Fall 2011

The following announcements were made in the Fall 2011 quarter. For complete coverage of economic development in the South, go to www.RandleReport.com or www.SB-D.com. For full coverage of the South's automotive industry, go to www.SouthernAutoCorridor.com. For complete coverage of economic development in the rural South, go to www.SmallTownSouth.com.

ALABAMA

Mercedes-Benz adding new production at Alabama plant

German automaker Mercedes-Benz will add a third shift at its Vance, Ala. assembly plant in 2012. The expansion will boost vehicle output at the plant by 30 percent. The third shift is expected to start in August and will raise capacity from 143,000 vehicles to 185,000. The plant assembles the M-Class, GL-Class and R-Class. Within the next two years, when investment at the facility will rise to more than $4 billion, another 1,400 workers are expected to be hired, bringing employment to over 4,200.

Mercedes produces 1.5 millionth Alabama-made vehicle

In December, Mercedes-Benz produced its 1.5 millionth vehicle at its plant in Vance, Ala. The German automaker rolled off a silver ML 350 SUV that was purchased by a customer in Encino, Calif. The first M-Class rolled of the assembly line in Vance on February 14, 1997.

Mercedes begins expansion in Alabama

Construction got underway in December at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Ala., paving the way for production of the C-Class model. The latest expansion is a $289 million project, part of a $2 billion build-out of the plant that will take place in several phases. Mercedes currently employs 2,800 workers at the facility and once the $2 billion expansion is complete, that total will rise to 4,200.

Israeli auto parts supplier to set up plant in Auburn, Ala.

Arkal Plastic Products announced in November it will invest more than $7 million to set up a plant in Auburn, Ala. to produce plastic parts for the automotive industry. The Israeli company, which operates a plant in Canada that serves the Canadian and Michigan automotive cluster, will hire 25 workers initially for the new Auburn plant.

Honda hiring at its Alabama assembly plant

Japanese automaker Honda announced in November it is hiring 100 new workers at its plant in Lincoln, Ala. The added workers are part of the company's $84 million capacity upgrade at the plant.

Toyota's engine plant in Huntsville adds 240 jobs

Four-cylinder engine production has come to Toyota's engine plant in Huntsville, Ala. With the launch of the new product, the Huntsville plant now supplies engines for eight different Toyota models. The added line will create 240 new jobs at the North Alabama plant.

Hyundai-Kia supplier to bring 150 jobs to rural Alabama

C and J Alabama, a supplier to Korean automakers Kia and Hyundai, is bringing 150 jobs to Alexander City, Ala. The company will locate in a former Russell Athletic Corp. plant.

GEORGIA

Kia's effect on Alabama and Georgia

Two years ago Korean automaker Kia opened its first assembly plant in the U.S. in West Point, Ga. After two years we thought it would be a good idea to update the automaker's economic impact on Alabama and Georgia. The plant itself currently houses about 3,000 workers that build three models working three shifts a day. Two of the largest suppliers to the plant -- Mando and Sewon America -- have expanded several times. The two suppliers are part of a network of 60 in east Alabama and west Georgia that supply the plant. It is estimated that well over 10,000 jobs have been directly created, including assembly plant jobs and supplier jobs.

Kia supplier Daewon to open plant in LaGrange, Ga.

South Korea-based Daewon America announced in December it will open a manufacturing facility in Troup Co., Ga. The company manufactures springs and torsion bars and will supply the Kia plant in West Point, Ga. The $14 million project will generate 100 new jobs.

Kubota to create 200 jobs in north Georgia

Japan-based Kubota Corp. is expanding its Jackson Co., Ga. manufacturing operations with the construction of a new $73 million, 500,000-square-foot facility. The project, which will produce 22,000 compact tractors per year, will create 200 new jobs. 

Kumho Tire plant in Macon delayed again

In the fall quarter, Kumho Tire officials announced a third delay in the building of the Korean tire maker's plant in Macon-Bibb Co., Ga. The $225 million facility was announced in 2008 and company officials have told Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal that the plant won't open until 2013. When announced, the proposed project was to create 450 new jobs.

KENTUCKY

Toyota celebrates 25 years in Georgetown, Ky.

In November, Toyota and Kentucky officials celebrated the 25th year of production in Georgetown, Ky. The company began hiring workers at the plant in 1986. Today, the Japanese automaker employs about 6,600 workers at the facility, which assembles about 500,000 vehicles a year. The Georgetown plant produces the Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon and Venza and is one of 14 Toyota plants in North America. Toyota, which also opened its newest plant in Blue Springs, Miss. in the fall quarter, has invested about $5.4 billion at its Kentucky facility. Suppliers to Toyota's Georgetown plant employ about 9,600 workers.

