Thursday, September 10, 2009
Santa Barbara Firm In $725M Deal To Revive Ford Factory
A Santa Barbara-based firm Clairvoyant Energy, is behind a plan to revive an idled, Ford Motor Vehicle plant in Michigan, according to an announcement from Ford Thursday. According to Ford, it is selling its Wixom Assembly Plant to two firms--Xtreme Power, based in Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy, of Santa Barbara--to create a renewable energy manufacturing park. Ford said that Xtreme Power and Clairvoyant are investing $725M to redevelop the 320-acre site, where Clairvoyant Energy will manufacture solar power systems and Xtreme Power will manufacture energy storage systems. The move is expected to create over 4,000 jobs at the site and surrounding area. Clairvoyant is headed by David Hardee, who lives in Santa Barbara, and has served as Chairman and CEO of Energy Softworx, SVP and CFO of New Energy Ventures, Inc., and also served as a partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Xtreme Power's venture backer is Costa Mesa-based SAIL Venture Partners. Ford's Wixom plant produced Lincoln Continental, Town Car, LS, Mark VI, VII and VIII, Ford Thunderbird and Ford GT autos until it closed in 2007.