Undoubtedly some of the heartiest partying over Honda’s star falling on Alabama is unfolding in Montgomery at 1108 South Perry St., inside the governor’s mansion that’s home to Don Siegelman, who spearheaded the successful Honda wooing.

Siegelman, however, acknowledges that he was only Alabama’s most high- profile performer. The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and the Alabama Development Office also played major roles in the state’s well- coordinated efforts, as did a number of local area groups, the governor says. (To access the state’s economic development groups, click on Alabama Links at www.edpa.org).

Modesty aside, though, this deal maybe doesn’t happen without Siegelman residing at1108 South Perry.

Birmingham Begins Honda Hunt

Alabama got into the Honda hunt in September of 1998, when the Japanese automaker’s site selection consultant contacted the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham.

Given Honda’s close-to-the-vest style, it’s unlikely the full site search list will ever surface. American Honda Executive Vice President Tom Elliott says the automaker "briefly considered" U.S. Midwest locations, with Tolono, Ill., reportedly getting the longest look. But when Tolono was declared a no-go, Honda’s search narrowed to Southern sites, with Richmond, Va., and Commerce, Ga., getting major consideration.

Ironclad Confidentiality

Even with eight state sites under consideration, Alabama officials kept Honda negotiations under a fog of secrecy thick enough to shut down Birmingham’s airport. They made sure Honda’s name wasn’t uttered until Honda wanted it to be.

Siegelman set the tone for the iron-clad confidentiality. Even with the media rumor mill running white-hot, state officials refused comment, wisely avoiding the prematurely crowing that has inadvertently blown some potential major deals in the past. The release announcing the Honda press conference didn’t even use the company’s name, only mentioning "a major announcement."

Likewise, representatives from the five-county area (Calhoun, Etowah, Jefferson, St. Clair and Talladega counties) where the Honda plant is likely to have its greatest economic impact signed confidentiality agreements.

No Incentives Spats

Siegelman also sagely avoided an incentives brouhaha, despite Alabama’s forking over a hefty $158.7 million package to land Honda. That was a huge contrast to 1993, when the state doled out $253 million in incentives to land the first U.S. Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Ala. Soon after, state school officials refused to hand over education funds to bankroll the incentives, touching off a firestorm of controversy that torpedoed then-Gov. Jim Folsom’s reelection bid.

Siegelman, however, paved the path so smoothly that the Alabama Legislature unanimously approved the incentives. In addition, a week after Honda’s announcement, Siegelman pushed through a sweeping plan to reform Alabama’s much-maligned tort laws.

And Alabama’s long-term payoff could be even bigger. Given auto manufacturing’s just-in-time nature, a supplier-job bonanza is likely. And with the Alabama plant manufacturing minivans and/or sport utility vehicles, Honda’s hottest U.S. lines, total employment at the Lincoln location (which will also manufacture V-6 engines) could hit 3,000, some analysts say.

Take a Cultural Bow

Other major factors in the decision, Honda officials say, were Alabama’s strong infrastructure system and the large labor pool in the Lincoln area, where layoffs at a Goodyear plant and a U.S. Army base have been eliminating some 3,000 jobs a year.

Siegelman and the Alabama team also handled cultural differences well, providing more than tight-lipped discretion.

American Honda CEO Koichi Amemiya upped the cultural sensitivity ante when the deal went public, quoting a Lynyrd Skynyrd song. It is with great pride and excitement for the future that we can now say the words ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ Amemiya said.

Siegelman countered with Japanese-like courtliness, saying, Welcome to Alabama. Our friendship will last forever. And the governor said it in Japanese.     SS