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MISSISSIPPI WELCOMES TOYOTA
Jackson, Miss., (February 27, 2007) – Today, Toyota Motor Corporation announced the location of the company’s eighth North American manufacturing facility in the Blue Springs area in Union County. Governor Haley Barbour along with officials from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), Tupelo Community Development Foundation and other local and state entities were on hand for the announcement.
“We in Mississippi and especially North Mississippi are excited to have been chosen by Toyota as its partner,” Governor Barbour said. “Toyota is the world’s premiere auto manufacturer and our state will be the best partner the company has.”
“The Mississippi Development Authority is very pleased about Toyota’s decision to locate their eighth North American manufacturing facility in Mississippi,” said Gray Swoope, Executive Director of MDA. “MDA has a history of underpromising and overdelivering and that made the difference in bringing this project to fruition. We are looking forward to Toyota’s presence here for many, many years and know that the company will be a great corporate citizen in our state.”
“We are excited about Toyota's new location in the Tennessee Valley,” said John Bradley, TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development. “TVA and our distributor customers appreciate being a part of the economic development team and recognize the extensive efforts and site readiness that went into this project from all parties.”
Toyota will invest $1.3 billion in the facility. 2,000 direct jobs will be created once the plant is operational and another 4,900 spin-off, or indirect jobs are expected to be created within five years of the plant’s opening.
The state of Mississippi has compiled an incentive package totaling $293.9 million for the project, which includes the site and site preparation, infrastructure improvements and job training and recruitment. As a result of the Toyota project, Mississippi anticipates state tax revenues of roughly $235 million from the facility over the first 10 years of operations.
About Toyota
Toyota established operations in North America in 1957. By 2008, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build about 2 million cars and trucks in 14 plants across North America. There are more than 1,700 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America, which sell more than 2.8 million vehicles a year. Toyota directly employs nearly 40,000 people in North America. Toyota's investment in North America is valued at more than $17.6 billion. Toyota produces 11 vehicles in North America, including the Avalon, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra and the Lexus RX350. By 2008, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build about 2 million cars and trucks, 1.44 million engines and 600,000 automatic transmissions in North America.
About Mississippi Development Authority
Mississippi Development Authority is the State of Mississippi’s lead economic and community development agency. More than 250 employees are engaged in providing services to businesses, communities and workers in the state. While the agency is best known for its efforts to recruit new businesses to Mississippi, the Authority provides services to promote tourism, help communities improve their quality of place, help existing employers identify and meet opportunities and challenges and help workers improve their skills – all with the goal of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of Mississippians.
