Originally appeared in The News-Enterprise | Dec. 28, 2024
The state’s economic growth is linked to Hardin County.
Gov. Andy Beshear recently announced 2024 will be the fourth best year in state history for economic investment, with 170 private-sector new location and expansion announcements totaling more than $6.9 billion in new investments bringing 9,425 new full-time jobs.
Beshear said a number of contributing factors to getting Kentucky to where it is today, including the new BlueOval SK Battery Plant in Glendale.
Andy Games, Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation president and COO, agrees with Beshear as they have seen growth across the state thanks to Ford and SK On’s investment in the county, but that growth slowed locally this year.
“We had our growth in 2023 with the announcements of Whiskey House of Kentucky, Lotte Aluminum and ANP-USA, but in 2024 we didn’t have any announcements for new industries,” Games said. “We have seen from those three projects that are finalizing things in 2024 so that they can come online in 2025.”
BlueOval SK has done quite a bit of hiring in 2024, hiring roughly 700 or so in November and are constantly hiring until they start production hopefully in late March or early April of 2025, according to Games.
“We, the EHCIF, have spent 2024 trying to locate more ground because we have no more room left to grow,” Games said. “We have active projects that have been ongoing for several months and we are trying to find a place for them to locate to.”
Games said 2024 has been a prime year for companies and businesses looking to locate to the Hardin County area.
“Those companies are looking to grow here in the U.S. and Kentucky is a prime spot for them to locate to, mainly Elizabethtown because it is such a centralized location,” Games said. “We always strive to locate new people and new companies and we are in a very good location for that.”
Lincoln Trail Area Development District Executive Director Daniel London said he and his team have seen a significant amount of growth in the Elizabethtown area.
“E’town is the fastest growing working city in the state at just under 4%, and as people drive around E’town it feels like it has grown more than just 4%,” London said. “It will continue to grow in the next coming years.”
It is not just the Elizabethtown area that London said has grown, as it has spread across all the eight counties the district covers.
“Mainly Hardin, Marion and Nelson have grown significantly in the past year, mainly due to the distillery industry that has also grown over the past year,” London said.
According to London, the Kentucky Distiller’s Association says the industry will spend about $3 billion in the next five years on expansion and creating more jobs in the community and they plan to spend $5 billion over the next 10 years.
“Most of this distillery growth is going to happen in the Lincoln Trail District because we are a heavy bourbon districts,” London said. “It’s not just one specific sector that is seeing growth, it’s across all sectors that are seeing major amounts of growth.”
Margy Poorman, president of the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce, said she has personally seen growth in the community and at the chamber.
“The chamber has seen increased growth in membership from all levels, whether it is entrepreneurs or large corporations and everything in between including nonprofits, we have seen tremendous growth throughout the 2024 year,” Poorman said.
Poorman said she believes they have grown in numbers because of the economic growth the entire county is experiencing regarding the expansion or companies locating to the county.
With her retirement starting on Jan. 1, Poorman wishes to see even more growth for the chamber and the community in the coming years.
“The chamber plays a key role in the community. It brings these businesses and entities together with a common voice and helps them create that business-to-business opportunity,” Poorman said. “I want to see them to continue to grow and prosper, not just for the chamber but for the entire community.”