CLARKSVILLE (AP) — LG Electronics Inc. has broken ground in Tennessee at the site of the South Korean appliance manufacturer's first washing machine plant in the United States.

Company and local officials were joined at the Thursday ceremony in Clarksville by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.

The 1 million-square-foot (92,900-square meter) facility is projected to cost $250 million and create 600 new jobs. Located about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the site was selected after a national search dating back six years.

South Korean tiremaker Hankook also has a new plant in Clarksville. Hankook announced last year it was moving its North American headquarters from New Jersey to Nashville.

The LG plant will be near a new Google data center on the former Hemlock Semiconductor site that was shuttered in 2013.