Summer 2007

QUIZ

How many members are there in the United Auto Workers Union and how many members have been lost since 1980?

(a) About 500,000 current members and 1,000,000 members lost (b) about 1,000,000 members and 500,000 lost (c) about 670,000 current members and about 110,000 members lost since 1980.

(Scroll down for answer)

GM, Tennessee Officials Upbeat about Former Saturn Plant

When GM halted production at its Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plant in March of this year, the future of the facility was murky at best. Some initial reports on the layoffs at the plant indicated the plant was closing. Soon after those reports were published, GM and Tennessee officials adamantly maintained that wasn't the case.

Since production halted at Spring Hill, GM has virtually gutted the 2 million square foot assembly building on the sprawling site to basically start over again. Virtually every piece of equipment was taken out of the old Saturn facility and as one local official knowledgeable about the project said to SB&D in mid-September, "We've been waiting for the day when more trucks are coming into the plant than going out. We've gotten to that day."

GM has not revealed to the public what model will be produced at Spring Hill, but it won't be a Saturn product. All Saturn production has been scattered to facilities in Mexico, GM's Doraville, Ga. facility, which is slated for closure at some point, and other GM plants. While the model remains unnamed, SB&D has learned it is a new crossover vehicle. In fact, GM officials are absolutely "giddy" about the new vehicle, one Tennessee official said to SB&D. Word on the model that will be made at Spring Hill could come as early as mid-October.

>From what we've learned, GM's total investment in the retooling of its Spring Hill facilities could top $1 billion. Reports earlier in the year had that total at about $400 million. The plant itself has been renamed to the GM Spring Hill Manufacturing Plant.

The primary reason, one official said, that the plant has basically been "gutted" and is being completely retooled centers on the fact that the facility was set up to build the Saturn model only. Assembly of the Saturn model had some quirky aspects to it, such as all exterior panels for the Saturn were made of plastic, not metal.

Toyota Done for Now? Nope. Honda Hot? Yep. VW/Audi on the Prowl? Maybe

In the summer 2007 quarter we received reports that were confirmed by our staff that Toyota officials visited Southwest and Southside Virginia in the summer quarter. Our confirmation centered on a Toyota flight via private plane from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to Southwest Virginia. Toyota's North American headquarters is located in Northern Kentucky in Erlanger, or just across the river from Cincinnati. We also received confidential information from a source that we will not name that Toyota officials were "tire kicking" a site in Linwood, N.C. (located near Greensboro) in the month of September. They have been looking at that site off and on since the fall of 2006. So something's up for Toyota in N.C. or Virginia. In the case of Honda, SB&D has learned that if Toyota would not have picked the Tupelo site earlier this year, Honda had expressed interest in taking the site for its next assembly plant. Also, in the summer quarter it was revealed that VW/Audi's off and on again site search, one that seems to pop up about every three-to-five-years, may have resurfaced with South Carolina and Alabama as strong candidates if that German automaker's site search is back in play.

ALABAMA

Mando America Continues to Grow in Opelika

Mando America announced on September 18, the expansion of production lines and equipment at its existing facility in Opelika, Ala. The expansion will represent an additional investment of $21 million and will create 77 new jobs, increasing Mando's total investment in Opelika to $86 million and total employment to over 500 in the next three years. In 2003, Mando relocated its North American headquarters from Detroit to Opelika. Mando produces brake parts, suspension modules and steering systems for customers in the U.S., including Hyundai's plant in Montgomery, Ala. Mando is a Korean-owned parts supplier, with 12 production plants and three R&D centers in seven countries.

Parts Supplier Adding Jobs

Nemak Alabama, formerly Teksid Industries, is expanding in Sylacauga, Ala. The company, part of a publicly-traded company based in Mexico called ALFA, will add 40 workers to its current work force of 675 in Sylacauga, located just southeast of Birmingham. ALFA bought Italy-based Teksid earlier this year. Teksid originally located in Alabama in 1999 to supply engine parts for Honda. Nemak manufactures aluminum cylinder blocks and heads 24/7, seven days a week in Sylacauga.

