The Rotary Club of Hopkinsville heard an update from Novelis of Guthrie during Tuesday’s meeting, as they work towards opening for production in a COVID-19 world.
Novelis is an aluminum manufacturing company the works closely with the automotive industry and had been set to open recently, but that has been delayed due to impacts caused by the pandemic. Plant Manager Paul Banks says everyone has been hit hard and that includes Novelis—they’re now about six months behind schedule.
He says there are still people on site working, and he’s glad to announce that as of Tuesday morning, there have been no cases of coronavirus reported there.
Banks says things continue to look positive for the company, and phase two of construction and possible future expansion are still in the works.
He says they want to work closely with the Guthrie community in making the area a vibrant place to live and work, while maintaining the goal of sustainable, environmentally friendly production. Construction on the facility began in 2018 and represents a $300 million investment in Todd County.