Originally appeared in The Courier Journal | July 11, 2024
Ford Motor Co. is eyeing Shelbyville for a $400 million parts factory with an emphasis on electric vehicle components, according to a state business incentive report and Gov. Andy Beshear.
“Ford Motor Company is considering Shelby County for a small, specialized high-tech component manufacturing operation. The components would primarily be used for EVs,” according to the minutes of a meeting of the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority board.
The plant is expected to create 260 jobs, with an average hourly wage of $36 including benefits, according to the meeting minutes.
During a Thursday interview with The Courier Journal, Beshear confirmed the state has approved incentives for an investment Ford is considering near Shelbyville
The project’s total investment has been approved as eligible for the Kentucky Business Investment incentives, which provide income tax credits. The proposed Shelbyville Ford plant also has $170 million of the total investment approved for the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which will provide a “refund of Kentucky sales and use tax,” eligible for use on construction materials, equipment used for research and development, or data processing equipment.
“We thank the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for its offer of support as we explore the potential for a specialized high-tech facility in Shelby County,” said Ford spokesperson Jess Enoch in a written statement to The Courier Journal.
Calls to representatives of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Shelby County Industrial and Development Foundation about the plant were not immediately returned.
The consideration by Ford to open yet another Kentucky facility builds on decades of history between the automaker and the commonwealth.
Kentucky is currently home to Ford’s most profitable plant, the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, which produces the company’s Super Duty model trucks. The Louisville Assembly Plant produces the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair.
Most recently, Ford partnered with a South Korean battery manufacturing company to build the 10th largest manufacturing facility globally in Kentucky.
Electric vehicle momentum
Ford’s proposed plant represents another large investment by the company in electric vehicles, as more manufacturers and analysts depict EVs as the inevitable direction of the industry.
A few counties away, a $5.8 billion joint venture project between the automaker and South Korea-based SK On is coming to fruition, spurring rapid local growth.
In May, BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County opened its job training center, and representatives said 700 workers had already been hired. Operations at the battery plant are expected to start next year.
Ford has also promised an electric future for its Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road.
During the 2023 labor negotiations between Ford and the UAW, the union representing 12,000 Ford workers in Louisville, the company agreed to commit a $1.2 billion investment over four years to LAP as it transitions to producing an “all-new EV product” after the 2025 model year.
The benefits and momentum of Ford’s investments in Kentucky are evident, Beshear said, in the Kentucky truck plant, investments outside Elizabethtown and the investment “they’re considering in Shelbyville.”
“We’ve certainly seen an enormous amount of Ford investment … and we’re really grateful for that,” the governor said in the Thursday interview. “We’ve got a great relationship with their CEO, their chair of the board, and we’ve got a great relationship with the union, and being able to have both of those is critical to spurring more job development with the company that benefits those union families.”
Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X at @oliviamevans_. Connor Giffin is an environmental reporter for The Courier Journal. Reach him directly at cgiffin@gannett.com or on X @byconnorgiffin.