Writers from across America toured the Kia Motors plant in West Point Tuesday and Thursday to see how one of the fastest-growing automotive companies in the world prepares to begin production. Earlier this month, magazine writers came through for similar tours.

Automotive reporters for newspapers, web sites and magazines flew into Atlanta and traveled south in 2010 Kia Sorentos to get a taste of the new plant, which will make the 2011 Sorentos.

“This is world class. It looks as if they have spared no expense,” said George Peterson, a California writer who has visited virtually ever auto plant in the world.

More than 240 robots and hundreds of team members were busy checking to make sure everything was perfect.

Welding, paint, assembly, you name it, they were checking it.

“You’ll see pride, you’ll see smiles, you’ll see happy team members because we’ve made a tremendous investment in them and their learning,” Kia Georgia spokesman Randy Jackson said, “and we’re teaching them how to build cars at 100 percent quality, and I think you’ve seen that in your drive down today.”

More than 1,200 employees have been hired, preparing to produce about 57 cars an hour or about 300,000 a year at the $1 billion plant.

Wearing different colors of polo-style shirts and khakis, team members are currently producing about 200 vehicles per day, less than half the number they’ll turn out when official production starts in mid-November.

“This is the most advanced automotive assembly plant in the world,” said Steve Daniel, director of Kia projects operations and the training center.

Engines are shipped from the Montgomery, Ala., plant of Kia parent Hyundai while the chasses and transmissions make a shorter trip. They are made at Mobis and Powertech plants located next to the Kia plant.

In the stamping building, a 5,400-ton press turns sheets of metal into body pieces like doors and hoods, which are then put together to form the shell of the car. After a trip through the painting area, the outer shells are “married up” to the engines, transmissions and other components in the central assembly area, coming together like puzzle pieces in the middle.

Stations are set up so team members can install dashboards, put in seats and place other items in the vehicles as they float on trestles down the line.

The new-car smell is a permanent fixture inside the general assembly area.

For ergonomic reasons, the floor under the workers is made of wood to cut down on strain.

Another 1,250 employees will be hired and trained once the plant starts its second production line next year.

While all the automotive writers watched the creation process, some were interested only in the finished product.

A crossover vehicle, the Sorento borrows plenty of features seen in modern SUVs. The car-truck combination will seat up to seven passengers with an offered two- or four-wheel drive engine.

There will be plenty of competition for the vehicle, but as Kia Motors Corp. recently posted a quarterly profit of about $340 million, there seems to be plenty of international buzz surrounding the company and Georgia.

“While the economy is such as it is, we’re very happy to say that Georgia’s still thriving, and we’re still able to recruit businesses here,” Daniel said.

Trey Wood can be reached at twood@ lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.