Next stop: Kia-ville

According to a story by Elise Zeiger on CNN.com, Kia Motor Company has come too the rescue of a small town in Georgia, and the town's residents couldn't be happier or more grateful for the Korean company's presence.

Kia plans to open a new factory in West Point, Georgia by the end of 2009 to build Sorento, their mid-size SUV. The town's mayor, Drew Ferguson, is quoted in the article, saying that "the revitalization of the community is touching every aspect. We have infrastructure projects, new subdivisions going up, hotel professional services that are all needed to support the massive manufacturing."

Kia has hired 500 workers so far, with plans to hire 2,000 more to run the $1.2 billion plant. Mayor Ferguson says of his little town of 3,500, "We jokingly call it Kia-Ville."

Photo © Jason Fogelson