SYRACUSE — Several hundred people packed the Oakwood Event for KEDCO’s annual dinner Wednesday night to hear Slate Auto’s CEO, Chris Barman, share insights into why the new electric vehicle company chose Warsaw for its manufacturing plant.

Barman is a Purdue University graduate and a native of Crown Point — just 90 miles west of Warsaw.

“Even though I’m from Indiana, there was never a time when I tried to put my thumb on the scale, and this community won outright," Barman said.

The Michigan-based company kept its plan under wraps as it developed a business model that would set it apart from other automakers.

"We wanted to find a manufacturing location where we knew that we were going to have a strong partnership in the community, but also we had to make sure that it really worked for us and our business plan,” Barman said.

"We didn’t share a lot about who we were. We actually approached the community with a project name. And I really appreciate that KEDCO and the community supported us even though they didn’t know who we were and what we were about and what we were going to build,” Barman said.

“And I’m sure there were things going through their minds like, is thing going to be some Chinese company that wants to come into our community?” she added.

What they've developed is intended to set it aside from the competition and is marketing it as an affordable, safe, reliable, and radically customizable vehicle that just happens to be electric.

The basic, stripped-down Slate models will sell for about $25,000 and are designed to be customized by the owner.

“We are building the affordable vehicle that has long been promised but never delivered,” she said.

The company is about one year away from ramping up production, but Barman said 100,000 vehicles have already been put on reserve, Barman said.

Kosciusko County’s initial discussions with Slate included the late County Council President Mike Long who died months later in February of this year in an accident at home. 

KEDCO and Slate both recognized Long’s role in discussion and his efforts to lure the company to Kosciusko County.

"He was so excited about the prospect of Slate that he wanted to be the first to buy a truck off the lot,” said Peggy Friday, executive director of KEDCO, who headed up negotiations with Slate.

Wednesday's event marked the first of three days of high-profile events involving Slate in Warsaw.

Later, on Thursday, the company will host tours of its reconfigured facility on Old Road 30 for guests.

On Friday, the company will host a public block party in downtown Warsaw

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