The State
www.thestate.com
By: Sammy Fretwell

A Blythewood manufacturing plant drew praise Monday from one of President Barack Obama’s top advisers, who said Navistar Inc. is both providing jobs and protecting the environment at its northern Richland County factory.

Nancy Sutley, who chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality, toured the Navistar plant with U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as part of a look at “green” manufacturing plants, biofuel programs and energy efficiency in the Palmetto State.

Sutley came away from Navistar impressed, saying the factory fits with the president’s goals. Navistar is “a company that is really thinking about the future, making investments for the future.”

While Obama has been criticized by Republicans over federal subsidies for renewable energy, Sutley said Navistar’s facility is the type of business the administration wants “to see replicated across the country.’’ The company has received $300,000 in federal stimulus funds through the S.C. Energy Office.

Navistar’s Pure Power plant manufactures high-efficiency fuel injectors and emission controls for large trucks. Diesel-powered trucks are historically among the nation’s leading sources of air pollution from vehicles. Obama has overseen tougher rules on air pollution since taking office.

The Blythewood plant was in danger of closing several years ago, but under new ownership, has rebounded. Its total employment has risen from less than 200 workers several years ago to more than 400 today.

Sutley’s visit to South Carolina also was to include stops Monday at a Calhoun County contractor’s home and at Claflin University’s biofuel research initiative, which looks at alternate forms of energy.

At Navistar, her tour with Clyburn wound them through the depths of the manufacturing plant, accompanied by company officials and the media. During the tour, Sutley asked questions about how the plant worked and the types of employees being hired at the facility.

Later, she told reporters it’s encouraging to see diesel engines being cleaned up. That, she said, is “helping to clean our air and reduce global warming and ensure that we can continue to grow our economy.”

“Diesel engines have been around for 100 years, and they are making it better,” she said of Navistar. “They are making it cleaner. They are manufacturing components here that will not only help the diesel engines work better in the United States, but all around the world. That is the kind of American technology that we need to continue to develop.”

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/13/2151724/obama-advisor-praises-blythewood.html#storylink=cpy