Ford Motor Company is Future-Focused in Jackson, TN
Ford's BlueOval City project is a historic investment that will forever change the economic landscape of the Jackson area.
Civic leaders like nothing more than announcing a new employer and job creator coming to their communities. For Jackson and the rest of West Tennessee, they got their wish and then some with Ford Motor Co.’s announcement that it would build a new battery-production facility at the Memphis Regional Megasite.
The $5.6 billion campus, BlueOval City, will bring more than 5,800 jobs. When the campus opens in 2025, it will produce Ford’s next-generation electric truck. It is being designed as a sustainable ecosystem, according to Ford, which says it is the largest site in the “Ford world.”
Major Opportunities
Local leaders are moving at full speed, getting ready for BlueOval. That’s meant everything from looking at housing needs, the infrastructure around everything from water and sewer enhancements to school upgrades and new buildings, and much more, says Kyle Spurgeon, CEO and president of the Greater Jackson Chamber.
“This is a project with multi-generational impact,” Spurgeon says. “It’s going to change what Jackson and West Tennessee look like decades from now. How our communities function, what they look like and what everyday lives are like will all transform. It’s going to change how we attract new businesses and the type of businesses that want to come here. It’s going to change residents’ income potential. For all those reasons and many more, we are working to make sure that Ford and BlueOval are successful.”
Supporting BlueOval
In addition to opportunities at BlueOval itself, there also will be jobs at “feeder” companies that spring up around the site. That means more manufacturing and related jobs for an area that wants to retain its homegrown talent and bring in new residents as well, says Mark Herbison, president and CEO of HTL Advantage, a three-county economic development coalition focused on improving the existing business infrastructure and recruiting new industries into Haywood, Tipton and Lauderdale counties.
“We’ll be competing for business, most certainly,” Spurgeon says. “But we’re all going to become better, individually and as a group. … We want people, whether it’s someone looking to move here for work or a company looking to build a facility here, to see many options to suit their lifestyle and what they want and need.”
If you’d like to learn more about the Jackson area, check out the latest edition of Livability Jackson, TN.
