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Clinton Community Embraces Continental Tire Plant
Gov. Phil Bryant led an enthusiastic delegation of state, federal and local leaders showing their Southern hospitality to welcome a new Continental Tire plant to the Clinton area.The world’s 4th largest tire manufacturer, Continental is expected to bring 2,500 jobs with an average annual salary of $40,000 to Central Mississippi. The German-based company’s $1.45 billion investment is huge for metro Jackson’s economy. Their decision to pick the Magnolia State will pay dividends for future generations, leaders say.
Following a $263 million incentive package approved by the Legislature last week, the announcement at Clinton High on February 8 “is truly a great day for the state of Mississippi and our thriving automotive industry as we officially welcome Continental to Hinds County,” Bryant said.
The company’s decision to select a plant site of nearly 1,000 acres between Clinton and Bolton “speaks volumes about our dedication to developing the workforce of the future, as well as a business environment that spurs growth, expansion and innovation,” the two-term Republican governor added.
Joining a Clinton High Auditorium stage filled with political and business luminaries, Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn was ecstatic as he raved about the importance of Continental’s decision.
Gunn proclaimed it “a big deal for us,” and the biggest thing to happen to Clinton since Mississippi College was founded here in 1826. Birthed as Hampstead Academy, the 5,152-student Baptist-affiliated university celebrates its 190th anniversary this year.
A former Clinton High football standout, he noted to hundreds in the audience at Clinton High that company officials could have located the plant “anywhere in the world.”
“They picked you,” Gunn said. “They picked us.”
Congressmen Gregg Harper and Bennie Thompson joined U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Glenn McCullough embracing Continental leaders. The group of visitors included Paul Williams, executive vice president for Truck Tires in the Americas.
Combined with Monday’s announcement of 1,000 jobs coming to the Gulf Coast from Topship LLC that will construct a shipyard, “this is the largest single day in economic development in Mississippi history,” McCullough said.
The Continental Tire plant will provide a significant boost to job training programs at nearby Hinds Community College. It will benefit retailers, real estate development, other businesses, the Clinton school district, Mississippi College and much more in the area.
“We will actively seek opportunities to work with Continental Tire to ensure that Mississippi College graduates provide an attractive and on-going candidate pool for professional positions,” said Steve Stanford, MC vice president for administration and government relations. “Other opportunities to assist with educational needs will likewise be enthusiastically sought.”
Continental Tire officials anticipate land clearing to begin at the end of 2016 and lead to two years of construction ending in late 2019. The start of commercial production should be in 2020. The work will begin with truck tires, “but we could make passenger tires in the future,” Williams said.
Mississippi remains an automotive hotbed with the Nissan plant near Canton and the Toyota plant near Tupelo.
Mississippi College business professors see plenty of positives. “As families move to the area, MC is positioned to add students into undergraduate and graduate business programs,” said accounting professor Billy Morehead. “Perhaps there will be opportunities for internships.”
Professor Nancy Anderson also sees extensive benefits down the road as Central Mississippi sees construction of a facility that can be as large as five million square feet. The site off I-20 will be two miles from Clinton.
“From housing to retail to education, this infusion of money will be a boon to Mississippi College and the Clinton area,” says Anderson, a Clinton resident. “I feel the gravitational pull for economic growth in the area shifting to Western Hinds County.”
Stanford applauds Continental Tire for its longstanding reputation of “becoming an active and contributing community member. Our collaborative community will be a great fit for a company with such interests, and we certainly welcome them to the family.”
Continental Tire employs more than 208,000 people in 53 countries. It took two years of negotiations before Mississippi leaders and the company approved the deal with documents signed on stage at the Clinton High auditorium. Said Congressman Thompson: “This is the kind of shot in the arm we need.”
Photo: Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton, Gov. Phil Bryant and Continental Tire executive Paul Williams conduct a press conference Monday at Clinton High School.
