright was asked what he believes the employees at Rinnai think about the U.S. Secretary coming down to visit them in Griffin, a city of just 20,000 residents.
“As an American, I am thrilled that the products they are building that are making every Americans life better, making it more affordable to get the things that we care about,” Wright said. “I wanted to come down here and share the love, and say God bless everyone who works here.”
