June 26, 2009

What to do with a Vacant GM Plan?

New Car Assembly Plant Announced in Louisiana

GM Seeks Highest Bidder for Proposed Plant

If not GM, Some Automaker will continue Power Train and Stamping Operations in Tennessee

First Tier 1 VW Supplier Announces Plant at Enterprise South

Nissan to Hire 1,300 in Tennessee for Production of Zero-Emission Vehicle

Volkswagen Shooting for 85% N.A. Parts Content

Volkswagen Expects Six Figure Application Total

Volkswagen Opening Distribution Center

Silver Eagle Bus Relocating to Tennessee

GM Discontinues Funding for Nationwide and Truck NASCAR Series

Seven-Hundred Kia Workers Hired in Georgia

Tennessee's Rural Loan Fund Earns National Award

Johnson Controls Announces Plan to Locate New Facility in South Carolina

Kansas Enacts Business-Friendly Legislation

Georgia Governor Signs Pro-Business Tax Bills

China Companies Acquiring Brands

Mercedes Using Downtime to Train Suppliers

Toyota Making no Changes in San Antonio

Penske Buying Saturn

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Opelika, Alabama
Ideally Positioned for Kia and Hyundai Suppliers

Located in East Central Alabama along one of the South’s hottest transportation corridors, I-85, is the small city of Opelika. With five existing Interstate exchanges, one would imagine the city to be the size of Montgomery, Chattanooga or Jackson. Instead Opelika is a small city with a population of approximately 26,000 that boasts big city amenities. Part of the reason for Opelika’s ability to be so connected to Interstate 85 is the sustained and continued growth the city has enjoyed. The last 10 years have significantly changed the industrial landscape of Opelika from primarily textiles to one that’s more diverse and continues to grow in the automotive industry.

Opelika is home to four Tier One automotive suppliers: Benteler Automotive that supplies Mercedes and BMW, Halla/Mando America Corporation that supplies Hyundai Motors and General Motors (GM), Hanwha L & C Alabama that supplies Hyundai Motors, and Daewon America that supplies Hyundai Motors and GM. With the impending construction of the new Kia Motors Manufacturing facility just 15 minutes east in West Point, Ga., opportunities abound for the Hyundai Suppliers to be able to increase production to supply Kia as well. Opelika is logistically suited for suppliers that have a need to service Hyundai and Kia. The Hyundai Motors Manufacturing Alabama facility is a short 60 minute interstate ride from Opelika and Kia’s new facility is 15 minutes due east.

A major contributing factor to Opelika’s success in recruiting automotive suppliers is the home they have found in Northeast Opelika Industrial Park. This 2,200-acre master-planned industrial park is directly served by Exit 66 off Interstate 85. It was specifically designed for truck traffic with acceleration and deceleration lanes that enable manufacturers to get their product to market with ease and expediency. This premier industrial park is also home to two distribution centers for Wal-Mart and Jo-Ann Stores. Tracts that range from 10 to 1,000 acres are available, most with utility infrastructure already in place. In fact, currently there is a site with up to 130 acres available that fronts Interstate 85. It has been cleared, has utility infrastructure to the property boundary, and is ready for development.

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Northeast Louisiana
Strategically located with a ready labor supply

Louisiana has become a hotbed for auto industry manufacturing with more than $1 billion in total investment. It is a richly diverse region, with a wealth of resources, tremendous transportation infrastructure and a high quality of life. The Northeast part of the state, including the parishes of Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, LaSalle, Madison, Morehouse, Lincoln, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Union and West Carroll, offers many advantages to help automotive companies succeed.

Investing in the future

Recently, the creation of the state-owned, “shovel ready” Franklin Farm site has brought a great deal of attention to Northeast Louisiana in particular.

The site offers 1,440 acres of prime real estate for development along Interstates 20 and 80, with dual rail access and with excellent access to the area’s wealth of automotive suppliers and manufacturers. Serving the site is an additional 4,500 acres of contiguous land available for suppliers.

“As we look to the future and see Toyota in San Antonio to our west and Nissan in Jackson to our east, we’ve located attractive land and we think we are an outstanding candidate for consideration,” says Don Pierson, assistant secretary at Louisiana Economic Development.

In fact, the site is so strategically located that it is within 125 miles of more than 100 auto suppliers and a potential workforce of more 250,000 is within an hour commute. The site is also less than 50 miles from the Port of Lake Providence and the Madison Port on the Mississippi River, which provides access to 31 states and two Canadian Provinces.

“We have plentiful labor to support a well over 10,000- person auto assembly plant,” says Mary Jo Hanover, business development services coordinator for Louisiana Economic Development.

And there is room to grow. The area includes an additional 4,000 acres for expansion or to serve the needs of suppliers.

Plenty of reasons to be here

Northeast Louisiana is home to a wide variety of industries, including International Paper, ConAgra Foods, State Farm Insurance and Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation. More than 21 percent of the population of the United States lives within a 500 mile radius, as well.

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