May 2009
Welcome to eFYI, your exclusive monthly e-newsletter from Greater Louisville Inc. - The Metro Chamber of Commerce. As one of our valued partners, you can count on eFYI to cover the topics and issues of most interest and benefit to you. Share your comments and ideas with us any time at VFisher@greaterlouisville.com.
 Battery consortium plans $600 million Hardin County plant
Speed School adds space with $5.4 million renovation project
Magazine calls Louisville 'City of the Future'
GE plant to make water heaters
Daymar College to open campus in Louisville's East End
First Expeditions, Lincolns roll at retooled truck plant
Bellarmine approves new school of communication
Battery consortium plans $600 million Hardin County plant
A consortium of corporations, associations and research institutions collaborating to make lithium-ion battery cells for vehicles has selected Glendale, Kentucky, as a site for a future manufacturing facility.
The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries might invest as much as $600 million to build its first plant in Hardin County according to Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's office.
The one million-square-foot development would include a headquarters, engineering, quality assurance and production buildings.
Construction of the plant is contingent on the consortium receiving federal funding through the federal stimulus plan, according to the release.
The plant could create as many as 2,000 new full-time jobs with an average annual wage exceeding $40,000. Read more.
It was also announced that Lexington, Kentucky, will be the site of a national research center to develop the next generation of batteries to power electric vehicles and hybrids.
The center will focus on developing lithium-ion batteries -- the same technology that powers cell phones -- to fuel a car for up to 300 miles.
The state of Kentucky, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville all plan to collaborate on the project with the Argonne National Laboratory. Read more.
The Governor's office recently entered into a memorandum of agreement with the University of Louisville to operate Kentucky's Center for Renewable Energy Research and Environmental Stewardship.
University of Louisville engineering and business alumnus Henry Conn and his wife, Rebecca, have pledged more than $20 million to Speed School of Engineering for that purpose. The center will be named in their honor.
That center's mission will include promoting partnerships among the state's colleges and universities, private industry and nonprofit organizations to actively pursue federal research and development resources that are dedicated to renewable energy. Read more.
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Speed School adds space with $5.4 million renovation project
The University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering will get much-needed additional classroom space and teaching laboratories once the renovation of a former library on the Belknap Campus is completed later this year.
U of L will spend $5.4 million to renovate the former Kersey Library.
The first floor of the two-story building will be dedicated to a variety of uses including the school's career services center, as well as "Speed Commons," a place for students to study. The space will also consist of three large classrooms, capable of accommodating 100 students each, for the Speed School's Department of Engineering Fundamentals.
The second floor will be home to the school's Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science and will include design and research labs, conference rooms and offices. Read more.
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Magazine calls Louisville 'City of the Future'
 Possibility City has gained a new moniker.
Foreign Direct Investment Magazine has named Louisville one of North America's "Small Cities of the Future."
The Financial Times of London-published magazine ranked Louisville No. 7 on its annual list of cities with population between 100,000 and 500,000. Louisville was ranked No. 3 on a list of five best small cities with the strongest economic potential.
The designation was based on economic potential, human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure and business friendliness. Read more.
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GE plant to make water heaters
 Boosted by $12.5 million in state and local tax incentives, General Electric unveiled plans to invest $69 million in Appliance Park to produce energy-efficient water heaters by 2011.
The expansion would create 420 jobs, paying an average of $57,440 per year, which means an annual payroll of $24 million.
According to GE officials this will be the "first hybrid water heater to be produced in the U.S."
The device uses technology similar to a heat pump to absorb heat from the air and transfer it to the water. Traditional heating methods supplement the heat pump. The heater can produce the same amount of hot water as a standard unit, but use half the energy. Read more.
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Daymar College to open campus in Louisville's East End
Building on the success of its Louisville campus on Fern Valley Road, Daymar Colleges Group LLC is moving forward with plans to open a second local facility. It will be located near Ford Motor Company's Kentucky Truck Plant.
Daymar plans to invest an additional $500,000 to renovate and upgrade the 33,000-square-foot building and convert it into classroom space and study areas.
Daymar offers diploma and associate's degree programs in a number of fields, including medical, business, legal and computer. Read more.
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First Expeditions, Lincolns roll at retooled truck plant
 The first Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions made in Louisville are rolling off the assembly lines after a $200 million conversion project at Ford Motor Co.'s Kentucky Truck Plant.
The retooled truck plant with its new flexible features, allow multiple models, including Ford's F-Series Super Duty truck, to be produced using the same equipment without a slowdown in volume.
Although production will vary with demand, the plant will be able to make up to 300 Navigator and Expedition sport-utility vehicles daily. Read more.
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Bellarmine approves new school of communication
The Bellarmine University board of trustees has approved starting a school of communication that officially will open for the 2009-10 academic year.
The school will have three main components: an undergraduate major in communication, a master's degree program and the Institute for Media, Culture and Ethics.
The school of communication is part of Bellarmine's Vision 2020, a plan for growth that includes increasing enrollment, enhancing student life and adding academic programs. The school will emphasize "intercultural and international communication through course offerings, service learning, study abroad opportunities and partnerships. Read more.
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