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Teamwork helped land ''the deal of the century''; highlights of the journey: the cell phone, flying in formation, the traveling pep rally.

Article Excerpt
It was Mississippi's best-kept secret. And it marked undoubtedly the state's best collaborative effort between public and private entities to land what The New York Times called "the great economic prize of 2000."

"Nissan. Mississippi made. Sounds good to me," said U.S. Sen. Trent Lott. "It's a great credit to the state to get this caliber of an international automotive manufacturer into Mississippi. The head of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, is acknowledged as one of the most outstanding automobile manufacturing leaders in the world and is credited for turning around Nissan. The company had serious debt problems as recently as 1999 and is now debt-free. Soon, Nissan will be producing really fine quality automobiles in Mississippi."

Last month, Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third-largest automaker, announced that its profit jumped by one-third in the fiscal year ended March 31, confirming the fact that the once-troubled company has secured a place among the world's most profitable automakers. Thanks primarily to improved sales worldwide and cost-cutting measures, Nissan expects a record net profit of $4.11 billion for the year and is on track to surpass Honda Motor Co. as Japan's second most profitable automaker, behind Toyota Motor Corp. Last year, Nissan's earnings outpaced those of much larger rivals General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Corp.

"Even though 2003 looks to be volatile and uncertain, we think we're going to cross the mark (of sales) of three million cars," said Ghosn, who was named Man of the Year by Automobile Magazine in January 2002. "This is the first year that there is a real and substantial increase in net revenue."

When Nissan senior officials initially met with Lott in June 2000, they were very candid about their requirements, said Lott.

"They said everybody's got an even shot and they outlined what they were looking for in Mississippi and what they hoped Mississippi would be willing to do," he said. "They were interested in a couple of things that had a federal impact -- education funds for training, roads programs on the site...

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