Even though it’s not in Anderson, the new Honda Motor Co. plant announced in Greensburg on Wednesday could have a positive economic ripple effect through the area, including Anderson.

Officials said Anderson wasn’t even in the running to get the plant because the company needs more green space ready to hook up to utilities.

“We weren’t considered for Honda because we didn’t have 1,500 acres already amassed with infrastructure,” Deputy Economic Development Director Linda Dawson said.

Dawson said the city is working to create more such space.

“One of things we need to do is get our hands on a larger parcel of ground we can put in front of a company,” said Greg Winkler, the city’s marketing consultant. “If you don’t have it, it doesn’t do any good to say, ‘We’ll get it for you.’”

But it can be done — Mayor Kevin Smith pointed to the two-year-effort to win Project Echo, which the city has not yet publicly announced but has been linked in media reports to a $235 million-dollar Nestle Corp. food processing plant.

The city is still in the process of bringing enough water, sewer and electricity to the 200-acre site near the Flagship.

Post-Echo, however, “the largest chunk of green space in Anderson is 400 or 600 acres,” Winkler said.

He’s working to use the “Honda effect” to bring jobs to Anderson from the auto company’s suppliers.

“That’s why a manufacturing plant for the auto industry is such a golden goose,” he said. “It creates more jobs outside the factory process than it does within.”

Guide Corp. and Delphi Corp., auto suppliers left over from General Motors days, are still doing business in Anderson, though Delphi has declared bankruptcy.

“I have no idea (if we’ll get any new business from the Honda plant),” said Steve Lewis, president of United Auto Workers Local 663, the union representing Guide workers. “That would be wonderful, but we’ve not heard anything.”

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