First Alabama Megasite Certified

The Limestone County, Ala., I-65 Megasite has been certified as the ninth megasite in the Tennessee Valley region and the first in Alabama. The site is located on Interstate 65 at mile marker 346 near Athens in North Alabama. During the summer, Limestone County Economic Development Association officials announced the certification of the 2,010-acre industrial property. The property was certified by McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) of Greenville, S.C

BFGoodrich Expands in Alabama

BFGoodrich announced in late July it will undergo a $22 million expansion of its 60-year-old plant in Tuscaloosa. The expansion will add about 25 jobs to the 1,275 that work there now. The company makes car and light-truck tires at the plant.

Auto Supplier to Add 141 Jobs in Ala.; Creates 600 in Ga.

Mobis Alabama, a major supplier to Hyundai’s Montgomery, Ala., assembly plant, plans a $55.6 million expansion at its Montgomery facility that will create 141 jobs. Construction began in September on an additional redistribution center, and new paint and plastic-injection mold facilities. Besides the Hyundai plant, the Mobis facility will supply the new Kia auto plant under construction across the state line in Westpoint, Ga. (Hyundai acquired Kia in 1999.) Hyundai Mobis also announced plans to start construction in West Point, by the end of September, on a 310,000-square-foot facility for Mobis Georgia, which, by 2010, will employ 600 people and represent an investment of $60 million.

Hyundai Supplier is Expanding Shorter, Ala., Plant

Hyundai air-conditioning supplier Halla Climate Systems Alabama Corp. has begun work on a 129,000-square-foot addition at its Shorter, Ala., facility. Expected to employ about 130 people by the end of 2009, the new facility will manufacture radiators and condensers, which currently are being imported from South Korea.

FLORIDA

Bridgestone Firestone Breaks Ground on Huge Fla. Facility

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire broke ground in August on a 1-million-square-foot distribution center in Jacksonville, Fla., which will employ 250 people. With a capacity for more than a million tires, this will be the company’s biggest warehouse.

Ambulance Maker Adding Jobs in Florida

Pierce Manufacturing, a producer of Medtec ambulances, is adding 140 new positions at its plant in Bradenton, Fla., where it already employs over 300 workers. Pierce is investing about $1.5 million in new equipment and other upgrades at its facility. The company is a division of Wisconsin-based OshKosh Truck Corp.

GEORGIA

Hyundai Mobis Plans Major Facility in West Point

One of Kia's largest suppliers announced in the summer quarter it will build a facility near the Kia plant being built in West Point, Ga. Officials with Hyundai Mobis, the largest supplier to the Hyundai plant in Alabama, said in early August the company will build a $60 million, 600-employee facility in West Point, Ga., site of the new Kia plant. The new facility will produce front-end modules, front-rolling chassis, rear chassis and cockpit modules, as well as other parts for Kia.

Ohio Supplier Expands in LaGrange

Ohio-based floor mat manufacturer Pretty Products will expand its current production in LaGrange, Ga., creating an estimated 130 jobs and investing $6.5 million. The company currently employs 210 at the plant. Pretty makes rubber floor mats for the automotive industry.

Another Supplier Picks LaGrange

Near the end of the summer quarter, LaGrange snagged another supplier to the new Kia plant. DaeLim USA announced it has selected LaGrange as the location for a new 90,000-square-foot injection molding and assembly plant on a 25-acre site in the Jim Hamilton Industrial Park. The deal will result in 75 new jobs initially.

KENTUCKY

Toyota Boshoku America Opens NA Home Office

In the late summer quarter, Toyota Boshoku celebrated the grand opening of the company's North American home office in Erlanger, Ky. The company is a manufacturer of automotive interior systems, in addition to air and oil filters and power train systems for a variety of customers such as Toyota and GM. The new office will house about 100 employees.

