TEAM AUTOMOTIVE
Madison County proved that it has what it takes to be an ideal location for business and industry back in late 2000. It was then that Nissan Motor Corporation chose Canton and Madison County, Mississippi as the location for their next manufacturing plant, investing approximately $930 million in the new facility.
Before production began at Nissan in Madison County, Nissan decided to add another production line and brought an additional $400 million in investment to the Canton manufacturing plant. Robert Rohrlack, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, said Nissan's decision to expand the plant before it was even built served as confirmation of Mississippi's own revival. "This announcement further increased our exposure nationwide and worldwide. It is further confirmation that Mississippi is a serious competitor," said Rohrlack. "Other industries are taking notice of the outstanding opportunities in Mississippi for their company and their employees."
Nissan began production at the Madison County plant on May 27, 2003, with the rollout of the newly-redesigned 2004 Nissan Quest Minivan. The amount of investment to date in Madison County by Nissan is approximately $1.43 billion and over 5,000 new jobs. The Canton plant currently produces the Nissan Quest minivan, the full-size Nissan Armada sport utility vehicle, the full-size Titan King Cab & Crew Cab pickup trucks, the full-size Infiniti QX56 sport utility vehicle, and the Nissan Altima midsize sedan.
President and CEO Carlos Ghosn stated at the opening of the facility, "This is Nissan's revival plant. Three years ago, when Nissan’s mere survival was in question, the Nissan Revival Plan provided the resources needed to build this plant. It's a different story today, and Canton is set to play a significant part in our company’s future. The vehicles built in Canton will significantly expand our product lineup in North America. The employee team here will produce attractive, competitive vehicles to be marketed in high-volume, high-profit segments -- many of which are segments where Nissan has not competed before."
At that time, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour stated, "Having a skilled workforce that is able to adapt to market demands has already brought more, better-paying jobs to our region, as we see with the Nissan plant in Canton. I know that Mississippi has tremendous potential to position itself in the ever-changing global economy and am certain that other companies will follow suit with Nissan in recognizing the vast amount of economic development opportunities available here in our great state."
Now Madison County is a major player on that automotive manufacturing "radar screen" allowing the county to compete and continue to win other automotive manufacturers and suppliers. In fact, Nissan officials predicted that for every job created at the plant, six new spinoff jobs would be created.
Madison County has already seen the impact of spinoffs with many suppliers already relocating to the area. However, there is plenty of room for other automotive manufacturers in Madison County. Some of the reasons that Nissan saw Madison County as an ideal location are listed below:
