Structural work begins at $1 billion Chattanooga VW plant

04/29/2009

By Candy McCampbell

Graycor Construction Co. Inc. began work Tuesday on two of the three main structures at the $1 billion Volkswagen plant under construction in Chattanooga.

The 775,000-sq-ft assembly building and the 634,000-sq-ft body shop are part of a $63 million contract for Chicago-based Graycor. It also will build the technical center and a social area that will house plant administrative functions.

The buildings are scheduled to be under roof and weather-tight by the end of this year.

Graycor has committed to source more than 60% of the deal to local contractors, and will source 11% to suppliers owned by minorities and women.

Frank Fischer, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, called that effort “above and beyond our content targets.” VW’s goal is 10% minority participation.

Graycor’s automotive plant construction experience includes working as contractor on the Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc. plant in San Antonio, Texas, and as construction manager for the Toyota assembly plant in Tecate, Mexico.

The third main building at the VW plant is the $30 million, 665,000-sq-ft paint shop, which Walbridge of Detroit started in January.

Thilo Brockhaus, VW project manager for construction, called the paint shop “the most complex of all three main buildings that will eventually make up the production facility.”

He adds that the paint shop is two weeks ahead of schedule and steel framing is already under way.

While as many as 2,000 workers could be employed in plant construction, 400 individuals – about 120 of them construction workers -- have completed safety orientation required to access the site as of Tuesday, says April Wortham, VW spokeswoman.

The plant, located on 1,350 acres in Enterprise South Industrial Park, is expected to employ 2,000 workers to manufacture a new mid-size sedan when production starts in early 2011.

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