Porsche is sharing its ‘cool’ with Georgia | savannahnow.com

ATLANTA — The increased visibility of Porsche’s new North American headquarters will allow the German sports carmaker and the Peach State to benefit from each other’s reputation for a good quality of life, CEO Detlev von Platen said Tuesday.

Porsche owes much of its early success to the fact that its 911 model was perceived as “cool” in California in the 1960s, where it was featured in movies, commercials and the garages of the stars. But when the company wanted a home for its new North American headquarters, it chose Georgia.

Porsche Cars North America that von Platen heads has been based in Atlanta since 1998, and imports one-quarter of its vehicles through the Port of Brunswick. When the $100-million headquarters opens around yearend on 28 acres next to the Atlanta airport, it will consolidate offices scattered as far away as Chicago. It will also include a test track, training center, upscale restaurant and conference facilities designed to raise the company’s visibility.

“I said we need to do something different for the future,” von Platen said in a luncheon speech at the Atlanta Press Club. “We wanted a very unique design and a very unique location.”

Other states tried to lure the company, but after reviewing all of them, executives concluded Georgia was the clear winner because of its quality of life, transportation and the fact Porsche has found that it has no trouble hiring the best employees from anywhere in the world because they are willing to move here, he said.

via Porsche is sharing its ‘cool’ with Georgia | savannahnow.com.