Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles on Friday announced that Maury County is the new beneficiary of “the single largest deal in state history.”
Ogles announced the news on his Facebook page and said it affects not only Maury County but also Tennessee and all of North America.
“Over the last year I have been working with General Motors and [Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development] Commissioner [Bob] Rolfe and the governor’s team. We negotiated a $2 billion investment by General Motors into Maury County — the third largest deal in state history. Immediately as we finished that one, over the last six, seven months or so, another opportunity came to pass,” Ogles said.
“And, so, I am proud to announce that with a lot of hard work from a lot of people that Ultium Cells, a major player in the electric vehicle space battery maker is locating here to Maury County.”
Ogles described the project as worth $2.3 billion dollars and said it will bring 1,300 new jobs to Maury County.
“And I am signing from the rooftops that I can finally tell you about it. Over the last year, when you’re negotiating and you’re competing against other communities for these types of investments it’s a roller coaster of emotions,” Ogles said.
“You have good days. You have bad days. You think you’re going to get it. Maybe you’re not. We made the announcement today.”
Rolfe and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, in a press release, said Ultium Cells LLC will build a new 2.8-million-square-foot, state-of-the-art plant on land leased from General Motors.
“Construction will begin immediately, and the plant is scheduled to open in late 2023. Once operational, the Ultium Cells plant will supply battery cells to GM’s Spring Hill assembly plant,” according to the press release.
As The Tennessee Star reported last year, General Motors officials announced they would invest nearly $2 billion in its Spring Hill manufacturing plant, in Maury County, to build fully electric vehicles, including the all-new, luxury Cadillac LYRIQ.
Ogles said at the time that Maury County competed against another location — which he did not specify — for this $2 billion. He said the Spring Hill GM facility currently has 3,100 employees.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
[…] construction Wednesday, according to a press release by Ultium Cells. The Tennessee Star previously reported the 2.8 million-square-foot facility will mass-produce battery cells for electric vehicles and […]
There goes the quality of life in Maury County.
Why are all politicians blindly bent on uncontrolled growth at the expense of the quality of life for the existing residents? Is it power? Is it greed? Or is it just insanity?
Actually, this is GREAT news!! These jobs are well paid and overseen by a strong union to enforce laws against the parent companies to protect workers. Great Job!!!