Media given tour of Blue Oval City

HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — The media was given a tour of Blue Oval City on Friday.

Guests were required to stay on the bus during the tour due to on-going construction. They say that construction is about 50 percent of the way done, and that they are on schedule for assembly operations to start in 2025.

“Blue Oval City will employ nearly 6,000 people. That’s 6,000 great careers in clean manufacturing, right here in West Tennessee,” said Liliana Ramirez, the Global Director of Workforce Development for Ford Motor Company.

Gov. Bill Lee also attended the event and talked about the importance of this addition to our state.

“Thank you for investing in the greatest state in the country. Tennessee has proven itself to be the best state in the nation to do business. The clear choice for the automotive industry. And there’s a reason for that. We have the number one business climate in America. We’re the lowest taxed state per capita of all 50 states. We have the lowest debt per capita of all 50 states,” Lee said.

The president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, Jim Farley, closed the event by talking about the importance of what is happening in West Tennessee with Blue Oval City.

“We are going to make history here. And the progress that we have made already in such a short time is really incredible to us. You know, we have been in the car business for a 120 years. We have built a lot of plants. To see the progress here, is really something,” Farley said.

The campus covers six square miles. The facility is going to be powered by carbon free electricity, and it will also be a zero waste facility. They say nothing will be sent to landfills.

Farley said the company is very excited about their new electric truck that will be built at Blue Oval City.

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