CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Wacker Chemical’s North American chief spoke at a work force diversity forum Friday, saying he’s “very excited” about the future of the company’s operations.
While Wacker has announced plans for a $1 billion plant in Bradley County, company Chief Executive Officer Ingomar Kovar declined to speak with reporters about the project after the forum.
Dan Howell, executive assistant to County Mayor Gary Davis, said Wacker in the last 30 days has put up a sign on its Bradley site that states the plant is “coming soon.”
“As far as I know, it’s on target,” he said, adding that Mr. Kovar likely had a tight travel schedule.
Wacker earlier this month was awarded $128 million in federal tax credits. To take advantage of those, there’s a requirement it get grading or building permits by the end of the year, officials have said. The polycrystalline silicon factory would employ about 500 people.
Mr. Kovar, whose parent company is based in Munich, Germany, said at the forum that being different isn’t bad.
“It’s OK,” he said. “I don’t see different as a negative.”
Gary Farlow, president of the Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce, said at the forum he gets questions all the time such as when will Wacker’s plant start coming out of the ground.
“Just because you don’t see something happening doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. There’s a whole lot of things that have to go on behind the scene — engineering, design, permitting,” he said. “These things don’t pop out of the ground overnight.”
Christian Hoferle of Hoferle Consulting, who moderated the forum, said while Germans may appear to be overanalytical, behind the scenes they are moving.
“They may be moving faster than some of us think,” he said.
Celia Schneck, human resources manager for Chattanooga wind tower maker SIAG Aerysin, said local people at the business that was recently bought by a German company are learning to work with their European counterparts.
She said at the Cleveland State Community College forum that Aerysin has business in the Czech Republic and France, and few of its customers are in the United States.
“We have to be flexible,” Ms. Schneck said. “We have to adapt to customers’ needs.”