Hospitality, responsiveness and a skilled workforce: How state and national figures wooed Fisker Automotive to come revive dormant automotive plant

Fisker Automotive’s purchase of the former GM Boxwood Road plant to build affordable, hybrid cars is not just about bringing 2,000 jobs back to Wilmington.

These jobs are also green jobs, the way of the future, according to state officials.

It is about restoring the American automotive industry back to the top of the world, in which the U.S. is a major exporter of cars, agreed Vice President Joe Biden and Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker at a Tuesday, Oct. 27 press conference.

It is also about helping restore America’s middle class, which the auto industry and the United Auto Workers helped build, said Ed Montgomery, executive director of the White House Council for Automotive Communities and Workers.

The Irvine, Calif. company will buy the facility from Motors Liquidation Co. (formerly General Motors Corp.) for $18 million, and Fisker will spend another $175 million to refurbish and retool it, financed through a $529 million U.S. Department of Energy loan – part of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program appropriated by Congress in 2007.

Production of a plug-in hybrid sedan – the so-called NINA Project – is scheduled to begin in 2012.

Celebrating success
With a star-studded cast of politicians that was remarkable to even U.S. Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) who declared he’d “never seen so many elected officials for Delaware at one event,” U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) drew applause from the labor-heavy crowd when he credited the strong workforce foundation for bringing Fisker to the First State.

“This is a great deal for three reasons: jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del) also credited the labor force’s spirit, which he said refused to quit, even after the dismal news delivered by GM back in June.

Fisker also selected the Wilmington assembly plant for its size, production capacity, world-class paint facilities, access to shipping ports and rail lines and smart thinking by federal officials, who worked with Motors Liquidation to keep much of the plant’s existing equipment in place.

That allowed Fisker to see the plant as a viable option, Montgomery said.
Gov. Jack Markell said this new chapter at Boxwood may well be the story of Delaware’s economic future, expanding on its legacy of innovation in fields like pharmaceuticals, corporate finance and chemicals.

“We’re creating quality careers and not just temporary jobs,” he said.

A good start
Fisker Chief Executive Henrik Fisker said he was blown away by Delaware’s hospitality, Markell’s ability to gather state politicians quickly to meet with company officials and the skilled worker force.

A personal call from the vice president of the United States was impressive as well, he said.

The venture will create 5,000 jobs in America, 2,000 of them local, Fisker said, and will do its part to help the U.S. “take the lead in the new technology. Fisker will play a small part but we are willing to grow and I think you are willing to grow as well.”

By 2010 the plant will be making 75,000 to 100,000 cars annually – and Fisker anticipates exporting more than half, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.

Biden said the deal is an example of what the federal government is doing with stimulus money.

“You’ve got to believe in innovation,” Biden said. “It’s a bad bet to bet against America. The cars we build are going to be the cars of the future.
Kenneth Woods, Sheet Metal Workers Local119 spokesman, said the venture will spur more job growth.

“That’s what we need here,” he said. “Our manufacturing base has gone away slowly with losing both car plants. It’s tough out there looking for a job.”

Former Boxwood Road Plant laborer Ken Brong has been through it before: he took GM’s buyout package after 41 years, but the Fisker deal was a surprise with its short timeframe, he said.

“I’ll just stick around and see what happens,” said Brong, a millwright welder. “Maybe there will be an opportunity here in the future.

If they build it, will they come?
By 2010, Fisker Automotive expects that the Boxwood Road plant will be cranking out 75,000 to 100,000 plug-in hybrid cars annually.

The company anticipates exporting more than half, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.

But for the cars that remain here, the question is: if they build it, will they come, said Catherine L. Rossi, manager of public and government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. While Rossi was optimistic and applauded the move, she has concerns.

“If Fisker's vehicles are affordable, good-looking, well-made and fuel efficient, then motorists will buy them,” she said. “But they still need convenient places to plug cars in.”

These cars, which will run partially on solar energy, will need gas stations to fill up their tanks.