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. And it's not just that these are 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, California company will buy the facility from Motors Liquidation 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
A star-studded cast of politicians at the announcement ceremony 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.
'Creating quality careers'
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.
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.
Workers' reactions
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.
Boxwood Road Plant by the numbers
$18M purchase price
$175M renovation cost
$529M U.S. Department of Energy loan
2,000 new local jobs
3,000 vendor/supplier
100,000 annual car production
$39,900 cost of Boxwood’s plug-in car
(after federal tax credits)
About Boxwood Road
The Wilmington assembly plant was built by General Motors in 1947. Today, it is 3.2 million square feet on 142 acres with an on-site powerhouse and waste water treatment facility.
More than 8.5 million cars have been manufactured there, including the Pontiac Streamliner, original Chevrolet Impala, 1997-1999 Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn L-Series and the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT roadsters. Production capacity is 300,000 cars per year.
The plant and its workforce have received many awards for excellence in quality, production and safety.
About Fisker
Fisker Automotive is a privately owned, premium American car company that manufactures plug-in, hybrid electric cars that are aesthetically pleasing and have some muscle.
Its global headquarters are in Irvine, California.
The company’s CEO, Henrik Fisker, was design director for Aston Martin and CEO of BMW’s DesignworksUSA. COO Bernhard Koehler led operations for Ford’s Global Advanced Design Studio and created concept cars for Aston Martin, MINI and BMW.
The company was started in 2007 to leverage the design capabilities of Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, founded by Fisker and Koehler, and the PHEV powertrain capabilities of Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., a major Tier 1 supplier of clean vehicle technologies.
ORIGINAL STORY posted Oct. 27
Vice President Joe Biden today announced that Fisker Automotive is re-opening a shuttered former GM factory in Wilmington to produce long-range, plug-in, electric hybrid vehicles. The Wilmington assembly plant was selected by Fisker Automotive for its primary global production facility based on its size, production capacity; and access to shipping ports, rail lines and skilled workforce, according to a press release from the Vice President's office.
“While some wanted to write off America’s auto industry, we said no. We knew that we needed to do something different – in Delaware and all across the nation,” said Vice President Biden. “We understood a new chapter had to be written, a new chapter in which we strengthen American manufacturing by investing in innovation. Thanks to a real commitment by this Administration, loans from the Department of Energy, the creativity of U.S. companies and the tenacity of great state partners like Delaware – we’re on our way to helping America’s auto industry reclaim its top position in the global market.”
In September, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a $528.7 million conditional loan for Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids, which will save hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of carbon pollution by 2016. Of the total loan, $359 million is going to revive manufacturing at the Boxwood Plant. The Boxwood Plant will support Fisker Automotive’s Project NINA, the development and build of a mass-market plug-in hybrid sedan. The company estimates it will build 75,000-100,000 of these highly efficient vehicles every year by 2014. Also of the total loan, $169.3 million is helping support engineering integration in Michigan and California as Fisker works with U.S. suppliers to complete the company's first vehicle, design tools and equipment for mass manufacturing, and develop manufacturing processes for the new Wilmington facility.
“This is proof positive that our efforts to create new jobs, invest in a clean energy economy and reduce carbon pollution are working,” said Energy Secretary Chu. “We are putting Americans back to work and reigniting a new Industrial Revolution that is paramount for the economic success of this country.”
“The rebirth of the Boxwood Road plant is good for Delaware’s workers,” said Ed Montgomery, the Executive Director of the White House Council for Automotive Communities and Workers. “The cars that will be produced here are the result of a Federal and state partnership with the private sector to make the energy efficient vehicles of tomorrow. The reopening of this facility serves as another reminder of the resiliency of the American worker and the continuing transformation of our national economy. “
Fisker automobiles are driven by electric motors powered by a lithium-ion battery, or, when that is depleted, a generator driven by an efficient gasoline engine. The electric-only range will be more than most people drive in a day. The battery can be charged at home overnight. Using gas and electric power, Fisker plug-in hybrids will have a cruising range of about 300 miles.
The Fisker loan is the fourth conditional loan commitment the Department of Energy has entered into under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The Department plans to make additional loans under this program over the coming months to large and small auto manufacturers and parts suppliers up and down the production supply chain.
In addition, plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles will also become an important part of the smart grid infrastructure being created in the United States. With smart metering infrastructure, consumers and utilities will be able to charge these vehicles when electricity demand and prices are lowest and also when power from intermittent renewable resources like wind and solar are more available. Ultimately, consumers might be able to sell an unneeded portion of the battery's charge back to the grid, creating a system of distributed energy storage that will help make the grid more reliable, save money, and allow us to rely on renewable technologies for a greater percentage of our energy.
