Arrival of VW Seen as Powerful Lure for Regional Growth
Published Feb 16, 2009
These are heady days for the political and economic leaders of the Southeast Industrial Development Association.
The decision by Volkswagen AG to build a $2 billion factory in Chattanooga has left folks feeling, well, giddy.
They’re confident that the decision by Europe’s largest automaker to situate its only U.S. factory in the hub city for the 22-county region will have residual benefits for all points of the compass – from Athens, Tenn., on the north down to Summerville, Ga., on the south, and from Altamont, Tenn., on the west over to Murphy, N.C. on the east.
But giddiness is not to be confused with cockiness. Indeed, the SEIDA staff, board, power-distributor members and partner organizations are working harder than ever to lure companies to southeast Tennessee, north Georgia and southwest North Carolina.
In doing so, economic development professionals such as SEIDA Executive Director Beth Jones are reciting the attributes that VW found so appealing. They include a trained and reliable workforce, available product inventories, and livability. Jones says VW’s coming presents opportunities to attract automotive suppliers and other kinds of businesses, “which means jobs, which means taxes, which means investment. And it gives us an opportunity to work cohesively as a region about what we want to be for the future.”
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