BAY MINETTE — Executives from Hybrid Kinetic Motors have been in town this week finalizing plans on its multi-billion-dollar plant that will be built on the new industrial mega site north of Bay Minette.

HK Motors is a Chinese-owned, American automotive company that will produce hybrid vehicles using a new kind of natural gas technology.

The start-up company announced its decision to build an initial plant in Bay Minette in September. Two months later, the company signed with Italian auto designer Italdesign Giugiaro.

Tuesday, executives revealed another partnership in Kohlbecker, a German engineering and architecture firm that has extensive experience in designing and building automotive plants.

"We have people from every corner of the globe here today," Robert Ingram, CEO of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, said. "This is a great day for the state of Alabama, for Baldwin County, for Bay Minette and for the United States.

Alexandra Segers, a representative of Kohlbecker, introduced the audience to her company and its accomplishments since its inception in 1930.

"We designed the BMW plant that is one of the largest automotive plants in the world, and the Mercedes plant in North Germany that has 15,000 people working. It is like a city," Alexandra Segers of Kohlbecker, said.

She said the company has designed plants for BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, Kia and Audi and in the countries of China, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, South Africa and Hungary.

Most recently, the company helped plan and implement the expansion of the Mercedes plant in Tuscaloosa and designed and built the new Kia plant in West Point, Ga.

Segers said the meetings taking place this week were aimed at gathering information for site planning and determining which suppliers would be working with HK.

"The initial phase will produce 300,000 units, but they will expand to one million units," she said. "You have to be careful where you put buildings and utilities. There will be some suppliers on site, some off site, all these are concepts that we have to think about."

She said other site planning issues include where to put entrances for employees and visitors, as well as trucks, and how to work around the wetlands that occupy the southern end of the industrial site.

"Because this runs along the interstate (I-65), we are considering putting the administration and training facilities (at the top of the site) so people who pass by will see HK Motors. There can be visitor's center in Bay Minette for people who say 'I wonder what's going on there,' to stop by and find out about the area," Segers said.

HK CEO Dr. C.T. Wang said the three-day visit to Bay Minette was an effort to gather information.

"We want to see what we need from the state, from the EPA concerning the wetlands issue, and what do you need from this planning group," he said.

He touched on comments from Segers about the Kia project in West Point, Ga., noting the boom in jobs, not including those at the plant.

"The Kia plant has 2,400 employees right now, but hotels will open, McDonalds will open, for every job created, three other jobs are created," she said.

The morning meet and greet program was followed by meetings with Utilities providers Alabama Power, Baldwin EMC/Power South, North Baldwin Utilities and AT&T; transportation representatives from the Alabama Department of Transportation, Baldwin County DOT, CSX and the Port of Mobile; and a meeting on permitting and site specifics that included discussions on wetlands, air quality, endangered species, streams and creeks and more.

Wednesday was a full day for HK Executives as they met one-on-one with 14 companies in an interview process to determine which companies would be selected as suppliers.

Finally, today, officials will meet with Bay Minette Fire Chief Phil Bryars and insurance representatives to discuss major requirements and design influences for the plant and fire protection. A rough master plan will be introduced this afternoon.

Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery said Monday she was excited about the possibilities and opportunities facing Bay Minette.

"By communicating, collaborating and cooperating in efforts like today and this week, we will move towards our goal of creating a product that will transform the automotive market while creating green and growing careers for today and our children's future," she said.