Ford Motor Co. hired Barton Malow as the general contractor for its BlueOval SK Battery Park project in Kentucky.

The Southfield, Mich.-based contractor, with support from Lexington, Ky.-based Gray Construction, is leading the project for Ford and South Korean battery maker SK Innovation, says Greg Christensen, Ford’s electric vehicle footprint manufacturing director.

As ENR previously reported, the $5.8-billion project will include construction of two EV battery plants on a 1,500-acre campus  in Glendale, Ky. The plants will have a combined capacity of 86 GWh per year, Ford says. The batteries will be used in next-generation Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Similar to the Ford and SK joint BlueOval City project in Tennessee with Walbridge as general contractor, the companies are looking for subcontractors and suppliers for BlueOval SK Battery Park. Ford, Barton Malow and Gray hosted a subcontractor event in Elizabethtown, Ky. on Feb. 17 and will hold more information sessions to be announced, Christensen said. Barton Malow also has a page up on its website with contacts for anyone interested in working on the project.

“Ford, SK Innovation, Barton Malow and Gray are all committed to hiring a diverse local workforce to build the BlueOval SK Battery Park and this is the first step in ensuring that Kentuckians will be part of creating a new era of advanced manufacturing for this country,” Christensen said in a statement.

Barton Malow ranked No. 37 on ENR’s 2021 Top 400 Contractors list with $2.3 billion in revenue. The company has worked on previous Ford projects including renovations at a Chicago assembly plant and the Dearborn, Mich., powertrain fuel systems lab. Gray ranks 51st on the top contractors list with $1.6 billion in revenue and also has a history of auto industry projects.

Ford aims to have production begin at the complex in 2025.