WIXOM, Mich, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co is selling a closed plant near Detroit to two companies that plan a $725 million investment to develop a renewable energy park that could create up to 4,000 jobs, the carmaker said on Thursday.
Terms of the sale to Xtreme Power and Clairvoyant Energy were not disclosed. The transfer of the plant to the companies is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.
The Wixom plant was one of Ford's largest and oldest sites, producing 6.6 million vehicles over five decades and employing more than 5,000 workers at its height. It built the Ford Thunderbird, Ford GT and Lincoln Continental and other cars.
The plant had about 1,000 workers when it closed in 2007 as Ford grappled with excess capacity. Since then, the plant has been maintained by a skeleton crew.
Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, California, plan to manufacture battery-based energy storage systems and high efficiency solar panels, using about half the 4.7 million square feet at the Wixom site.
The companies will look for other green manufacturers for the remaining space. Redevelopment work is expected to start early next year with manufacturing beginning in late 2011.
The estimate for job creation includes workers expected to be hired at the plant and nearby suppliers, with thousands more jobs created indirectly, Ford said.
Ford has worked with the companies, Michigan state officials and local officials for nine months on the plant project, which has received state and local tax credits and incentives.
Many high tech companies are located in California and Texas, and 'to have a big magnet like this will be terrific in drawing these other companies to Michigan,' Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said at an event marking the deal.
Xtreme Power plans to renovate more than 1 million square feet to manufacture large-scale power systems that store and deliver renewable energy such as solar and wind power.
Clairvoyant Energy said it plans to build solar panels with a capacity for 2.5 million per year at the Wixom site that could replace the need for one large coal-fired plant. The company has operations in California and Spain,
Oerlikon Solar USA, a Clairvoyant partner, plans to establish a regional office at the Wixom site. Oerlikon will sell its thin film solar manufacturing equipment to Clairvoyant and help it run its part of the plant.
(Reporting by David Bailey and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Toni Reinhold) Keywords: FORD/PLANT (david.bailey@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 967 1910; Reuters Messaging: david.bailey.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Terms of the sale to Xtreme Power and Clairvoyant Energy were not disclosed. The transfer of the plant to the companies is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.
The Wixom plant was one of Ford's largest and oldest sites, producing 6.6 million vehicles over five decades and employing more than 5,000 workers at its height. It built the Ford Thunderbird, Ford GT and Lincoln Continental and other cars.
The plant had about 1,000 workers when it closed in 2007 as Ford grappled with excess capacity. Since then, the plant has been maintained by a skeleton crew.
Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, California, plan to manufacture battery-based energy storage systems and high efficiency solar panels, using about half the 4.7 million square feet at the Wixom site.
The companies will look for other green manufacturers for the remaining space. Redevelopment work is expected to start early next year with manufacturing beginning in late 2011.
The estimate for job creation includes workers expected to be hired at the plant and nearby suppliers, with thousands more jobs created indirectly, Ford said.
Ford has worked with the companies, Michigan state officials and local officials for nine months on the plant project, which has received state and local tax credits and incentives.
Many high tech companies are located in California and Texas, and 'to have a big magnet like this will be terrific in drawing these other companies to Michigan,' Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said at an event marking the deal.
Xtreme Power plans to renovate more than 1 million square feet to manufacture large-scale power systems that store and deliver renewable energy such as solar and wind power.
Clairvoyant Energy said it plans to build solar panels with a capacity for 2.5 million per year at the Wixom site that could replace the need for one large coal-fired plant. The company has operations in California and Spain,
Oerlikon Solar USA, a Clairvoyant partner, plans to establish a regional office at the Wixom site. Oerlikon will sell its thin film solar manufacturing equipment to Clairvoyant and help it run its part of the plant.
(Reporting by David Bailey and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Toni Reinhold) Keywords: FORD/PLANT (david.bailey@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 967 1910; Reuters Messaging: david.bailey.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.