In January 1998 the San Francisco office of Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe, counsel to American Honda Motor Company, Inc. engaged Harry A. Henshaw, managing director, Corporate Services Group for Colliers International, Cleveland, to locate a North American site for a new automobile assembly plant. Henshaw asked Porter, White & Company, Birmingham, and TriLine Associates, Pittsburgh, to assist in the site selection assignment.
Responding to a set of location criteria including labor force characteristics, proximity to transportation, universities and cultural amenities, and avoidance of weather and seismic risks, the team reviewed hundreds of sites in 26 states. After extensive analysis and many site inspections the list was narrowed to four sites in four states, each of which comprised more than 1,000 acres of land. Industrial development agencies were asked to secure options on the selected sites and to provide site and offsite improvements, training and other improvements that would make the sites competitive.
A successful automobile assembly plant is one of the most potent sources of economic growth available to a community. The proposed Honda plant will generate 1,500 new direct jobs and several times as many indirect jobs.
In Alabama, the team worked with Governor Don Siegelman, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board to obtain site options and preliminary commitments for state and local assistance. Final negotiations were conducted by Honda with the Alabama Development Office, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board, and the Talladega County Economic Development Authority
We are confident that the announcement of a new Honda plant in Alabama marks the beginning of a fruitful partnership that will greatly benefit both Honda and the people of Alabama, and we are proud to have played a part in forming this partnership.
