2/16: Georgia Factory Drone Video

[Zoidz]

Sounds like they're still far behind Rivian:

https://www.newsfromthestates.com/a...electric-vehicle-plant-underway-near-columbia

"For now, construction crews are at work leveling out the site. On the south end, workers are drilling 300,000 deep holes and filling them with stone to create underground pillars that will stabilize the soil and hold the weight of the factory."

The site work for the Rivian factory is much further along, including the grading, including the roads and highway interchanges. Those haven't been started yet for the Scout plant.

Again, Rivian has had possession of the site for only three months now. Delays came from the state being unable to deliver upon their end of the timeline because of lawsuits, but the state also came through and steamrollered the objections to make it happen. And even with the delay, the R2 is on track to come out a year sooner than the Scout.

Sounds like Rivian is much further along with the sitework (roads, retention ponds, etc.) but Scout is further along on the factory foundation. ("workers are drilling 300,000 deep holes and filling them with stone to create underground pillars")

I didn't see any clues at all that Rivian has started foundation work. What I saw was retention ponds and top soil stripping. Rivian has a lot of work to get done to ship vehicles in 2025. Highly unlikely.

Sponsored

 

[Rivianready]

That place is BIG. I bet it will be impressive. However, that red clay runoff isn’t much on brand.

 

[VSG]

I didn't see any clues at all that Rivian has started foundation work.

Again, Rivian has had possession of the site for only three months. And the construction contract was announced in December. Not sure how much you expected to see done in two months over the holidays, and some of that work is weather dependent. But I think it's very reasonable to expect a number of buildings to be up by the end of the year. Costco for example only takes 4 months to completely build a warehouse. And while manufacturing plants are different, they're still closer to a big box than a high rise.

Regardless, I think the details of foundation construction are highly dependent upon the soil and geology. Scout's site with 300,000 drill holes to be filled with rock seems like a sub-optimal piece of land for a factory to me. Maybe that's why Scout got it without a fuss from the neighbors.

Road construction (Which Scout hasn't done yet) takes far longer than putting up a warehouse building, and Rivian already has most of the public roads finished.

Regardless, I expect Rivian to reiterate the R2 production schedule in the 7 March announcement. I don't think they will announce deliveries in 2026 (like they've been saying) unless they are pretty confident they can meet that goal.

 

[DuoRivians]

Again, Rivian has had possession of the site for only three months. And the construction contract was announced in December. Not sure how much you expected to see done in two months over the holidays, and some of that work is weather dependent. But I think it's very reasonable to expect a number of buildings to be up by the end of the year. Costco for example only takes 4 months to completely build a warehouse. And while manufacturing plants are different, they're still closer to a big box than a high rise.

Regardless, I think the details of foundation construction are highly dependent upon the soil and geology. Scout's site with 300,000 drill holes to be filled with rock seems like a sub-optimal piece of land for a factory to me. Maybe that's why Scout got it without a fuss from the neighbors.

Road construction (Which Scout hasn't done yet) takes far longer than putting up a warehouse building, and Rivian already has most of the public roads finished.

Regardless, I expect Rivian to reiterate the R2 production schedule in the 7 March announcement. I don't think they will announce deliveries in 2026 (like they've been saying) unless they are pretty confident they can meet that goal.

I like your optimism, and genuinely rooting for things to progress smoothly from here. It’s just that neither Wall St nor customers can wait too long for R2. Every quarter matters.

 

[jebinc]

- Road widening complete
- Dirt being moved around
- No signs of any vertical structures

R2 EDD in volume…. 2027

 

[Florida Panhandler]

Scout, being a VAG product, is sure to be priced at a relative premium over rival tiered vehicles. Also the Scout brand name is not a widely known entity anymore in modern America. Back in the day International Scout was pretty much a farm-related brand with a niche consumer base. During the 80’s when they were already out of business it started becoming a hipster vintage 4x4 because they were so cheap, retro looking at the time and already rusting out. I almost bought a good example no rust good running for $1500 back in the day. Not anymore.

VW will have to market heavily Scout re-introducing the brand name to the young America crowd unfamiliar with it and expect further delays from “End of 2026” into 2028 for actual volume production.

 

[Autolycus]

I didn't see any clues at all that Rivian has started foundation work. What I saw was retention ponds and top soil stripping. Rivian has a lot of work to get done to ship vehicles in 2025. Highly unlikely.

Rivian has been saying 2026 for a while now. Anybody still hoping for 2025 is just as well off hoping for a unicorn to show up in their front yard.

 

[redantpile]

The sign says "We oppose No Rivian assembly plant". I'm glad they are for it.

 

[SeaGeo]

Sounds like Rivian is much further along with the sitework (roads, retention ponds, etc.) but Scout is further along on the factory foundation. ("workers are drilling 300,000 deep holes and filling them with stone to create underground pillars")

Stone columns are basically an alternative to excavation for site work. I wouldn't say this puts them ahead of behind way WRT "foundations"

Regardless, I think the details of foundation construction are highly dependent upon the soil and geology. Scout's site with 300,000 drill holes to be filled with rock seems like a sub-optimal piece of land for a factory to me. Maybe that's why Scout got it without a fuss from the neighbors.

Yep. You could argue the that the Georgia site is too. They're having to move a lot of dirt. We'll see what the end up needing to do for the foundations. SC has the added complexity of a bit higher seismic hazard in the region (which I'm guessing is why they're using stone columns).

