Last week's announcement that Mercedes-Benz USA will be moving its headquarters from New Jersey to Atlanta helped to solidify the Southeast as a destination for both the manufacturing and corporate ends of the automotive industry.

It also places the company's U.S. headquarters between two important Mercedes operations facilities, Port of Brunswick in Savannah, Ga. and Tuscaloosa County's Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. manufacturing plant.

"Obviously Atlanta has some geographical advantages being near our MBUSI facility, and it's also close to our port," said Robert Moran, a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz USA in a recent interview with the BBJ.

Mercedes will invest $100 million in the 200,000-square-foot headquarters in Atlanta and will begin moving around 1,000 jobs to the metropolis this summer.

Moran said Mercedes looked primarily at the Southeast when it came to the company's shortlist of possible locations. Atlanta beat out Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., sites in Texas and Florida.

"There's certainly a cost advantage," Moran said of doing business in the South, but added that was not the only thing that drew Mercedes to Atlanta.

"What drew us to Atlanta was the great quality of life," Moran said. "It's a great place for our employees to raise their families, and there's great access to education."

The decision to move to Atlanta was part of a 50-year decision Mercedes made for the plant moving forward. Moran said that 50-year plan not only involves the new corporate headquarters but also Vance's manufacturing facility.

"Obviously MBUSI has been a very important part of our past success and will be an integral part of our future," Moran said.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County has been a vital economic driver for this area of the state since it decided to locate in Vance in the 1990s. Since that time, the facility has spurred several automotive suppliers and more manufacturers like Hyundai, Toyota and Honda to come to the state.

In 2013, Mercedes announced MBUSI would be the site of the company's Brand Immersion Experience, a four-year program that will bring 26,000 Mercedes employees to the Tuscaloosa plant to learn about the company's production facility, the history of Mercedes and the technology that goes into the automobiles.

Participants will also use the testing grounds at Barber Motorsports Park to test drive Mercedes automobiles as part of the program.

Moran said these announcements, along with the launching of new production lines at the plant in Vance, emphasize Tuscaloosa's importance to Mercedes-Benz.

While it's too early to tell what types of major announcements will come out of Vance as part of the company's 50-year plan, Moran said to expect the Alabama facility to continue to play a key role in the future of Mercedes-Benz.

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