Japanese auto parts manufacturer to locate plant in Kentucky

Daicel Safety Tube Processing, a Japanese automotive components manufacturer, announced in the fall it will locate a new facility in Beaver Dam, Ky. The $8.8 million investment represents the third Daicel plant to locate in Beaver Dam. The company is creating 25 new jobs to be added to its current employment of 525 in the rural Kentucky market.

Stamping operation expanding in Kentucky

GR Spring & Stamping, an automotive parts supplier, is expanding in Richmond, Ky. The company is investing $1.7 million in the project and 25 new jobs are being created.

Magna Seating increasing job totals in Kentucky

Magna Seating added to its job totals at its new Shepherdsville, Ky. factory from 234 to 450. The company will make seats for the new Ford Escape that will be built at the retooled Louisville Assembly Plant. The Ontario-based company will receive an additional $2.5 million in incentives from the state of Kentucky as a result of the additional jobs. 

50 new jobs coming to rural Kentucky

Premium Services LLC and Worldwide Technologies announced a joint project to build a new manufacturing facility in Simpson Co., Ky. The companies provide a wide range of work in the automotive field, including grinding, welding and product reworks. The deal will create 50 new jobs.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear celebrates expansion of Akebono Brake

In the fall quarter, Gov. Steve Beshear joined community leaders in Glasgow, Ky. and officials from Akebono Brake to unveil a major expansion at the company's Barren County facility. The $20.6 million project, which added 60,000 square feet of space to its existing facility, is expected to result in 224 new jobs.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana's Next Autoworks project officially dead

Two years ago V Vehicle announced it would build an inexpensive fuel-efficient car at the former Guide auto parts plant in Monroe, La. The new automotive assembly project called for 1,400 jobs if a loan from the Department of Energy came through. The application for that $320 million loan was denied by DOE in late November. The company, which changed its name from V Vehicle to Next Autoworks, cited the controversy over the Solyndra bankruptcy as the reason the application was turned down.

MISSISSIPPI

Toyota era begins in Mississippi

The first Mississippi-built Toyota Corolla model rolled off the line at the Japanese automaker's plant in Blue Springs on November 17, 2011. The $1.3 billion facility officially opened in November after several delays since it was announced in 2007. The plant can produce up to 150,000 Corollas a year. The current workforce at the facility stands at 1,500 that work a single shift Monday through Friday. Next year, Toyota will add a second shift, which should bring employment at the plant to 2,000. As of the end of the year, seven suppliers have announced facilities in Mississippi to serve the plant.

Toyota supplier opens in Mississippi

Systems Automotive Interiors has opened its facility that it shares with Toyota Boshoku Mississippi. The plant will assemble seats for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi. Boshoku is producing the interior door panels for the Corolla. At full production, SAI expects to produce 150,000 seats for Toyota in a just-in-time environment. Employment at the seat plant is set for 80. 

Granada Stamping expanding in Mississippi

Granada Stamping and Assembly is expanding its operations in Grenada, Miss. The auto parts supplier will add 50 jobs in the deal.

MISSOURI

New online assistance for suppliers in Missouri

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has launched a new online portal geared specifically to Missouri automotive parts suppliers. The Missouri Automotive Supplier Portal, found at http://ded.mo.gov/auto, offers helpful assistance from DED professionals for in-state auto suppliers looking to expand, or out-of-state suppliers considering moving to Missouri.

GM investing $380 million in Missouri

General Motors announced in the fall quarter it will invest $380 million at its Wentzville, Mo. assembly plant to build an all-new Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup truck. That model is currently being made at GM's Shreveport, La. plant, which is slated for closure this summer. The Michigan automaker will also begin a second shift at the factory to increase capacity of its Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans to meet market demand. The two projects will add 1,660 workers to the plant's workforce.

Missouri's automotive industry keeps rolling: Ford expanding KC plant

In the fall quarter, Ford announced its plans to invest $1.1 billion in its Claycomo plant in the Kansas City area. The expansion will add a second shift for production of the F-150 pickup model and add a new line for the assembly of Ford's full-sized Transit van model. It is the first time that model has been assembled in the U.S. The project will create 1,600 new jobs.

NORTH CAROLINA

Caterpillar opens $426 million Winston-Salem, N.C. plant

One of the largest manufacturing and economic development projects in North Carolina history officially has opened for business. Caterpillar opened its $426 million axle manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem in the fall quarter. According to Steve Wunning, Caterpillar group president who is responsible for resource industries such as mining, the plant will export about 90 percent of the axles made at the facility. The project will create 398 full-time jobs and 112 contract jobs.

Auto parts supplier adding 64 jobs in rural N.C.

Henniges Automotive, a manufacturer of automotive sealing parts, is expanding its plant in Reidsville, N.C. The company is investing $2.2 million and will hire 64 workers.

