Darrell Smith, Connersville News-Examiner
Reporter
More than 400 criteria will be considered as Carbon Motors chooses a location for producing the all-new Carbon E7 law enforcement vehicle, according to a company spokesman.
Connersville has made the short list of five sites still under consideration for the new plant and the 1,350 direct jobs that come with it. Mayor Leonard Urban, Economic Development Group Executive Director Bryan Coats, EDG Board of Director member Bill Long and consultant Dan Zuerner visited company officials in Atlanta on Wednesday and Thursday.
Those 400 benchmarks were developed because there is no facility in the United States that fits the need of the company that operates under a different business philosophy, said Carbon Motor's Stacy Stephens.
"We're not just looking for a manufacturing facility, we are looking for somewhere to have our research and development, our engineering team, manufacturing services, sales and executive offices all under one roof," he explained.
The company started with many potential sites in several states - including 11 in Indiana - and narrowed those to the prime locations based on that list of criteria, he said. There is no one perfect location that stands out above the others, he added.
The decision will be made sometime this summer, based on the determination of the best location for the company to build the vehicle and the best community in which its employees will reside, he said.
"We want somewhere with a great quality of life, relatively close proximity to a great international airport, somewhere that is going to be in proximity with a wealth of not only automotive suppliers but also law enforcement suppliers and somewhere that is friendly for logistics purposes, both inbound and outbound," Stephens said.
In addition, he said a company would be foolish not to consider incentives from states during the decision-making process.
"The aggressiveness with which states are responding to the proposal also says an awful lot; how quickly, how thorough they are and the like, all matters," he said. "It's always nice to be loved and wanted."
Connersville economic development officials have said they plan to submit two proposals for the company to consider by the April 6 deadline - the former Visteon building and adjacent land and a 200-acre green site for construction of the new complex.
"The building (Visteon) was attractive to us because it provided four walls and a ceiling, but putting in a type of building that we need is a very quick and an easy process because it's not a specialized type of location," he said. "It's neither a positive or negative."
It was the availability of green space that first brought the company's chief site selector and chief financial officer to Connersville on Feb. 17 for a first look, according to outgoing EDG Executive Director Doug Howard.
While meeting with the company officials, Coats played a video of the Visteon building for them and they decided to tour the facility, he said.
"Eighteen months ago we didn't have any green space of any size, the biggest piece we had when I came in was 17 acres," he said. "Now we've got one piece alone with over 400 acres with options for more. If we had not had that, those people would never have walked into this town.
"Eighteen months ago we didn't have that or the relationship with Dan Zuerner, a man of his caliber, on retainer to be able to pick the phone up and say, 'We need you to go to Atlanta and help us.'"
Stephens said he was trying to schedule a trip to Connersville.
Asked whether there is the possibility the new E7 will be coming to the area, Stephens said, "Maybe in the area, there is a possibility but I can't say anymore at the moment."
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