KY

  Electric Vehicle Plant Bringing 4,000 Jobs to Simpson County Integrity Automotive LLC has chosen Simpson County, KY, as the location for its new $84-million facility that will manufacture low-speed electric vehicles. “This represents an investment not only in Kentucky’s economy, but also in the future of this country, Gov. Steve Beshear said in announcing the site selection. “The long-term security and economic health of this nation depends in part on its ability to become energy independent. This plant, and the vehicles it’s designed to produce, could be an important part of this strategy. A tax incentive package worth up to $48 million for the Integrity plant was approved in August by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. The new one-million-square-foot manufacturing facility will be built in Franklin, KY, on 225 acres at Franklin Industrial Park. The incentives are based on Integrity’s commitment to create 4,000 new full-time jobs for Kentucky residents within the first four years of the project’s completion. The projected average hourly wage for each new job is approximately $20 per hour, exclusive of benefits. “These are good, high-paying jobs, the kind that have been so important to this state over many years and are even more important in this tough economic period, Gov. Beshear noted. Integrity’s new North American manufacturing facility represents a partnership between Integrity Automotive and California-based Zero Air Pollution (ZAP), an electric carmaker currently producing electric vehicles in China. In August, Gov. Beshear signed an executive order permitting the use of low-speed electric ... Read more