Business Facilities - November 2007 - (Page 40)

CORPORATE MOVES Alabama By Karim Khan Alabama’s 2007 Mega-Project hyssenKrupp, the Germanybased multinational steel producer, announced in May that it had selected Alabama as the home for its new state-of-the-art steel and stainless steel processing facility. The facility, a cooperative effort between ThyssenKrupp Steel and ThyssenKrupp Stainless, is located in Alabama’s northern Mobile and southern Washington counties. Initially planned as a mere $2.9 billion investment, ThyssenKrupp upped the ante to $3.7 billion by the time of the announcement. (Although some reports indicated an investment as high as $4.19 billion, the official word from ThyssenKrupp Steel and Stainless USA at their project Web site, T www.ThyssenKruppNewUSPlant .com, is $3.7 billion.) “This facility represents the largest investment in the history of ThyssenKrupp Stainless,” says Michael Rademacher, company vice chairman and CFO. “While our direct entry to the U.S. market is perhaps a bold step, it is also a logical and forward-looking one.” ThyssenKrupp’s U.S. site search began in February 2006 with 67 potential sites in 20 states. From the initial sites, ThyssenKrupp narrowed its search to locations in three states: Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana. In February of this year, the company announced that the search was down to just Alabama Governor Bob Riley attending the ThyssenKrupp project announcement ceremony Alabama and Louisiana. The final decision was based on, among other considerations, the logistical considerations of the company’s supply chain from Brazil to its projected customers; operating costs such as electricity and labor; and site specific capital expenditures. Approximately 29,000 jobs will be generated during construction, which is beginning now. When fully operational, the plant will employ 2,700 people. Over a 20-year period, the facility is also expected to yield tens of thousands indirect jobs. ThyssenKrupp Automotive Joint Venture Opens WB Co., a Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer, has finished customizing a $6 million plant Autauga County, AL that could eventually employ more than 200 workers. TWB selected an unfinished 50,000square-foot building at the Interstate Industrial Park in Pine Level, AL for its plant. The project was announced two months prior to the big ThyssenKrupp Alabama steel mill (see above). TWB is a joint venture between Worthington Industries and ThyssenKrupp Steel AG. TWB company supplies a wide variety of automakers with laserwelded metal vehicle body parts. HONDA Supplier Chooses Alabama T A 40 NOVEMBER 2007 PHOTO CREDITS: ALABAMA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE/GOVERNOR’S OFFICE n automobile parts supplier for Honda announced this year that it is building a plant in Cullman, AL, creating 200 new jobs. The company, Ohio-based Cardington Yutaka Technologies, is constructing a 168,000-square-foot supply plant on a 75-acre site in Cullman’s industrial park. The new operation will be called Alabama Cullman Yutaka Technologies and will manufacture torque converters and exhaust system parts for the Honda plant located in Lincoln, AL. Construction of the site began in early January 2007, before the project was widely announced. The company is investing more than $50 million in the facility, which begins its initial test run of its manufacturing lines this month. Jim Willoby, senior vice president of Alabama Cullman Yutaka Technologies, says the exhaust system line should be ready in February 2008, while the production of torque converters will begin in October 2008 after a 4,500-ton metal press arrives the month before. The Cullman plant is the company’s third facility in North America; the others are located in Ohio and South Carolina.

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Business Facilities - November 2007 Contents First Words Snapshots Metro Spotlight: Indianapolis Region, Indiana Georgia's Pursuit of Industry Extreme Technology Sites A Tennessee Trifecta A Watershed Moment for Philly Metro Spotlight: Mexico-Texas Border Region High Tech and Aerospace Heat up in Arizona Meeting the Information Technology Challenge IEDC Announces 2007 Winners Corporate Moves: Alabama Northeast Arkansas Scores Major Investments Corporate Moves: Virginia Metro Spotlight: Martinsville-Henry County, VA Renewable Michigan Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - November 2007

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