WEST POINT, Ga. -- As the first 2011 Kia Sorento rolled off the assembly line Monday, the impact was felt a couple of miles away in downtown West Point. “For so long, we were living on potential here. It’s real now,” said West Point Mayor Drew Ferguson.

Karen Cagle is the principal of West Point Elementary School. Lately, she’s been giving a lot more tours to new families. “Kia coming to our area has just brought a new level of excitement to our entire town,” said Cagle.

Pate Huguley’s family has owned the West Point Foundry and Machine Company for four generations. “A couple of years ago, you’d drive through downtown and there wouldn’t be very many cars. Today, you have a hard time finding a parking place,” he said.

Huguley said if it weren't for the arrival of Kia, his company might not have survived. It once thrived by making machines for the textile industry. But in recent years, as textile jobs began moving overseas, the company was on the verge of collapse. Building machines for Kia Motors, Huguley said, has helped keep his business alive. “Now the local economy’s going to be built around automotive, and that’s where we’re going to focus our future,” he said.

Several brand new businesses have popped up in West Point. Eddie Striblin opened the Downtown Diner last month. “Everybody nationwide has got problems with job losses due to one thing or another. And at least here, we do have what you’d call that glimmer of hope,” Striblin said.

Luring Kia to West Point was costly. Combined incentives from local, state and federal governments totaled $464 million. But already, Kia and its suppliers have hired 6,500 workers. By 2012, Kia is projected to have a regional economic impact of $6.5 billion. “The investments that have been made around this project are well worth it,” said the mayor.

“The process of going from a community that was sort of economically on the ropes to the point today where Kia is rolling their first car off the production line, and for me to be able to sit here and say, ‘We’ve done it. The city of West Point is open for business.’ It’s a wonderful feeling,” said Ferguson.

KIA is in the midst of hiring a second wave of workers. The additional 1,200 employees will double Kia’s workforce.