It takes a lot of behind the scene activities to pull off a new manufacturing site. Years ago, I talked with former Mayor "Icky" Albright about the efforts to get Bowater, a British paper manufacturer, to locate to York County. Several local developers and politicians were trying to put together a land deal without getting on any ones radar. They had found some land with good water and service by two railroads. To get the deal, they had to convince two churches (with graveyards) to agree to relocate. As you can imagine, folks were not ready to have their "loved ones" moved. They eventually pulled that off, and then had to get the state legislature to change the laws which prohibited a foreign company from owning more than 500 acres in the state. I'm not sure that could possibly happen in today's climate.
I mentioned that it took several politicians to help pull it off - well - one of those was John Hardin. John was a great story teller. His book, It's Been Grand! John mentions how trying to minimize a pulp mill odor campaign can sometimes backfire. Anyway (read John's comments in the previous link), even if you could pull together the land deal, I'm convinced, with the strong NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude today, you'd never be able to build a plant with an odor that would take the paint off your house!
If you haven't read John's book, you should. Even if you don't know all the players, his wit and wisdom makes for a very entertaining read.
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