FMC Lithium investing $50M in electric car battery plant

FMC Lithium is adding 25 jobs in a $50 million expansion of its electric car battery component plant in Gaston County, N.C. The expansion will bring employment at the facility to 240.

Cooper Standard expanding in N.C.

Cooper Standard announced in the fall it will add 137 jobs at its plant in Goldsboro, N.C. The company, which began operations in Goldsboro in 1984, employs 373 workers that produce weather stripping material for the automotive market.

Project Soccer blame game in N.C.: "It appears to me everybody is trying to cover their tail."

That's what North Carolina Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco had to say about the political backlash seen in North Carolina after losing out to South Carolina for a $500 million, 1-million-square-foot, 1,700-job tire plant that will be built by Continental Tire. North Carolina Republican Senate leader Phil Berger blamed Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue for losing out to The Palmetto State for the coveted project. Berger cited ethical concerns that a Democratic state senator and other Democratic donors owned the land in Brunswick County, N.C. where the project would have been sited if won by N.C. Gov. Perdue blamed Republicans in North Carolina because they wouldn't sign off on a $45 million cash incentive to the tiremaker. Continental officials maintained that the ethical concerns about the proposed site west of Wilmington, N.C. were not an issue, however, the company made it clear that the $45 million cash package was an issue in winning or losing the project. The plant will be built in Sumter, S.C.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Steit USA Armoring hiring 50 in S.C.

Streit USA Armoring, a maker of armored vehicles, announced plans to expand its operations in Charleston Co., S.C. in the fall quarter. The company will invest $5.8 million and add 50 jobs.

Cummins expands in Charleston, S.C.

Cummins Technical Center Charleston, a designer and tester of diesel engines and parts, announced plans to expand in Charleston Co., S.C. More than $24 million is being invested in the project, which will create 31 new jobs.

Bosch Rexroth invests in upstate S.C.

Bosch Rexroth announced plans to expand its hydraulics manufacturing operations in Greenville Co., S.C. in the fall quarter. The company is investing $80 million in the project and will add 160 new jobs.

Kongsberg Automotive expands in S.C.

In the fall quarter Kongsberg Automotive, a maker of automotive components, announced plans to expand its existing operation in Pickens County, S.C. The $7.3 million investment is expected to generate 300 new jobs.

Another BMW parts supplier expanding

Gestamp South Carolina announced in the fall it is investing $51 million to add space at its facility in Union Co., S.C. The project will generate 100 new jobs.

Sumter, S.C. lands 1,700 jobs from Continental Tire

Continental Tire announced in early October it is bringing a $500 million, 1-million-square-foot tire plant to Sumter, S.C. The project will locate on a megasite on the Sumter-Clarendon County line. The deal will generate 1,700 jobs.

Automotive supplier adding jobs in S.C.

YH America S.C. announced in October it will invest $5 million to expand its Pickens Co., S.C. plant. The deal will create 93 jobs by the end of the year. YH makes hoses for steering systems.

BMW's S.C. plant named exporter of the year

Spartanburg Co., S.C.-based BMW Manufacturing has been named exporter of the year by the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones. The German automaker operates a 4-million-square-foot plant in Greer, S.C., which is the only place in the world that assembles the X3, X5 and X6 BMW models. The plant produces about 1,000 vehicles a day and exports about 70 percent of them through the Port of Charleston to more than 125 markets worldwide. 

Aiken, S.C. lands $1.2 billion Bridgestone expansion

Aiken County, S.C., located just across the river from Augusta, Ga., landed the biggest corporate capital investment in South Carolina history in late September. Bridgestone Americas will build a new $1.2 billion plant to produce off-road radial tires and will expand its existing passenger tire facility in Aiken. The two projects will generate 850 new jobs and they will add about 2 million square feet of manufacturing space in Aiken.

JR Automation plans $2M plant in rural S.C.

Michigan-based JR Automation Technologies will open a new facility in Pickens Co., S.C. The company designs and manufactures automation equipment for the automotive industry and others. The facility, which will house 54 workers, is the first for the company outside of Michigan.

TENNESSEE

VW's Chattanooga plant can't make enough diesel Passats

The diesel version of the new Passat model -- the TDI -- is selling at double the anticipated rate Volkswagen predicted when it opened its Chattanooga plant last year. Currently, production of the vehicle, which is at 450 a day, can't keep up with demand. In fact, if you ordered a Passat TDI today it would take approximately three or four months to receive it. VW officials said in December they are ramping up production in Chattanooga to meet demand.

Company expanding in Jackson, Tenn.

Jackson Die Casting announced in December it will invest $4.5 million in its metal castings plant in Jackson, Tenn. The castings are used in industrial, aerospace and automotive applications. The deal will create 58 new jobs.

