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Stefan Jacob is the President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "This is actually a big milestone for us toward our strategy to grow significantly here in relation to our volume and our strong brand positioning in the United States," he said after the press conference. It's validation for everyone who's been working on landing major manufacturing at Enterprise South. Senator Bob Corker is one of the people who has been working on the deal. "This is that barrier that our community has broken through," he said. "We can only begin to imagine where this takes us." County Mayor Claude Ramsey agrees. "The community is going to benefit from this for a long, long time," he proudly said Tuesday. On the surface this announcement adds 2,000 new jobs, but the true impact is much larger. Congressman Zach Wamp explains. "For every one manufacturing job there are seven support and service jobs. That's 14,000 jobs in the region based on supporting 2,000 manufacturing jobs." That's known as the standard multiplier effect of any manufacturing job. These suppliers could move in not only to Enterprise South, but to anywhere in our 3 state region. "It's more than manufacturing that's taking place here," adds Corker. "This is the headquarters for Volkswagen as it relates to production, to purchasing." Mayor Ron Littlefield adds "You're going to see the economic wheels turning in this area for the next 5 to 10 years and beyond that. It's set into motion for the next generation." Looking to the future and a commitment to sustainability is what put Chattanooga over the top. "You've got to have a site and you've got to have incentives, and then that quality of life made a difference," adds Ramsey. Stefan Jacoby: "Since we had our eye on Chattanooga we had received tremendous support and we really feel at home here. So the past 14 years of work at the old army ammunition plant will benefit at least the next 14 years in the Tennessee Valley.
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