Ford to invest $1 billion in new Kentucky Truck Plant paint shop

Ford Motor Company has announced a $1 billion investment to construct a new, state-of-the-art paint shop at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. The facility, which produces F-Series Super Duty pickups, Ford Expedition SUVs, and Lincoln Navigator SUVs, is considered the automaker’s most important and profitable plant globally.

The new paint shop is intended to replace the existing operation to improve paint quality, efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Groundbreaking is expected to occur later this year. This commitment is part of a broader capital expansion in Kentucky, where Ford has pledged approximately $5 billion in recent years for various facilities, including electric vehicle platform production and battery energy storage systems.

The announcement follows recent scrutiny from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy regarding the automaker’s manufacturing integrity and ties to Chinese companies. Ford characterized those concerns as a “wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines,” and the White House subsequently released a positive statement regarding the company.