Business Facilities - February 2009 - (Page 17) LOCATIONS FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY Volatility Creates Opportunity For Innovation Southern states, with lower business costs and a ready workforce, as well as a critical mass of suppliers, still rule in terms of foreign automotive investment. By Donna Clapp here’s a lot of uncertainty in the automotive industry right now,” says Kim Hill, assistant director, Economics and Business Group, Center for Automotive Research. “Trying to predict what the folks in DC are thinking as far as mandating energy efficiency and alternative fuels and the like is difficult. So industry executives are even more up in the air than usual on these issues. They’re waiting for a cue—from the consumers—to see if they’re going to continue to buy cars and what kind of cars they are going to buy, and also a cue from Washington to see if there’s something that’s going to be mandated to them other than just some fuel efficiencies or benchmark mileage numbers.” But most experts agree that the U.S. automotive industry is not going to go away, and uncertainty is often just another word for opportunity. After all, in the midst of all of this volatility, General Motors Corp. recently announced it will be opening a new factory in Michigan to make battery packs for its new Chevrolet Volt, betting part of its $17.4 billion in emergency loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments on electric cars as part of revitalizing its business. In partnership with Compact Power, a division of LG Chem Ltd., a South Korean-based manufacturer, the plant will be building lithium-ion battery packs. It will be the first such facility operated in the U.S. by a major automaker. GM also unveiled a new concept car, the Cadillac Converj, which will use the Voltec system, the same electric propulsion technology used by the Chevrolet Volt. These and other new technologies were unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. A S P E C I A L A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N O F B U S I N E S S FA C I L I T I E S A-1 “T PHOTO CREDIT: ABC ONLINE - BRETT WORTHINGTON
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - February 2009 Business Facilities - February 2009 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Ohio Governor's Report Growth Magnets Industry Focus: Automotive International Report: Luxembourg Corporate Moves: Tennessee Cream of the Crop in North Carolina Advertiser Index Ask the Expert Business Facilities - February 2009 Business Facilities - February 2009 - Business Facilities - February 2009 (Page Cover1) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Business Facilities - February 2009 (Page Cover2) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Business Facilities - February 2009 (Page 1) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Contents (Page 2) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Contents (Page 4) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Contents (Page 5) Business Facilities - February 2009 - First Word (Page 6) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Snapshots (Page 7) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Corporate Moves: Ohio (Page 8) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Corporate Moves: Ohio (Page 9) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Governor's Report (Page 10) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Governor's Report (Page 11) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Governor's Report (Page 12) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Growth Magnets (Page 13) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Growth Magnets (Page 14) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Growth Magnets (Page 15) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Growth Magnets (Page 16) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 17) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 18) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 19) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 20) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 21) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 22) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 23) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Industry Focus: Automotive (Page 24) Business Facilities - February 2009 - International Report: Luxembourg (Page 25) Business Facilities - February 2009 - International Report: Luxembourg (Page 26) Business Facilities - February 2009 - International Report: Luxembourg (Page 27) Business Facilities - February 2009 - International Report: Luxembourg (Page 28) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Corporate Moves: Tennessee (Page 29) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Corporate Moves: Tennessee (Page 30) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Corporate Moves: Tennessee (Page 31) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 32) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 33) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 34) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 35) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 36) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 37) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Cream of the Crop in North Carolina (Page 38) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Advertiser Index (Page 39) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Ask the Expert (Page 40) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Ask the Expert (Page Cover3) Business Facilities - February 2009 - Ask the Expert (Page Cover4)
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