Chamber, state discuss Shelbyville Volkswagen prospects

A delegation of state and Chattanooga officials visited Shelbyville to discuss the possibility for spinoff industry from the Volkswagen plant. From left are Steve Hiatt of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce; president-elect Scott Cocanougher of Shelbyville & Bedford County Chamber of Commerce; CEO Walt Wood of Shelbyville & Bedford County Chamber of Commerce; Blake Poole of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; Joe Brandon of Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development; Jerry Merriman and Tommy Burns, both of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
(Submitted photo)

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"This was a followup to our visit to Germany," said Wood, who accompanied regional and state officials on a trip to five German cities last October.

Visiting Shelbyville this month were Blake Poole, a special assistant to Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Developoment Matt Kisber; Jerry Merriman and Tommy Burns, also with ECD; Joe Brandon of Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development; and Steve Hiatt of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.

Wood described the meeting as positive and said the next step may be to take a delegation from the Chamber down to the VW plant site.

Although Volkswagen intends for its major OEM suppliers to locate on its campus in Chattanooga, it's thought that secondary suppliers -- the suppliers to the suppliers -- could locate in a broader area, especially if they hope to also do business with Nissan or General Motors in Middle Tennessee. Wood said it's still up in the air exactly which suppliers will be located on the VW campus.

Estimates last fall were that Volkswagen itself will employ 2,000 but that 10,000 jobs will be created in the region.

Wood said Volkswagen is the only major automaker aggressively expanding its manufacturing capability, with not only the Chattanooga plant but new plants planned in Russia and India. The recent economic uncertainty has not interfered with the company's plans, he said.

Although it may seem odd for Chattanooga's chamber to participate in discussions about siting plants elsewhere, Wood said Chattanooga's chamber has been working hard to partner with VW and the state to make the new plant successful.