Plant No.1

With a generous dash of hype and hoopla, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. officially opens its first U.S. plant in Montgomery, AL, in May.

Some 4,000 people attended, including former U.S. president George H.W. Bush, Hyundai executives from Korea who arrived on a chartered 747 that dwarfed the small local airport and 3-girl Korean pop group Elec Cookie, playing “Oh Susannah” to a techno beat.

“It seemed like only yesterday our plant site was just another serene rolling hill and cow pasture in Alabama,” says John Kalson, production director at the Hyundai Motor Mfg. Alabama LLC plant. Hyundai broke ground April 16, 2002, for the $1.1 billion facility.

The plant began assembling pre-production models of the all-new '06 Hyundai Sonata sedan in March and produced the first salable model in early May. Production of the next-generation Santa Fe begins early next year. At full capacity the plant will produce 300,000 units annually, split about evenly between the two models.

The plant is due to employ 2,000 people, most of whom “have never worked in the automotive environment in their lives,” says Kalson.

Production workers start at $14.46 an hour and after two years will earn $21.70 an hour. Maintenance workers begin at $19.12 an hour, and their salaries reach $24.79 after two years.

The facility features conveyers in the general assembly area that adjust to the height of each team member, reducing bodily strain. Hyundai knows quality issues tend to plague vehicles launched out of new plants. Kalson says this is why the launch of salable Sonatas was delayed about a month.