Here's the latest that was printed in our local Newspaper (COURIER-JOURNAL)
Shelby County still in running for Harley plant
BY JERE DOWNS • JDOWNS@COURIER-JOURNAL.COM • SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
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Shelby County survived the cut as Harley-Davidson recently narrowed its list of potential sites for relocating a 2,500-worker motorcycle plant now located near York, Pa.
“Kansas City is no longer under consideration,” company spokesman Bob Klein said, adding the hallowed hog manufacturer will decide the fate of its historic Pennsylvania operation by the end of the year.
Besides rural Shelbyville, Harley-Davidson is also looking at sites near Indianapolis, Ind. and Murfreesboro, Tenn., Klein said.
Relocation incentives were named by Klein as one of three factors the company is considering as it looks outside Pennsylvania. Others include, Klein said, availability of a skilled work force, building sites, and “geographic proximity to our markets.”
York is about 100 west of Philadelphia and a move to Shelbyville would move Harley-Davidson production about 600 miles further inland.
Undergoing consolidation in the wake of declining sales, Harley-Davidson is exploring how it can cut costs with its largest union. The current union contract, with an average wage scale of $23 per hour, expires in February.
Tom Santone, business representative of Local Lodge 175 of the Machinists union in York did not return phone calls seeking comment.
So far, Pennsylvania has assembled $15 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for capital repairs and remediation of Harley-Davidson’s York County 232-acre site, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said. Klein declined to comment on Pennsylvania incentives.
Kentucky’s skilled work force is an asset as the state pursues Harley-Davidson, said Jay Blanton, a spokesman for Gov. Steve Beshear.
“The Governor believes Harley-Davidson is an iconic brand that any community would be proud to have as a member.” Blanton said.
“We are aggressively courting a number of projects, designed to bring good-paying jobs to our state in areas that reflect our strengths,” he added. “Advanced manufacturing in this industry is an inarguable strength of our state and our labor force.”