(Simpson County, Kentucky) - Construction equipment has finally arrived in this southern Kentucky county to make way for a million-square-foot plant to make ZAP electric vehicles. Work crews recently began moving ground on a 200+ acre site at the Wilkey North Industrial Park.
The facility is a joint venture between Shepherdsville, Kentucky-based Integrity Automotive and California-based ZAP. A groundbreaking ceremony took place August 28, less than a week after the official announcement that Kentucky had landed the plant.Initial figures put the plant's cost at $84 million, but a new statement from ZAP now cites the cost at $100 million.
In an August interview with Manufacturing & Technology eJournal, Integrity Automotive Chief Executive Randall Waldman said the plant would be online in just a year. He expects an initial workforce of about 1,250, hired 30 to 60 days before production starts. Waldman and Zap officials say it will take about four years to ramp up to 4,000 workers.Waldman also owns Integrity Manufacturing in Shepherdsville. That company - which started in Feb 2007 and has grown to 400 workers - will be a Tier I supplier to the new plant and will open a support facility there to do all stamping as well as frame construction, Waldman said.
The state of Kentucky helped secure the facility by pledging up to $48 million in tax incentives and signing a new law allowing drivers of electric vehicles on roads with speed limits under 45. Company officials also say the city of Franklin is also preparing $76 million in industrial revenue bonds.
But not everyone is convinced the factory will be a success. Some industry observers are saying the state is putting too much emphasis on the project at the sake of others. And one of the partners in the project, ZAP, has come under fire in blogs for failing to complete projects after making big announcements.
It may be several years before we know the true impact.
For more information on ZAP call (707) 525-8658 or visit their Web site at www.zapworld.com. For more information on Integrity Manufacturing call 502-957-0219 or visit their Web site at www.integrity-manufacturing.com.
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