Business

Mercedes Moving Headquarters from New Jersey to Atlanta

Published

10 years ago

January 7, 2015

GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press
KATHLEEN FOODY, Associated Press

German luxury automobile maker Mercedes-Benz said Tuesday that it’s moving its U.S. headquarters from New Jersey to Atlanta, in part to be closer to its manufacturing facility in Alabama.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said the company accepted an incentive package from the state but said he couldn’t discuss the details yet. The Fulton County Development Authority met briefly Tuesday to discuss its own incentive package for Mercedes’ estimated $93 million facility but provided no details.

The decision comes after weeks of lobbying — some of it public — by New Jersey officials who sought to keep the company in Montvale, at a campus that’s about a five-minute drive from BMW’s North American headquarters.

About 1,000 jobs are to be moved starting in July. The company said it will move first to a temporary facility in Atlanta before moving into a new space in about two years. Deal and Georgia economic development officials would not discuss the location Mercedes is pursuing in metro Atlanta. Mercedes said it would announce more details later this month

Mercedes-Benz USA President and CEO Stephen Cannon said in a statement that the company will benefit by being closer to its growing base of customers in the Southeast as well as its port in Brunswick, Georgia, and its manufacturing facility in Alabama.

Cannon praised New Jersey and the company said some operational areas will remain in Montvale and Robbinsville

“The state has worked tirelessly with us as we evaluated our options,” he said in a statement. “Ultimately, though, it became apparent that to achieve the sustained, profitable growth and efficiencies we require for the decades ahead, our headquarters would have to be located elsewhere.”

He also said the quality of life, schools and cultural options in Atlanta were reasons to move there.

Other recent Georgia projects in the automotive industry include the construction of a new U.S. headquarters for Porsche near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and Kia’s first U.S. manufacturing facility about 75 miles southwest of Atlanta. Executives have cited access to the world’s busiest airport for employee travel and to the state’s ports for shipping.

Deal credited the state’s access to that infrastructure and an insistence on cooperation between economic development, utility and education officials for the results.

Deal said the most memorable portion of the state’s pursuit was being told that the automaker was seriously considering Georgia for its U.S. headquarters. Deal said Mercedes-Benz approached Georgia officials several months ago.

“The prestige associated with that name is exciting to me,” Deal said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had a series of meetings and calls with Cannon to try to keep the company in New Jersey, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor.

“In each conversation Mercedes USA made one thing very clear about its decision to leave: The cost of doing business and the tax environment is just too high here to be competitive with a state like Georgia,” he said.

That reinforces Christie’s “repeated calls to lower taxes and change the business climate,” Drewniak said.

New Jersey promised more than $2 billion in future tax breaks to companies moving to or remaining in the state, more than it promised from 1996 through 2009 combined, and could have offered Mercedes-Benz up to $15 million to stay just from one incentive aimed at car companies’ U.S. headquarters.

Under New Jersey’s incentives last year, Subaru of America agreed to stay in New Jersey, and the Philadelphia 76ers announced plans to move their offices and practice facility to Camden, New Jersey, while continuing to play in Philadelphia, a short drive away.

But the state has lost some major businesses to the South: Car rental giant The Hertz Corp. is moving to Estero, Florida, with the help of $85 million in tax breaks, and Bubble Wrap maker Sealed Air Corp. is moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, with the aid of $35 million in breaks.

___

Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey, and Foody reported from Atlanta.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024, 2024

Published

3 days ago

November 30, 2024

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Black History

Emeline King: A Trailblazer in the Automotive Industry

Emeline King is recognized as the first African American female transportation designer at the Ford Motor Company. Let’s take a look at her life and career at the Ford Motor Company.

Published

1 week ago

November 26, 2024

Oakland Post

Transportation designer Emeline King. Photo courtesy of Emeline King.

By Tamara Shiloh

Emeline King is recognized as the first African American female transportation designer at the Ford Motor Company.

Let’s take a look at her life and career at the Ford Motor Company.

King’s fascination with cars began during her childhood. Growing up, she was captivated by the sleek designs and mechanical complexities of automobiles. She loved playing with toy cars and considered it an insult if anyone gave her a doll.

King pursued her interest in cars by studying at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. There, she improved her skills in transportation design, gaining the technical expertise and artistic vision she needed to break into the male-dominated industry.

