Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel says collaboration and strong leadership has helped Kentucky become a leader in the automotive industry, and the commonwealth needs to fight to stay at the top.
“Whichever way the world goes on in automotive, we have to win, and I’m not politically espoused on whether it’s EV, hydrogen, electric, it doesn’t matter to me,” Noel said. “All I know is if there’s going to be a different composite of what it takes to propel automotive, we have got to make sure that we are winning in that space.”
Noel was the featured speaker during the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s October luncheon Wednesday, the theme for which was Manufacturing Month. Noel said about 12.6 percent of Kentucky jobs are tied to manufacturing, so Kentucky must be ready to handle challenges.
“The private sector will find solutions,” Noel said. “Those solutions can be closings. Those solutions can be changing the whole floor mixture. We have to make sure as a state we’re leading in the whole manufacturing renaissance, because we have way too much to lose if we don’t.”
Noel had high praise for the leadership, education opportunities, and collaboration in Hardin County that has made the area not only a hub for growth but an example for the rest of the state to follow.
“You all are a regional hub that when we went to Europe, went to Asia, people want to know about Elizabethtown and Hardin County, Kentucky,” Noel said. “Not only are you on the map, people are talking about ‘why there?,’ ‘what’s going on there?,’ and it allows us to actually talk about other parts of the state, and we can talk about the amazing things that are happening in Hardin County.”
Noel said more information on the state’s economic plans can be found on the Cabinet for Economic Development’s website.
