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The ceremony��— to mark the start of construction on a research and development center, a road simulator for testing trailers and a customer-care facility��— came one day after in nearby Statesboro, Ga.

CEO Bill Crown told the crowd gathered outside the firm’s existing office building here that the new facility will “allow us to map the future of our entire company.”

The project will include the renovation of Great Dane’s existing corporate office building here, adjacent to the Port of Savannah, and will allow the company to consolidate a number of functions currently housed in separate buildings.

Employment is expected to grow to about 180, from the current 130, when construction is completed next year.