|
(March
9, 2009) Franklin, Kentucky
Kentucky’s electric car project has been transformed with the
formation of ZAP Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky, Inc. (ZMMK), the new
company established last week to build Kentucky’s first electric car
manufacturing plant. The plant will be located in Franklin/Simpson
County, Kentucky.
Electric vehicle producer ZAP of Santa Rosa, California, gave ZMMK
permission to use “ZAP” in its name so ZMMK will be cobranded with the
ZAP vehicles it plans to manufacture. ZAP will sign this week an
exclusive worldwide manufacturing and supply agreement for ZAP
vehicles with ZMMK.
ZMMK’s top officers bring several decades of automobile industry
experience to the new venture. Gary Dodd, ZMMK’s Chief Executive
Officer, was one of Toyota’s general managers when Toyota located its
first assembly plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. Darryl Keels, ZMMK’s
President, is a former member of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International
management at that company’s Alabama assembly plant. Dodd and Keels
have a longstanding working relationship in the automotive industry.
Together with Steve Schneider, CEO of ZAP, and Dennis Griffin,
Executive Director of the Franklin/Simpson County Industrial
Development Authority, Dodd and Keels held a series of discussions in
Washington, D.C., in late February with the officials overseeing the
U.S. Department of Energy’s $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles
Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program. The meetings were held to discuss
ZMMK’s application for a direct $160 million loan from the Department
of Energy program.
According to Dodd, “We know that our loan application is one of
approximately 75 that have been submitted. None of those applications
have been approved yet. Our discussions were extremely positive. The
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing officials are clearly
interested in the ZMMK project. We believe the project fits the
requirements and objectives of the ATVM Loan Program.”
Dodd added, “Combined with the letter of interest from a New
York-based financial firm to provide up to a $40 million investment in
the ZMMK project, we are optimistic that the capital requirements of
the project will be achieved this year. And we are offering investors
the opportunity to invest in this far-reaching manufacturing and
energy initiative through the sale of a limited number of shares of
stock.”
“In these extraordinarily difficult economic times, we are grateful
for the interest being shown in the ZMMK Kentucky project by the
Department of Energy and by the support and encouragement we are
receiving from the Kentucky Congressional Delegation, Governor Beshear,
Cabinet Secretary Larry Hayes, the General Assembly, Franklin and
Simpson County leaders, and the many thousands of people who have
expressed an interest in working at this exciting new electric vehicle
manufacturing facility. We are grateful for the Kentucky team effort
surrounding this project.”
Based on data that ZMMK has developed, the Kentucky Cabinet for
Economic Development has estimated that the ZMMK facility could
provide up to 8,615 new direct, indirect and induced jobs, while
generating nearly $40 million annually in new state and local tax
revenue. The ZMMK plant expects to draw most of its construction and
production employees from an area of Kentucky that has experienced a
severe increase in unemployment over the past two years. There are an
estimated 19,000 people out of work in the immediate area of the ZMMK
site. |
