By Quin Welch, Building Kentucky
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited Glendale’s BlueOval SK Battery Park site in March, and came away very impressed with what he saw happening in Kentucky.
With production slated to begin in 2025, construction continues to move quickly on the site. Buttigieg — the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana — said he’s happy to see manufacturing jobs returning to places like Kentucky, instead of shifting to overseas markets.
“I saw firsthand what can happen for a community when these jobs arrive,” Buttigieg said. “For too many years, America has watched manufacturing move in one direction, which is away.”
Buttigieg sounded particularly pleased that projects like the BlueOval SK Battery Park will help keep young people from small towns like Glendale in their hometowns.
“You grow up getting the message that the only way to prosper is to get out of the community that raised you and shaped you,” Buttigieg said. “Not anymore. That’s what this is about.”
Upon completion, BlueOval SK will employ an estimated 5,000 people at its site in Glendale.
