Ford Puts $1 Billion Into Kentucky Truck Plant Paint Shop

Ford’s manufacturing roots in Kentucky date to 1913, when the company began assembling Model T vehicles in Louisville. The state is now home to more than 6,000 Ford retirees and thousands of active production workers.

The automaker’s footprint also extends through the regional supply chain. A 2020 assessment by Boston Consulting Group found that Ford generates $11.7 billion annually in Kentucky economic output and directly and indirectly supports roughly 120,000 jobs through its assembly lines, parts suppliers, and franchised dealerships.

Ford Motor Co. is expanding its manufacturing operations in Kentucky with a $1 billion project to construct a new paint shop at its flagship Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. The facility serves as Ford’s highest-grossing production center worldwide.

Located on Louisville’s northeast side, the Kentucky Truck Plant produces the high-margin Ford F-Series Super Duty lineup, including F-250 through F-550 models, as well as the full-size Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicles.

The plant operates at an assembly cadence that completes a vehicle every 45 seconds. Its role in Ford’s commercial vehicle and large-truck portfolio is part of the wider manufacturing activity the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker is undertaking across the Commonwealth.

The new paint shop is scheduled to break ground late this year. It will replace the plant’s existing paint department with advanced application technology designed to improve finish quality, increase overall production line efficiency, and decrease environmental emissions from the coating process.

A 2023 study by University of Louisville economics professor Thomas Lambert calculated that Ford’s broader economic impact across its network of vendors and contractors exceeds $33 billion.

A few miles away, Ford is carrying out a separate $2 billion retooling of the Louisville Assembly Plant. The project introduces the automaker’s Universal EV Production System and converts the plant into a flexible manufacturing hub designed to build the upcoming Ford Fathom, a midsize electric pickup truck scheduled to enter production in 2027.

Concurrently, Ford is deploying $2 billion into Ford Energy to convert a manufacturing site in Glendale, Kentucky, into a dedicated production center for utility-scale and commercial battery energy storage systems.

“For more than a century, Ford and Kentucky have grown together, and we’re investing to ensure that relationship remains strong for generations to come,” Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said in a statement. “These investments demonstrate our confidence in Kentucky’s workforce, our commitment to American manufacturing and our belief that the future of mobility and energy will be right here in the United States.”

Ahead of groundbreaking on the new paint shop, Ford plans to hold an open house at the Kentucky Truck Plant on Sept. 13 for facility employees and their families.