Electric car maker wants to partner with Delaware firms

    Electric car maker, Fisker Automotive, hopes to build business partnerships for its new assembly plant in Delaware.

    Some of Delaware’s top business leaders got some welcome news from the second in command at Fisker Automotive during his address to the Delaware Chamber of Commerce manufacturing conference.

    Fisker COO Bernhard Koehler says the company is trying to get as many of its suppliers as possible to “co-locate” with the company at the facility it will soon move into on Boxwood Road in Newport.  He says it makes economic sense for the makers of headlights or other components to move to Delaware along with the car maker.  “We are hoping to get an additional amount of work over to Delaware that way, and it will help us because we save costs for logistics.”

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    Koehler told the crowd in Dover Wednesday that Fisker also wants to buy local when it comes to services.  “Fact is, we want to hire local resources to work on the plant for the renovation and retooling process.”  Koehler says the company is planning a day to meet with potential suppliers to outline Fisker’s needs and evaluate the suppliers ability to meet those needs.

    He says the company has already seen a big increase in interest from both prospective employees and business partners, with more than 4,000 people already submitting applications and more than 250 companies expressing an interest in doing business with Fisker.

    Fisker hopes to start at the former GM plant by the end of Spring or the start of Summer.  Initial production hiring will take place in late 2011, while the start of production will happen by mid-2012.

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