Officials hopeful about BMW announcement

MOSES LAKE — An April 6 press conference was announced Friday by the companies interested in building a BMW parts plant in Moses Lake.

Officials are optimistic the news shared will be positive.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said former Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey. “It looks like they’ve chosen our area.”

The new business means an estimated 180 new jobs would result for Grant County.

“We, along with everyone else, are anticipating a good announcement, short of confirming it,” said Karina Shawgren, a spokesperson for Gov. Christine Gregoire’s office, late Friday.

A company spokesperson for SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber wasn’t available for comment during the weekend.

But the governor, along with Robert Koehler, CEO of SGL Group, Theodore Breyer, deputy CEO of SGL Group, and Friedrich Eichiner, CFO of BMW AG, are listed as event speakers.

Shawgren said Gregoire “has spent many hours trying to lure this venture to Washington state.”

The governor had her office and the state Department of Commerce keep in “very close contact” with the companies involved, Shawgren said.

The companies, SGL Group and BMW AG, have looked at Moses Lake and at Canada for their business.

The carbon fibers and fabrics would be used for the electric “Megacity Vehicle” being developed by BMW last year, according to a company Web site.

Moses Lake City Manager Joseph Gavinski said Friday nothing has been said to the city about Moses Lake being selected.

But former Mayor Covey received an invitation to the event.

“It seems to be if SGL and BMW were going to locate in Canada, it would not make a great deal of sense to have a press conference in Washington,” Covey commented.

He added he was optimistic about the event being held in the state.

Covey also commended Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council (EDC) and his staff, for their work.

He called the EDC “the driving force behind getting this project to Moses Lake.”

“I know there were months of sleepless nights on (Brewer’s) part, both he and Jonathan (Smith) and the others,” Covey recalled.

He couldn’t tell the city council the identity of the companies. The business was also referred to as “Project Chinook” during public conversations.

Through the end of the year, the EDC, the City of Moses Lake and the Grant County PUD were involved in negotiations to encourage the company to come to Moses Lake, Covey said.

“We had a number of meetings that were confidential at the time,” he recalled. “Some including the governor herself in attendance.”

Covey said he was “very impressed the governor’s office and the state Department of Commerce were as supportive as they appeared to be, to work out incentives to bring this project to Moses Lake.”

There were numerous attempts to put together incentives, involving water, sewer and roads, to assist them with the project’s development, he said.

Jon Smith, of the EDC, said Friday he received an invitation, but was instructed to refer questions to company representatives.

Moses Lake Mayor Jon Lane said he also received an invitation.

“We really don’t know what’s happening yet. We’re encouraged. Hopefully, we’re moving forward,” Lane says.

The city has tried to meet some of the companies requests.

They include having the business connecting to a sanitary sewer.

To do so, the city is in the process of buying a sewer line belonging to Takata.

The city is also looking toward abandoning the firing range, as it’s in the vicinity of the proposed plant site.

“We are trying to be welcoming to new industries coming into Moses Lake,” Lane commented. “It sounds positive, but we will be anticipating the press conference.”