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Effingham officials tour Montgomery Hyundai plant
Local officials visit Hyundai Montgomery
The group included County Manager Tim Callanan and Effingham County School District Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford. Hyundai is set to open the first electric vehicle (EV) plant in the United States in Bryan County, which borders Effingham County, in 2025.

SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County District 3 Commissioner Jamie DeLoach returned to Georgia revved up about the Coastal Empire’s economic future following a tour of an automotive plant in Montgomery, Alabama.

DeLoach was one of about three dozen area officials who visited Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) on Nov. 16-17, 2022. The group included County Manager Tim Callanan and Effingham County School District Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford.

Hyundai is set to open the first electric vehicle (EV) plant in the United States in Bryan County, which borders Effingham County, in 2025. A groundbreaking ceremony was conducted for it last fall.

The commissioner said the Montgomery trip was a great experience and he welcomed the opportunity to spend time with elected officials from neighboring counties and cities.

“I really felt like a kid in an amusement park when we toured the plant,” DeLoach said, “and that was the first time I have ever been inside an automotive plant and got to see that many employees working, and the robotic arms on the assembly line. I enjoyed hearing the comments from the local elected officials in Montgomery and they seemed very happy with the partnership their community has with Hyundai.”

More than 3,000 workers are employed at the 3.4-million-square-foot, $1.8 billion Alabama plant. Many assemble Hyundai’s gas- and diesel-powered Santa Fe and Tucson SUVs, the Elantra sedan and the Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle.

Covering more than 1,600 acres, HMMA opened in 2005 and is capable of producing up to 399,500 vehicles per year at full capacity.

HMMA’s three engine shops make the Smartstream G2.5 GDI, G1.6 T-GDI, G2.0 Atkinson, G2.5 GDI, and G2.5 T-GDI engines. They are used in vehicles manufactured at HMMA as well as ones built at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point.

When it was announced last May, Gov. Brian Kemp touted Bryan County’s Hyundai plant as the largest economic development project in Georgia history. Hyundai and its suppliers have pledged to invest more than $6 billion in the facility.

The Bryan County plant, which will also produce batteries, is projected to employ 8,100 people and create numerous other jobs with Hyundai suppliers who will build nearby on a 3,000-acre tract along I-16 near Ellabell.

More than 72 suppliers have located businesses in North America to support HMMA. Altogether, HMMA and its suppliers have created 14,000 jobs in Alabama, bringing its economic impact to approximately $4.8 billion per year. Its annual payroll is approximately $260 million.

“The suppliers coming into (our) area will also bring around another 8,000 jobs and will provide other opportunities to the surrounding counties,” DeLoach said. “With all of the growth in the region that will come with this company, we will need to stay focused on infrastructure. Growth is exciting and it provides opportunities but it also brings challenges. I feel our Board of Commissioners understands this and that is why we are currently designing a new wastewater treatment plant to give us another one million gallons per day capacity and we have completed some TSPLOST projects already, and some more will start this summer in District 2.

“I think Commissioner Roger Burdette for District 2 is doing a good job with staying in tune with our staff to make sure the roundabouts on Hodgeville Road and other projects in District 2 are staying on schedule. I would like to thank all of the citizens that voted for TSPLOST and that gives your local elected officials an opportunity to fund larger projects that need to get done.”

According to Hyundai North American Division President Jose Munoz, the Bryan County plant will be the “foundation of Hyundai Motor Group’s future in North America.”

Hyundai currently makes two EV models – the Kona and IONIQ. It has announced plans for six more before 2030. Company officials said up to 300,000 vehicles are expected to be built in Bryan County annually.