By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
In September 2021, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, along with Ford and SK On, announced a $5.8 billion investment to build two electric vehicle battery factories in Glendale. Since that announcement there has been considerable buzz as to the impact such a large factory will have on Glendale, on Elizabethtown, on Hardin county and on nearby counties, including Barren County.
“A manufacturing plant this size will mean change for the surrounding areas,” Mallory Cooke, external communication at BlueOval SK, said.
According to Cooke the company partnered with L. B. Schmidt and Associates, a consulting firm based out of Louisville, to “provide information for its economic impact on counties surrounding Glendale.” While the report focuses on the impact on Hardin county, it does state that it “represents the biggest economic development projecting in Kentucky’s history” and will be the tenth largest manufacturing site in the world at 8,400,000 square feet.
“As a stand-alone battery plant, BlueOval SK Battery Park will be the largest EV electric battery plant in the world in terms of investment, physical size, jobs created, and manufacturing capacity,” the report states.
According to Sarah Vaughn, engagement coordinator at BlueOval SK, the company plans to finish the first Glendale factory sometime in 2025, which they are calling BlueOval City, then the second Glendale factory in 2026. At the completion of the project the factories, which will be the size of 60 football fields, will produce 800,000 EV batteries and employ roughly 5,000 people, Vaughn said.
Right now, Vaughn said, with BlueOval SK still in the early stages of life, the company is focusing its attention on Hardin County, but, she said, as they progress the company would “go all over the state” to invest and give back to communities, in fact, BlueOval SK is listed as one of the sponsors for the upcoming Groove and Glow event on Sept. 16 in Glasgow.
On July 28 at the Coffee & Commerce it was announced that BlueOval SK had become a member of Barren Inc., which shows, Glasgow Mayor Henry Royse said, that the impact of the two factories will be felt outside Glendale.
“[They joined] because of the fact that they know that their footprint is much larger than Glendale and they’re going to need good relationships with places like [Barren County],” Glasgow Mayor Henry Royse said.
Being able to “receive” and prepare for the possible growth, Kevin Myatt said was one of the reason for them to apply for expanded jurisdiction that allows them to streamline commercial inspections instead of sending them to the state.
Myatt, planning director of the Joint City-County Planning Commission, said with the factories employing 5,000 people, it is not out of the question for some of those workers to live in Barren County, with its proximity to Interstate 65, and commute to Glendale.
Luke Schmidt, founder and president of Schmidt and Associates, said while there may be some workers commuting out of Barren County, the real opportunity for the county is in inviting industries that will supply the plant.
“From my vantage point the primary spillover into Glasgow and Barren County would be the possibility of recruiting some of the supplier’s plants that will serve the EV battery industry,” Schmidt said. “Even though Kentucky is home to over 200 automotive industry suppliers, a lot of those are Japanese companies. Those companies make things like brakes, windshields, various components that go into cars, none of those suppliers will supply to any of these battery plants because you’re talking about an entirely new product line and so while there will be supplier companies relocating to serve these battery plants, it’s a brand new industry sort to speak.
“You’re in a great place, if your industrial folks go after it, to try and go after some of those suppliers because you’re so close to Bowling Green and not that far from Elizabethtown,” Schmidt added.
Jamie Bewley Byrd, Barren County judge-executive, said one of the ways the county is preparing is to be transparent and “make it easier” for people or companies to develop in the county and to be strategic about where the growth will occur so as to retain the rural feel of Barren County.
“What we’ve been doing as a county is to try and be as easy to work with as possible and be more involved with issues in the front end of it,” Byrd said. “We’re trying to be on the front end by making sure we have the requirements in place that are involved in the building of these new subdivisions and everything.”
With the completion of the factories still being several years away, Barren County has not yet seen the growth that is expected, but Myatt is confident that the growth will occur.
“I believe there will be a correlation between those ancillary products with BlueOval SK and what we can provide here, which could result in residential growth. However, I believe residential growth will occur regardless of those products being manufactured here,” he said.
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