Hyundai to Build Plant in Alabama Not Kentucky

MONTGOMERY, Ala. AP reported that Hyundai Motor Co. picked a site near Montgomery on Monday for a $1 billion plant, Gov. Don Siegelman said.

Siegelman said he received a phone call shortly before 10 p.m. EST Monday from the president of Hyundai telling him the plant would be built in Alabama. The plant, with some 2,000 employees, has been sought by city and state officials for months.

``This is a tribute to the people of Alabama that a renowned corporation like this would look to Alabama for a place to call home. It's a tribute to the state's world class workers,'' Siegelman said.

Hyundai officials were expected to make the official announcement late Monday night, just hours after city officials in Montgomery faxed final details of the city's proposal to Korea.

Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton said that Hyundai telephoned him about its decision.

Hyundai's board of directors met early Tuesday morning in Korea to decide between the two finalists for the site of the company's first U.S. plant, Montgomery or Glendale, Ky.

Kentucky and Alabama were the finalists for the $1 billion plant, which is expected to employ about 2,000 workers and make 300,000 cars a year, beginning in 2005.

The Alabama Legislature last month approved a $118 million package of incentives to encourage Hyundai to locate its assembly plant near Montgomery.

The incentives, promptly signed into law by Siegelman, include $75 million to train workers for automobile assembly line operations at Hyundai. The remaining funds could be used to assist the automaker in other ways, and acreage near Hope Hull on the southern border of Montgomery was purchased for the prospective Hyundai plant.

In the past decade, Alabama has been selected by Mercedes and Honda for major assembly plants, and the Hyundai plant could give another huge boost to the state's emerging status in the automotive industry.

The Kentucky House passed an incentives package Monday night worth $123 million. Those enticements include money for land acquisition, site development, worker training and a direct payment to Hyundai.

House Majority Leader Greg Stumbo said Kentucky's package was slightly more generous than Alabama's.

Kentucky's auto industry includes General Motors Corp., which makes Corvettes at a plant in Bowling Green, while Ford Motor Co. produces sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks in Louisville. Toyota builds Camrys, Avalons and minivans in Georgetown.

David Bronner, chief executive officer of the Retirement Systems of Alabama and a key player in efforts to attract new business into the state, said the plant would be a major boost for the Alabama economy.

He said the Hyundai facility would strengthen Alabama's growing reputation as a player in the automobile manufacturing industry. Mercedes Benz recently announced it is expanding its plant at Vance in Tuscaloosa County that makes M-Class sports utility vehicles, and Honda has constructed a manufacturing plant at Lincoln in Talladega County where it will make Odyssey minivans.

Hyundai makes the Accent, Elantra and Sonata, among other vehicles. The plant would be Hyundai's second in North America.

The company built a plant in Bromong, Quebec, in 1989, the first overseas auto assembly plant by a South Korean automaker. Hyundai closed the plant in the 1990s because of a dwindling demand for the medium-size Sonata in North America.