 

[NJDevFan30]

Stone columns are basically an alternative to excavation for site work. I wouldn't say this puts them ahead of behind way WRT "foundations"


Yep. You could argue the that the Georgia site is too. They're having to move a lot of dirt. We'll see what the end up needing to do for the foundations. SC has the added complexity of a bit higher seismic hazard in the region (which I'm guessing is why they're using stone columns).

This is not accurate.

Rammed or vibrated aggregate piers are used based on the site's geotechnical report which maps out the soil conditions. If the soil does not have enough capacity, these "stone columns" provide additional bearing capacity for the foundations that will be installed above them. (Think sand which is granular and falls apart when load is applied.)

Here's a video of the VSC, vibrated stone column variant.


As @VSG stated the construction contract was just signed in December. Site work takes time, as does procuring steel. They're doing fine and once foundations start, I suspect the building will come up in short order.

 

[SeaGeo]

This is not accurate.

Rammed or vibrated aggregate piers are used based on the site's geotechnical report which maps out the soil conditions. If the soil does not have enough capacity, these "stone columns" provide additional bearing capacity for the foundations that will be installed above them. (Think sand which is granular and falls apart when load is applied.)

Here's a video of the VSC, vibrated stone column variant.


As @VSG stated the construction contract was just signed in December. Site work takes time, as does procuring steel. They're doing fine and once foundations start, I suspect the building will come up in short order.

Hi there! Professional geotechnical engineer here. stone columns are a ground impovement method used to improve *some* site's conditions. Earthwork can also be used to improve site work. For example, overexcavation and replacement can be an alternative method of improving the site. And Preloading. And surcharging (generally for a different soil type though). A foundation is still placed on the stone columns. The stone columns are not the foundation, they're ground improvement. If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that the stone columns are being used in SC to mitigate the risk of liquefaction at the site, which is why I mentioned the difference in seismic hazard.

Saying one building is ahead on foundations based on installing them is an innocent misunderstanding, as they are not the foundation. The Rivian site vary well may put the factory on footings without any ground improvement, and may start that work months before SC starts putting footings on the stone columns. Rivian may also have to go through and do some other method of improving the site depending on the site conditions. My point is that based on the video and article, we don't actually know which factory is closer to starting construction on the superstructure.

 

[NJDevFan30]

Hi there! Professional geotechnical engineer here. stone columns are a ground impovement method used to improve *some* site's conditions. Earthwork can also be used to improve site work. For example, overexcavation and replacement can be an alternative method of improving the site. And Preloading. And surcharging (generally for a different soil type though). A foundation is still placed on the stone columns. The stone columns are not the foundation, they're ground improvement. If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that the stone columns are being used in SC to mitigate the risk of liquefaction at the site, which is why I mentioned the difference in seismic hazard.

Saying one building is ahead on foundations based on installing them is an innocent misunderstanding, as they are not the foundation. The Rivian site vary well may put the factory on footings without any ground improvement, and may start that work months before SC starts putting footings on the stone columns. Rivian may also have to go through and do some other method of improving the site depending on the site conditions. My point is that based on the video and article, we don't actually know which factory is closer to starting construction on the superstructure.

Fair points. Understood and agree. I read your post as if it was implying the significant amount of excavation in GA (noted in this thread) was an apples-to-apples alternative to the piles in SC. Much excavation has little to do with soil improvement but rather grading and general site work.

I'm on the construction side and love seeing the progress.

 

[Zoidz]

Hi there! Professional geotechnical engineer here. stone columns are a ground impovement method used to improve *some* site's conditions. Earthwork can also be used to improve site work. For example, overexcavation and replacement can be an alternative method of improving the site. And Preloading. And surcharging (generally for a different soil type though). A foundation is still placed on the stone columns. The stone columns are not the foundation, they're ground improvement. If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that the stone columns are being used in SC to mitigate the risk of liquefaction at the site, which is why I mentioned the difference in seismic hazard.

Saying one building is ahead on foundations based on installing them is an innocent misunderstanding, as they are not the foundation. The Rivian site vary well may put the factory on footings without any ground improvement, and may start that work months before SC starts putting footings on the stone columns. Rivian may also have to go through and do some other method of improving the site depending on the site conditions. My point is that based on the video and article, we don't actually know which factory is closer to starting construction on the superstructure.

Not a professional geotechnical engineer here. I'm an EE with a lot of greenfield construction project experience. I agree that the columns are not the foundation, and I didn't say they are. What I am saying is that since the columns are well under way, foundation grade has been established. The Rivian site appears to still be stripping top soil, with little or no apparent foundation grade completion. After the columns are set, from what I have experienced, below slab utilities and foundation work could start almost immediately. That's why I still believe, certainly with limited information, that the Scout site is likely ahead of the Rivian site.

 

[SeaGeo]

Not a professional geotechnical engineer here. I'm an EE with a lot of greenfield construction project experience. I agree that the columns are not the foundation, and I didn't say they are. What I am saying is that since the columns are well under way, foundation grade has been established. The Rivian site appears to still be stripping top soil, with little or no apparent foundation grade completion. After the columns are set, from what I have experienced, below slab utilities and foundation work could start almost immediately. That's why I still believe, certainly with limited information, that the Scout site is likely ahead of the Rivian site.

We'll see. I'd argue that we don't know enough from the video to make a very well informed decision either way. Either way, they're making progress, which is a great thing.

 

[OverEasyGoing]

My first thought to the drone video last week was "Wow, impressive" but after yesterday's earnings I'm wondering if the whole thing is over-ambitious. The sheer size of it is incredible and they're obviously years out from delivering any vehicles. As I understand it, there are countless auto manufacturer assembly plants vacant around the US, none could be retrofitted to build R2s?

Sponsored