As we've recently reported, makers of material handling equipment can take some of the credit for the recent increase in U.S. manufacturing output and jobs. That's because many of them have expanded existing plants or built new ones in the past year or two.

The latest example comes from The Interroll Group, the Swiss manufacturer of pallet- and container-flow equipment, conveyors, sorters, and associated parts and controls. Interroll has broken ground on a 93,000-square-foot manufacturing and showroom complex at Paulding Commerce Park in Hiram, Ga., just outside Atlanta. The new facility will produce pallet-flow storage solutions for Interroll's North American customers and selected markets in South America. The $10 million operation, which will initially employ 70 associates, is expected to be completed in 10 months.

The new facility will be what Interroll calls a "Regional Centre of Excellence." According to the company, each center focuses on a specific product area and is responsible for product management, research and development, production, strategic procurement, and logistics as well as providing technical support for local production, assembly, and service companies. The ISO-certified centers also test products for customers.

The Paulding facility will be Interroll's second such center in the United States. A similar operation located in Wilmington, N.C., makes conveyor rollers, roller drives, and drum motors.