Just four months after announcing their site selection, Volkswagen is already laying concrete for the foundations of its Chattanooga assembly plant. Based on a meeting the company recently held with state officials, that ability to get up and running so quickly was a key factor in choosing Tennessee for the project.
Last month, a delegation from the state traveled to Germany to court potential Volkswagen suppliers. When they first got there, Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber says the company gave them a briefing that was surprising in its scope.
“It’s the first time anyone could recall a company really publicly pulling the curtain back on the site selection process and telling exactly what were the factors that drove the decision and how they came to deciding on Chattanooga.”
The key issue was speed. Volkswagen wants the plant to be up and running by the end of 2010.
The Chattanooga site was essentially ready to go in terms of infrastructure. The state and local governments began the process of issuing permits for construction before the decision had even been made, a move that shaved weeks off the schedule. The company’s officials were also pleased to see a clearly bipartisan show of support for the plant. Kisber says that helped them feel that if problems were to arise, there would be a strong team effort to find solutions quickly.
While the briefing was unprecedented, it also makes sense for the company to encourage the state to help further developments move quickly. After all, if Volkswagen is going to meet its timeline, its suppliers have less than two years to get up and running.
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