Volkswagen taps SSOE for design, construction management of Chattanooga plant

08/06/2008

By Candy McCampbell

Two major companies with offices in Tennessee will partner with a Missouri firm to handle the architecture, engineering, construction management and environmental work for the $1 billion Volkswagen assembly plant near Chattanooga, Tenn.

On Aug. 5, Volkswagen Group of America, named SSOE of Toledo, Ohio, to oversee architecture, engineering and construction management at the site. The automaker plans to start production at the plant in 2011,

Alberici Constructors Inc. of St. Louis will partner with SSOE to perform construction management and Environmental Resources Management of London will assist with environmental work.

SSOE and ERM have offices in Brentwood, Tenn., a Nashville suburb.

“The selection of these environmentally focused companies underscores our commitment to sustainable development,” says David Geanacopoulos, VW executive vice president and general counsel in an Aug. 5 press release.

SSOE says it will assign about 30 employees to the site over the next 14 to 16 months. ERM has more than 25 engineers and scientists in its Brentwood office, which serves a range of manufacturing clients, from automotive and chemical to building and metal production.

Alberici, which has worked with SSOE on other projects, will add 10 construction management professionals to the new partnership, says Greg Kozicz, CEO.

VW announced three weeks earlier that it would build the assembly plant on 1,350 acres in the Enterprise South Industrial Park near Chattanooga. It will employ 2,000 workers, producing 150,000 mid-size cars annually. Another estimated 2,000 will be needed to build the plant.

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