Why Honda didn't pick Wisconsin

Why wasn't Walworth County chosen as the site of a new Honda plant, which went to Indiana instead?

The Republicans say it's all Gov. Jim Doyle's fault. Too anti-business or something. [My favorite line from the GOP's frothing-at-the-mouth release: "Businesses want to higher (sic) workers, not lawyers."]

The Journal Sentinel tells a different story:

"I wasn't surprised," said Walworth County Economic Development Alliance Executive Vice President Fred Burkhardt, who spearheaded the local effort to lure Honda.

"We knew going in we were a long shot," Burkhardt said. "We knew we were late in the game, and we appreciate the opportunity to have played."

Burkhardt hastily put together a proposal to Honda after reading less than two months ago that the automaker was hunting for a site for its sixth North American assembly plant.

The alliance found two potential sites of 1,600 to 2,000 acres each, both now farmland, and the state offered what Burkhardt called "a very healthy incentive package."

But in selecting southeastern Indiana, Honda stayed within 150 miles of its engine factory in western Ohio, which will supply the new plant. Honda already has two other assembly plants near the engine facility...

Most auto assembly plants now are in a band extending from southern Michigan through Indiana and eastern Ohio and into central Kentucky and Tennessee.

In pursuing Honda, Burkhardt said, Walworth County learned it is crucial to have sites that are "shovel ready," with proper zoning in place and all environmental issues resolved.

The county's sites didn't meet those criteria, which could have significantly lengthened the time between selection and construction, Burkhardt said.

He said going after Honda may yet pay off. After seeing Walworth County mentioned in The Wall Street Journal as seeking the Honda plant, a "major national developer who does IT and life science business parks" called Burkhardt.

He said a follow-up telephone conference with the developer is scheduled for Monday.

"Those are byproducts you get from having gone to the plate," Burkhardt said.