Governor, Commissioner Join Volkswagen AG Chairman for Plant Tour
Governor, Commissioner Join Volkswagen AG Chairman for Plant Tour
Volkswagen AG Chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Governor Phil Bredesen, and ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber tour VW's Chattanooga facility on July 21.
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Governor Phil Bredesen and ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber joined Volkswagen AG Chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn on a tour yesterday of Volkswagen's $1 billion facility currently under construction in Chattanooga.
The Tennessee tour marked Dr. Winterkorn's first visit to the plant. He was pleased with the construction progress and predicted the new midsize sedan would be a "great success" in the North American market.
 Along with state and local officials, other members of Volkswagen's Board of Management in attendance included Jochem Heizmann, Francisco Xavier García Sanz and Christian Klingler. Rupert Stadler, chairman of the management board of Audi AG, also toured the Chattanooga facility.
A week ago Volkswagen marked the two-year anniversary of their announcement to produce a car designed specifically for the North American consumer in Chattanooga, investing $1 billion in the local economy. In just a short time, the facility is more than 90 percent complete, more than 400 robots have been installed, and Volkswagen has spent over $686 million in local and Tennessee contracts.
Nearly 900 employees have been hired at the plant that will eventually staff more than 2,000.
The as-yet-unnamed sedan will roll off the Chattanooga assembly lines in early 2011.
Visit ECD's official Flickr site for more photos from the plant tour.
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