A local steel fabricator received clearance last week to move forward with an expansion that will bring new jobs to Dawson County.

The Dawson County Planning Commission approved a building variance that will allow Impulse Manufacturing to add nearly 50,000 square feet to its current manufacturing operation off G.W. Taffer road at 55 Impulse Industrial Drive, near Ga. 400.

The variance was needed since the plant sits within the Ga. 400 corridor, which has specific guidelines for exterior lighting, architecture, landscaping and facades, among others.

Karl Baysden, director of sales and marketing with Impulse Manufacturing, said the company is excited to move forward with the $7.5 million expansion.

"The primary purpose of the expansion is to put in a state-of-the art paint line. We have a very nice paint line. This is an upgrade to that. It handles larger parts, paints more efficiently and it's more environmentally friendly as well," he said.

Over three shifts, the expansion will initially bring about 24 new employees, ranging from engineering and chemistry positions, to daily laborers such as painters, according to Business Development Director Clay Reiser.

"This is a finishing department. It's an autophoretic paint line and it uses chemistry to bond a paint to a substrate, and we do a powder top coat," he said.

Impulse is set to break ground in April with an estimated six to eight month completion.

"We need to be operational by the first week in September," Reiser said.

The 150,000-square-foot plant currently employs more than 200 workers over three shifts. It produces parts for several small excavator models, including a new Caterpillar production facility in Athens.

The $7.5 million expansion calls for an additional 50,000 square feet of space to house a new paint line and more than $5 million in equipment. The overall expansion would create 75-100 new jobs within 18 months.