The most historic economic investment in Kentucky to date is taking shape off Interstate 65.
On Monday, state and local leaders celebrated construction progress in Glendale where a pair of manufacturing plants will produce batteries for Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
Although construction has already begun on what was once 1,500 acres of farmland, ground was officially broken on the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale.
Last fall, Ford Motor Company and South Korea-based SK On announced plans to
build two mega factories that will produce batteries for electric vehicles.
Speaking in front of the shell of the massive production facilities, Governor Andy Beshear called the project game-changing.
“This is the site where Kentucky’s skilled workforce will produce millions of EV batteries to power the next generation of Ford and Lincoln vehicles while cementing Kentucky’s status as the EV battery production capital of the United States of America," stated Beshear.
The 2.3 square mile campus will eventually employ 5,000 workers. Hiring will begin in earnest at the end of next year and those workers will be trained through a partnership with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College. Training will take place at a 42,000-square foot facility on the battery park campus.
“Employees will be immersed in the latest technology, allowing them to understand the battery-making process prior to setting foot in the plant," said Liliana Ramirez, Ford's Global Director of Workforce Development.
Once operations begin in 2025, the Glendale factories will help Ford toward its goal of producing two million electric vehicles globally by the end of 2026.
