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Hazelwood Council Okays

$3 Million For ‘First Step’

To Bring Van Company Here

By Bob Lindsey

Described by city officials as the major “first step” to bring a British company to Hazelwood to build Hybrid mini-vans, the Hazelwood City Council last week approved a $3 million commitment to get the gears running.

A total of $5 million was required by Emerald Automotive to build an initial 500 of these new electric and diesel powered delivery vans. Once built in Hazelwood, the vans would be shipped to Great Britain.

The Hazelwood contribution—which will come from the Economic Development Sales Tax that was approved by voters in 2007—is part of the $5 million  “seed” money requested by Emerald. The other $2 million will come from Missouri Technology Company.

This is about 10 percent of the projected $500 million cost it will take to find a location in Hazelwood and build the construction site for the new vans. A city spokesman said Emerald would look at pre-existing sites as well as vacant sites to see what would work best.

Officials are speculating that the British Company would hope to expand its operation here to build more vans for U.S. distribution and for other countries as well.

The vans have been described a lightweight electric hybrid, built almost exclusively for commercial use. The engine is electric powered, but can also can use other fuels such gasoline, CNG or biofuels.

Since the announcement last week, Hazelwood City Hall has been inundated with calls from people interested in employment opportunities, many from former displayed autoworkers.

The company promised more employment information once construction is underway, which may take a while.

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