Friday, January 8, 2010
Grant County makes secret bid for BMW plant, is in the race for $200M auto-part factory
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Steve Wilhelm Staff Writer
Thanks in large part to its inexpensive, carbon-neutral hydropower, Grant County is in the running to win a $200 million factory to make carbon-fiber material for next-generation electric BMW cars.
The factory, expected to cover 200,000 square feet and employ 180 people, would be built later this year on land outside Moses Lake, officials said. Moses Lake is competing against another location, probably in Canada, and a decision is expected this month, perhaps as early as this week.
The factory would be built as part of a joint venture between German luxury automaker BMW Group and SGL Group, a $2.3 billion German maker of carbon-based products.
The plant would be the first to bring major automotive-related production to the state. If successful, it could attract other automotive-related plants keen to use inexpensive hydropower generated by dams controlled by the Grant County Public Utility District.
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