Gov. Gregoire says BMW's Moses Lake factory may double in size, jobs

(Headline in Seattle Times this morning.)

SEATTLE —
A new carbon fiber plant being built in Moses Lake could become the largest facility of its kind in the world because of strong demand for the composites by German carmaker BMW AG, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Friday.

Check out the full story here.

The Governor is in Germany hobnobbing with BMW. They believe all vehicles will be made of carbon fiber in the near future.

When you read between the lines of the statements BMW has made about this project, you get the sense that:

- BMW sees carbon fiber as the material of the future,

- BMW is developing a core competency and infrastructure for carbon fiber, of which the Moses Lake plant will be a significant part, and

- BMW's vision may go beyond using this stuff just for its own vehicles; it may envision selling carbon fiber to other car makers and maybe even to other industries as well.

In other words, carbon fiber is the building material of the 21st century, and Moses Lake will be a carbon fiber capital of the world. Exciting!