GM bringing back assembly to Spring Hill, Tenn.; 1,900 jobs

General Motors announced in late November it will reopen its Spring Hill, Tenn. plant for assembly next year. In an unusual move, GM plans to use the facility as a flexible factory, one that would allow for "real time reaction to sales spikes in a given car or crossover." To start though, GM will invest $61 million and rehire 700 workers to build the Chevrolet Equinox. That model, which GM has had difficulty keeping up with demand, is currently being built in Canada. Later, GM will bring in a new midsize vehicle and invest $183 million and an additional 1,200 workers for that vehicle's debut in the 2015 model year. GM closed its Spring Hill facility for assembly in 2009, but kept its massive stamping operations going to build engines at the former Saturn assembly plant.

Titan Tire purchases former Goodyear plant in Union City, Tenn.

For more than a year now it was hard to find bad news coming from the Southern Automotive Corridor (www.SouthernAutoCorridor.com). Really, the only negative was a big one when Goodyear closed its large plant it had operated in Union City, Tenn. since 1969 in July of 2011. That closure, the only significant one in the Southern Auto Corridor in 2011, put 1,800 Tennesseans and Kentuckians out of work. But the bad news was followed by good news in November when Titan Tire announced it had purchased the former Goodyear tire plant. Titan manufactures tires for earth-moving equipment, farm implements and other off-road vehicles. 

5,000 wait in line for 1,600 Nissan jobs in Tennessee

An estimated 5,000 people stood in line in Murfreesboro, Tenn. in November to get a crack at one of the 1,600 jobs the automaker is adding for its new lithium-ion battery plant that is located next to its assembly plant. The jobs will pay an average of $12.50 an hour with benefits.

Auto supplier creating 150 jobs in Dunlap, Tenn.

In the fall quarter, Mann+Hummel USA announced plans to build an auto parts plant in Dunlap, Tenn. The German automotive supplier will make air intake manifolds and air cleaner systems. The $15 million deal will create 150 jobs.

Canadian company expanding in Tennessee after gaining VW contract

MetriCan Stamping announced in October it will add 60 workers at its tool-and-die plant in Dickson, Tenn. The company is investing $6.3 million in the deal, which will add 60 jobs.

Bridgestone adding capacity at McMinnville, Tenn. plant

Bridgestone continued its string of expansions in the South in the fall of 2011 with a $36.6 million investment in its bus and truck tire plant in McMinnville, Tenn. The deal will create 50 jobs. Earlier in the month of October, Bridgestone announced expansions of its plants in Clarksville, Tenn. and Aiken, S.C.

Bridgestone Metalpha investing $75M in Clarksville, Tenn.

Bridgestone Metalpha USA's plant in Clarksville, Tenn. will begin producing off-road radial steel cord tires beginning in 2015, the company announced in the fall quarter. The Japanese company is investing $75 million in the project, which will create about 50 new jobs.

TEXAS

Arlington, Tex. GM plant in line for another expansion

Mere months after announcing a $331 million expansion of its full-size SUV plant in Arlington, Tex., GM is planning to add a $200 million stamping facility at the auto works. The stamping facility would produce hoods and trunk lids for GM vehicles. The new 300,000-square-foot facility is expected to house 180 more workers.

GM's retooling of Arlington, Tex. plant on schedule

The 57-year-old GM plant in Arlington, Tex. is retooling for another era of auto assembly in Texas. Last spring GM announced it was investing $331 million to expand and retool the facility that builds full-sized SUVs. That retooling, which includes a new body shop, is on schedule according to GM. The Arlington plant is the only U.S. facility left where GM assembles full-sized SUVs such as the Yukon, Tahoe and Escalade models. The expansion project will enable GM's 2,500 employees in Arlington to produce the next generation of large SUVs.

Continental hiring 100 in Seguin, Tex.

Continental Automotive Systems is expanding its facility in Seguin, Tex. The company operates chassis, safety, power train and interior divisions at the plant. The deal will create 100 new jobs.

VIRGINIA

Mazda expands in Richmond metro

Japanese automaker Mazda North America has expanded its remanufacturing and technical center in Chesterfield Co., Va., which is part of the Richmond metro. The expansion comes three years after the company opened a rotary engine remanufacturing plant in Chesterfield. Mazda opened the plant in 2008 to rebuild rotary engines for its RX-8 sports coupe. In 2010, the automaker remanufactured over 5,000 engines. The new expansion enables Mazda to remanufacture automatic transmissions at the facility. The company has added 21 new jobs. 

WEST VIRGINIA

Hino back to full production in West Virginia

Hino Motors Manufacturing USA has resumed full production at its Williamstown, W.Va. plant following a cutback caused by a parts shortage. Hino cut the plant's production after the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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