Elio Motors is moving forward with the plan to create its uniquely shaped, 3-wheel vehicles and bring 1,500 jobs back to the Old GM plant southwest of Shreveport, Louisiana. The Caddo Parish Industrial Board (IDB) finished their acquisition of the former General Motors Shreveport Assembly and Stamping Plant, and gives Elio Motors the ability to continue with their manufacturing goals.
The company plans to release about 1.5 million square feet of the 4.1 million square foot building from Industrial Realty Group who leases the building from the IDB. IRG will search for a tenant or group of tenants for the 2.6 million square feet left of the building; this may include suppliers for Elio Motors.
CEO and founder of the company Paul Elio said this has been an extremely exciting and personal week for himself and the entire company’s team wholly.
“We’ve had an incredible amount of momentum which has led us to a new plant that will be the foundation for building the vehicle,” Elio said. He also noted the company raised $7 million dollars to help them move forward.
The dream, according to Elio, was to build a brand new fuel-efficient and safe vehicle, and Cadio Parish was the perfect place to do it with the support from RACER Trust, the community, IRG and the State of Louisana. Elio expects the company to begin production in first quarter 2015 with significant hiring beginning fourth quarter of 2014.
Their goal is to reach full employment by late 2015.
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