By Sabrina Bates
“BlueOval City” (BOC) are buzzwords that seem to come up frequently when talking about West Tennessee. Although the billion-dollar investment by Ford Motor Company, SK On, and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) making up the “City” are under construction in Haywood County of southwest Tennessee, the project’s impact is regional.
Benton County Economic Development Director Jennifer Wheatley explained how her office, located several counties away, is “buzzing” with talk of BlueOval. According to Wheatley, Benton County is poised for great economic growth in the next few years.
The State of Tennessee announced the investment in September 2021. Since then, Wheatley said her office attends virtual meetings held a few times a month centered around BlueOval’s impact. Topics include infrastructure, housing, on-boarding, and training in preparation for the first roll-out of Ford’s electric truck in 2025.
Wheatley said with all of the progress for electric vehicle (EV) and battery production, Benton County is equidistant to BOC and the General Motors plant in Spring Hill, which recently announced production of an electric Cadillac.
With BOC expected to employ about 6,000 people in Stanton, Wheatley said supply companies are needed to support the project but can’t be expected to locate within 100 miles of the manufacturing facilities. Tier 2 suppliers of the EV market are projected to add 24,000 positions, further straining a job market if they are located near BOC. Those projections are part of the reason economic development departments in counties across West Tennessee are marketing themselves as regional partners for the large-scale project.
Wheatley said Benton County has access to rail, river ports, an airport, and easy access to Interstate 40. Undeveloped land, coupled with a recent $100,000 site development grant for due diligence studies of the undeveloped properties, Benton County is on the radar for future manufacturing projects.
In a new role created by the County Commission, Wheatley has served as the county’s economic development director for a year. She works directly with the Benton County Mayor and the county’s Industrial Development Board. She shares office space with the Benton County Chamber of Commerce.
“It took a lot of foresight for the county to create something new with this position. I also want to commend the Chamber of Commerce. The success of both offices tied together makes us a stronger team and makes us stronger when we go in front of businesses,” Wheatley said.
Working with groups of people in smaller communities is something that Wheatley said she loves about her different roles over the years. Wheatley came to the economic director position with good experience, formerly working with Land Between the Lakes and the Henry County Chamber of Commerce.
“We have a very united, pro-businesses team of leaders that are absolutely impressive in Benton County. All of my life, I have had the opportunity to work with people who volunteer their time to help bring opportunities to their area. They do it because they love their communities. When we meet to talk about Benton County, it is one of the most unselfish gatherings of people I’ve ever been a part of. It keeps me inspired because they love it,” Wheatley added.
Those partnerships are apparent by the overwhelming number of requests for information (RFIs) about Benton County. Through the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, blind RFI traffic “is the heaviest” Wheatley has seen. Those requests are funneled through TVA and TDECD and don’t include information pertaining to the companies requesting details about the county. These requests center around topics such as available land, education, housing, power availability, and overall quality of life in the area.
Wheatley said she isn’t the only source of information sought by companies, as they review data and look online to make determinations before requesting a site visit to the county. Wheatley said there have been two site visits by potential investors in the past year in Benton County.
Also on the horizon is an existing industry’s pending expansion in the county. “Every industry is facing workforce issues. We have about 107,000 people within a 45-minute drive of our county,” Wheatley shared. “We have 1,800 people who live in Benton County but work outside of our county. My personal challenge is getting these people back to work in Benton County.”
Looking at data from the annual KIDS Count report in 2022, Benton County ranked among the top third in the state for overall child well-being. The county ranked 19th in education in the state with a high-school graduation rate of more than 98 percent. A low, fair market rent average gave the county a rank of 19 across the state. These are positive indicators to bring economic growth to the area.
For more information about economic development in Benton County or ways you can get involved, contact Wheatley at [email protected].