Ford to Put $105 Million in Its Louisville, Ky., Truck Plant

Ford Motor Co., which operates two Louisville, Ky., plants that account for 5,117 jobs in Kentucky, plans a $105 million investment to upgrade its truck plant. Kentucky economic development finance folks granted the troubled automaker a tax incentives package worth as much as $66.3 million for up to 10 years. The incentives are tied to specified employment levels at the truck facility.

BRUSS to Nearly Double Employment at Kentucky Factory

BRUSS North America started construction, in August, on a $24 million expansion of manufacturing and warehouse space at its plant in Russell Springs, Ky. The German-owned producer of engine and transmission sealing systems expects to add 150 employees to its current 165. Completion is expected in autumn 2008.

LOUISIANA

$100 Million Motor Sports Facility to be built in Louisiana

On July 26th, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, in conjunction with Louisiana Economic Development and sports developer Jerry Lowrie, announced plans for a $100 million multi-purpose motor sports racing facility to be built in Tangipahoa Parish near Kentwood, La. Dubbed Louisiana International Speedway (LIS), the project is expected to generate between 600 and 800 jobs.

MISSISSIPPI

Toyota Boshoku Building Itawamba County Plant

In the summer quarter, Toyota Boshoku America announced it will build a plant in Itawamba County. The facility will provide seats, door panels, and carpet for the new Tupelo Toyota assembly facility now under construction. Toyota Boshoku plans on opening the plant in 2010 and adding 500 new jobs to the area.

First Parts Supplier for New Toyota Assembly Plant Announces $180 Million Plant

The first parts supplier, a tier-one, has announced it will build a $180 million plant in Baldwyn, Miss. Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd., will operate a 260-employee stamping facility near the plant, which is now undergoing construction in Blue Springs, Miss., located near Tupelo. Japan-based Toyota Auto Body has never operated a plant in the U.S., but manufactures auto bodies and parts for Toyota in Japan and elsewhere in the Far East.

NORTH CAROLINA

Toyota Racing Development Picks Salisbury, N.C.

Toyota Racing Development USA (TRD USA), has chosen an 89-acre site in Rowan County, N.C., located north of Charlotte, for the carmaker's NASCAR competition group. The 35,000-square-foot facility will house its NASCAR competition group, and chassis and engineering operations. In 2004, TRD USA began racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series and has gone on to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series.

OKLAHOMA

Tiger Truck’s New Oklahoma Plant Will Create Up to 300 Jobs

Dallas-based Tiger Truck is building a factory in Poteau, Okla., to assemble off-road vehicles produced by ChangAn Automobile Group, China’s No. 3 vehicle maker. Tiger Truck plans to produce 7,500 vehicles with 100 employees in the first year of operation, with the work force increasing to nearly 300 by the end of the third year.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Michelin to Spend $350 Million on South Carolina Factories

Michelin North America is investing $350 million to improve and expand major manufacturing plants in South Carolina over the next four years. The tire maker will upgrade plants in Anderson, Greenville, Lexington and Spartanburg counties, and add about 100 jobs to the company’s 7,850 employees in the state.

TEXAS

Mercedes-Benz Financial Adding 350 Jobs in Fort Worth

Mercedes-Benz Financial, the financial services partner for Mercedes-Benz dealerships throughout the U.S., has leased 75,344 square feet at Fort Worth, Tex.'s Alliance development. The new center will house about 350 employees.

WEST VIRGINIA

Hino Motors to Open Plant in Wood County, W.V.

Japan-based and Toyota affiliate Hino Motors announced in the summer it will open an assembly plant in Williamstown, W.V. The deal represents the first vehicle assembly facility in West Virginia. It is also the first U.S. assembly plant for Hino Motors. The company expects to hire about 80 people within its first year. Hino, which produces Class 4-7 medium-duty trucks, expects the plant to be operational by November.

QUIZ ANSWER

The answer is (a). There are approximately 500,000 UAW members and about 1,000,000 members lost since 1980.