However, her true inspiration came from her father, Earnest O. King, Sr., who worked for Ford as a Fabrication Specialist. She remembered the father-daughter trips to the auto shows, and the Saturday mornings with the famous Black sculptor, Oscar Graves, who her father assisted in some of his commissioned art works.

She said Graves would mentor her in clay relief sculptures. She was always fascinated by the smell of clay that was a constant in his studio.

However, it was her ﬁrst visit to her father’s job that became the catalyst for King to want a career in transportation design. At the company’s annual employee Christmas parties, she got the chance to meet his co-workers and learned about the roles they played in the auto industry. It was a chance to see some great cars, too.

Her career at Ford began in the 1980s, when women — particularly women of color –were scarcely represented in the automotive industry. King’s role at Ford was groundbreaking, as she became the first African American woman to work as a transportation designer at the company.

At Ford Design, she worked on the Ford Mustang SN-95’s interior. She also made several design contributions on other vehicles, too, including the interior components of the 1989 Thunderbird, the 1989 Corporate Steering Wheel, the 1989 Thunderbird Wheel/Wheel cover design program, the 1990 Thunderbird Super Coupe, the 1993 Mach III, the 1994 Mustang, to name a few.

King also served three foreign assignments: Turin Italy; Koln, Germany; and Brentwood, Essex, England — designing Ford cars for Europe.

Leaving Ford after about 25 years of service and along with her many speaking engagements, she wrote an autobiography about being Ford’s first female African American transportation designer titled, “What Do You Mean A Black Girl Can’t Design Cars? She Did It!”

She’s quoted as saying, “I’m now so proud to have written a book that I hope will inspire young girls and boys to never give up. To influence them so that they can stay focused and alert, and so they never look back. There are mentors who are placed in our lives to serve as our ‘Bridges to Destinations’ and allow us to cross over them to reach our dreams. Hoping they gain inspiration from my book, my motto for them is simple: ‘OPPORTUNITY IS NOW, SO GRAB IT! IF I DID IT, SO CAN YOU!”

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Activism

OCCUR Hosts “Faith Forward” Conference in Oakland

The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership.

Published

1 week ago

November 24, 2024

Oakland Post

President and CEO of OCCUR addresses the audience at OCCUR Faith Forward 2024 Conference at Resurrection Church. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal (OCCUR) hosted its Faith Forward 2024 Conference on Nov. 8 at Resurrection Church in Oakland.

The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12^th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.

Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership. During her remarks, She commended nonprofits making a difference, and shared how she looked forward to representing Oakland and surrounding areas.

Simon also encouraged attendees to continue fighting despite their concerns about the presidential election results. She also cautioned that there may be resources that are discontinued as a result.

“We know the assignment. We have many of the resources right within our own community, and we will be ok,” Simon assured the audience.

The conference led by OCCUR president, Dr. David B. Franklin, also featured panels on funding opportunities, case studies, economic development, sustainable housing solutions, and organizing for action.

“In order for organizations serving the community to thrive, everyone must collaborate, share resources, and not operate in silos,” said Franklin.

Speakers included San Francisco Foundation CEO, Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation FAITHS Program Director Dr. Michelle Chambers, and Kingmakers of Oakland Founder, Chris Chatmon. Guests were briefed on how Kingmakers of Oakland has gone from a budget of zero to several million and is set to acquire 200 acres of property to expand their programs serving young boys. The leadership at the San Francisco Foundation encouraged nonprofits, churches, and community leaders to work together, especially when donations and funding numbers are lower.

Ben Bartlett of Berkeley City Council; Trevor Parham, CEO of Oakstop; and CEO of the Lao Family Community Development, Inc., Kathy Chao Rothberg, inspired attendees with stories about their journeys in the nonprofit sector.

Additional speakers included Deka Dike, CEO of Omatachi; Landis Green, CEO of DGS Strategies; Sasha Werblin, Director of Economic Development, LISC Bay Area; Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid; Faith and Justice Organizer of East Bay Housing Organizations, Ronnie Boyd; and Todd Bendon, Executive Director of Faith in Action East Bay; among others.

The event allowed community leaders, faith-based leaders, and nonprofits to gain Insight on how to strengthen their profits financially, and communally.

OCCUR has served the community for over 70 years supporting the wellbeing of historically marginalized communities with collaborative strategies. For more information visit occurnow.org