CLARKSVILLE (AP) — Hankook Tire has broken ground on an $800 million plant in Clarksville that is expected to create 1,800 jobs.

Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander joined local and company officials Thursday for the event.

Hankook, the world's seventh-largest tire maker, announced last year that it will build the facility, and the Tennessee State Funding Board approved $16 million in incentives for the project Wednesday.

Hankook officials plan to begin making high-end performance tires by early 2016 and hope to make 11 million tires annually.

Clarksville is also home to a steel cord plant for Japanese tire maker Bridgestone, which has its Americas headquarters in Nashville.

Nissan, General Motors and Volkswagen have assembly plants in Tennessee, and more than 900 further automotive sector companies are active in the state. Ford, GM and Toyota build vehicles in neighboring Kentucky.