When the first Lexus ES350 rolls off the assembly line in mid-October, it will mark the start of an expect 50,000-vehicle-per-year expansion — and 750 new jobs — at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky. And for the plant’s hometown of Georgetown, it is the latest point of pride and growth fostered by advanced manufacturing.
“We consider this a Lexus kind of town,” said Mayor Tom Prather.
In celebration, Georgetown will line Main Street with Lexus flags announcing the beginning of production and its economic impact upon the city.
When Toyota first arrived 25 years ago, many residents expected immediate growth, but the boom took several years to take hold.
“Back then, we didn’t have fully developed housing stock in all prices and styles,” Prather said. “Now we do. Now, growth is occurring with a vengeance.”
Along with the Lexus line, which is expected to go live Oct. 19, TMMK also is building on a new production engineering building. And largely thanks to the transit system initiated by Toyota and supported by the state and local government, other Scott County projects also are moving ahead, including the Bluegrass Community & Technical College Advanced Manufacturing Center and Country Boy Brewing’s new facility.
There are exceptions. R.R. Donnelly & Sons recently began laying off 91 employees as a first step toward closing the TOPS products distribution center in Georgetown. But, the overall trend in the county seems to be toward growth and expansion.
Prather said Scott County is the fastest growing county in Kentucky and, by extension, Georgetown is the fastest growing city and the ninth largest city in the state.
“In terms of economic impact, I feel we are considerably higher on that list and will move up in the next few years,” Prather said.
Georgetown recently broke ground for the BCTC Advanced Manufacturing Center, which will open late next year. Working in partnership with Toyota, the Advanced Manufacturing Technician program keeps skilled labor in manufacturing in the Central Kentucky area.
The new campus will provide general education classes in addition to the program classes currently offered.
Two years ago, Toyota announced the new Lexus line and has been busy in preparation. A 250,000-square-foot assembly line was built specifically to accommodate the Lexus. The addition of the Lexus will bring Toyota’s annual production to 550,000 cars per year, with the Toyota Camry being the best-selling vehicle for the last 13 years.
The Lexus line is not the only addition to Toyota this year. The new production engineering facility, which Prather refers to as “an engineering Disney World” is an $80 million investment. It will house the company’s North American production engineering team consisting of 700 workers, some currently at the Georgetown facility and 300 from the Erlanger facility. According to Rick Hesterberg, who oversees external affairs for TMMK, it will be a state-of-the-art test lab. They recently broke ground for the facility, which is due to be completed in 2017.
“We have received a lot of support from the state for the higher traffic flow,” Hesterberg said. “They are doing a lot of road work that will allow more supplies to fl ow to and from the plant.”
The shipping lines were a primary lure for Country Boy Brewing, said Daniel Harrison, co-founder of the Lexington-based brewery.
“Toyota has great lines of shipping, a great transit system,” he said. “We ship to West Virginia, Indiana and Ohio and are hoping to be a regional brewery one day.”
Harrison said his company is working with the city on a building design and should break ground in a month or two.
“We are completely out of space in our Lexington facility,” he said. “There is no room for additional production. We produced 500 barrels in our first year. Now, we produce that much beer in a month.”
Harrison said the Georgetown facility will let them take production from a 10-barrel system to 50 barrels.
“We will be able to produce five times as much beer initially, with room for expansion,” said Harrison. The new facility also will have a tap room and hops gardens, and the company hopes it will be a tourist destination.
Harrison grew up in Scott County and co-owner Jeff Beagle lives there. They have strong roots in the community and are looking forward to developing on the 6 acres the company purchased inside a new business park, which is still under construction.
“The road to our building doesn’t even exist yet,” Harrison noted.
Prather said Country Boy Brewing will be an exciting addition for Georgetown.
“I think it’s important to diversify our economy,” he said.
Prather said Georgetown’s residential growth is exploding, with roughly one-third of Toyota’s employees residing in Scott County.
John R. Simpson, director of Georgetown/ Scott County tourism, said Georgetown’s location has helped the city become economically viable.
Simpson and Prather also pointed to other amenities and infrastructure, including an extension of the Legacy Trail through Fayette and Scott counties and the 200 acres of the Kentucky Horse Park located in Scott County.
“We are at the crossroads of two major interstates and within close proximity to Lexington and a short drive to Frankfort, Louisville and Cincinnati,” Simpson noted.