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Toyo to close Franklin plant; county highlights tourism gains and festival support
Summary
Judge/Executive Mason Bames announced Toyo/TMM will close its Franklin facility Oct. 31, 2023; the court also heard a tourism report showing Simpson among the top three BRADD counties in 2022, learned the tourism office is relocating pending renovations, and agreed to support the Franklin Car Show's 60th anniversary.
County Judge/Executive Mason Bames told the fiscal court Aug. 15 that Toyo Automotive Parts (USA), Inc./TMM-USA, Inc. will close the Franklin facility at 521 Page Drive on Oct. 31, 2023. Bames described such closures as part of normal economic cycles and said the county will continue industry recruitment efforts.
Tourism Director Amy Ellis presented 2022 results from the Barren River Area Development District (BRADD) — also marketed as the "Caves, Lakes & Corvettes Region" — saying Warren County, Barren County and Simpson County were the top three counties in visitation and tourism dollars in 2022 for that region. Ellis said the former tourism-office cabin is under contract for sale and that staff expect to relocate to a renovated space on West Cedar Street in about six months.
Judge Bames also thanked Tourism for agreeing to support the Franklin Car Show's 60th anniversary during the Franklin Festival in September. The court unanimously approved a $1,000 sponsorship for BRADD's regional opioid-abatement summit; the sponsorship was discussed earlier in the meeting as a BRADD-requested item and as potentially eligible for opioid-abatement funding.
