Carbon Motors to build new generation of police cars at vacant factory.
Residents of Connersville, Indiana, felt like lottery winners Wednesday.
Carbon Motors President Bill Li announced that the firm would invest $350 million to build a new generation of police cars in the Fayette County seat.
Building the E-7 high-tech police vehicles is due to begin in 2012 at the former Visteon plant, which closed in 2007 – putting hundreds of people out of work.
"We’re going to create 10,000 new and indirect jobs – 1,500 of them here," Li said to a crowd of 2,000 at an American Jobs Rally in the vacant Visteon building. Many of them were former employees.
The announcement is good news for Connersville and Fayette County, where the unemployment rate is 15.9%.
The community beat bids from South Carolina and Georgia to land the new jobs.
"We’re going to be the police car capital of the world," said Connersville Mayor Leonard Urban.
Watching intently from a third row seat at the rally was John Maddox ,of Connersville.
"It’s the greatest day of our lives," he said.
Maddox retired from Visteon, but worries about his financial future.
The company filed for bankruptcy, meaning his health insurance, benefits and pension might be at risk. So, he’ll apply for a job with Carbon Motors.
"We need work. We need jobs – and we got it," he said.
David Rude will also fill out an application. The Connersville man spent 24 years with Visteon, but has been unemployed ever since the plant closed.
"Being out of work for two years, it’s really a lot of hope," he said of Carbon Motors plans.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said there is no final agreement yet for the plant, but he’s optimistic that everything will fall into place.
"Every issue within our control is very manageable," Daniels said after the rally.
That includes ownership of the building and environmental cleanup. The biggest unknown is whether Carbon Motors will be able to secure a government loan for the project.
Governor Daniels sees the glass as half-full, instead of half-empty.
"I have every confidence that the feds will say ‘yes,’ but until then, I will be holding my breath," he added.
Li wouldn’t comment on financing specifics because the company was started by former Ford executives and is privately held.
He did say there already are 10,000 orders for the E-7 vehicle, partly because of its economy.
"Our country burns through 1.5 billion gallons of fuel every year having our law enforcement operations patrol our communities," Li stated. "We’re going to be able to cut that 40%."
One feature of the vehicles is wider doors that allow police officers to easily get in and out – even while wearing all of their safety gear.
Connersville Assistant Police Chief Dennis Perkins Jr. said that’s a tremendous asset to anyone on patrol. He’s test driven one.
"Some of the trouble we have now with cars is that our guns get hooked on the belts," Perkins said. "The way this car is designed, it didn’t happen at all."
The deal to bring Carbon Motors to Connersville has been in the works for months.
Li said he’s been very impressed with the cooperative spirit of the community in wooing the company to Fayette County.
In fact, volunteers spent hundreds of hours cleaning the Visteon facility and making it presentable for Wednesday’s announcement.
"This is going to take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make it to the finish line and you need that level of American passion to make that happen," he said.
Early in the 20th century Connersville was known as "Little Detroit" because of the quality automobiles workers produced.
Among them were the Duesenberg and Auburn Cord. That identity has dwindled in recent years – especially after the Visteon pullout.,
Governor Daniels hopes Carbon Motors will help reclaim Connersville’s automotive history.
"The way things are going in Indiana. The way things are going in Detroit. They’re going to call Detroit ‘Little Connersville’ before we’re done," he quipped.
