Port helps Charleston land van assembly plant

Port helps Charleston land van assembly plant    DaimlerChrysler said the Port of Charleston was a key factor in its decision to build an assembly plant for its Dodge Sprinter van in Ladson, S.C., just north of the large southern city.
   The German carmaker said its Freightliner truck subsidiary will invest $45 million to $435 million in stages to adapt an existing plant to assemble the new vehicles, beginning at the end of 2006.
   The port and its proximity to the plant weighed heavily in the site selection because vehicle kits for the Sprinter are shipped from Europe to Charleston.
   South Carolina heavily courted DaimlerChrysler. The state has targeted the growth of the automotive sector as an economic priority and is already home to a BMW plant that relies on the port to export finished vehicles, as well as 232 automotive suppliers.