An Israeli manufacturer of robotics technology used to find explosives is searching for space in Hall County to produce the technology in the U.S.
Carmi Peleg, chief executive of innoBots, which is based near Tel Aviv, said the company is looking for about 10,000 square feet in Gainesville. The company hopes to hire about 50 people over the next two years, beginning with engineers.
Peleg said Georgia was chosen partly because of academic institutions and a technical and skilled labor force.
He said his company is working with the state Department of Economic Development on possible incentives but added, “we didn’t only come here because of economic incentives.” The incentives could include tax breaks for creating jobs. Agency spokeswoman Stefanie Paupeck said she had no information on the discussions.
InnoBots’ camera-equipped, four-wheel machines are about 2 feet high and weigh about 70 pounds. Peleg said they can travel over any terrain at up to 10 miles per hour and carry payloads up to 300 pounds. The machines cost $1,000 t $150,000.
Peleg said innoBots is a 2-year-old company funded by a private Israeli investor, whom he would not identify. The company also makes devices small enough to fit inside a pocket or backpack.
Peleg said the Israeli military has used its machines to find deadly improvised explosive devices. The IEDs, many of them detonated on roadsides, have been responsible for thousands of civilian and military deaths and injuries in the Middle East, among them U.S. service men and women.
Peleg said he has had talks with the U.S. military, but wouldn’t go into details. He also said his company’s robots can be used in law enforcement, agriculture and mining.
More than 40 Israeli companies operate in the state, according to the governor’s office. Last November, Caesarstone Sdot Yam Ltd., an Israeli company that manufactures quartz surfaces, said it will build a plant in Bryan County that will create 180 jobs in southeast Georgia.
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