A new company has taken the reigns of the often-delayed ZAP electric car plant, and it plans to move forward with a project slated for Franklin.

ZAP Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky, a start-up company based in Prospect, will take over the project after Shepherdsville-based Integrity Manufacturing closed its doors last week after it reportedly ran out of money.

“When you have trouble with the banks lining up financing and when banks are cutting back orders, that caused us some major problems,” said Randall Waldman, former CEO of Integrity, “and there’s no bailout for small companies.”

Waldman sold his interests in the plant to ZAP Motor Manufacturing - a start-up company run by Gary Dodd, former president of Integrity and one of the first general managers of Toyota in Georgetown.

California-based ZAP has turned over its manufacturing agreement to the newly formed company. Waldman is no longer involved with the project.

“We are supportive of ZAP Motor Manufacturing Kentucky’s efforts to manufacture ZAP vehicles,” ZAP CEO Steve Schneider said in a news release.

ZAP officials could not be reached for further comment.

The new company will pick up where Integrity ended - hoping for a $160 million Department of Energy loan that will help fund the project.

If the company receives the federal loan, it will start the first of three phases of the plant, which should be complete in four to five months after the company secures funding. The first phase will measure 325,000 square feet and employ between 600 and 800 workers, Dodd said.

The DOE, which will distribute $25 billion to alternative technology vehicle projects, received 75 applications and determined 26 are eligible for the loan. It is reviewing those applications and plans to announce recipients in the next few weeks, said Stephanie Mueller, press secretary for the Department of Energy.

Integrity was also offered $48 million in tax credits from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority.

The incentives will expire in August if state officials do not grant final approval or extend the tax credits, according to Mandy Lambert, director of marketing and communications for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

ZAP Motor Manufacturing is also working with a New York-based investment firm, Dodd said.

If it doesn’t get the DOE loan, the new company will look for investors. Still, the time frame for second and third phase construction and the total number of workers depend on ZAP sales, Dodd said.

“If all marketing plans work and if demand is sufficient, we’re going forward with the whole plan,” he said. “That will determine how quickly the project goes from a green field to what we’re projecting.”

Dodd inherited a project that has been riddled with financial woes and delays.

Ground was broken in August at the Wilkey North Industrial Park for the $200 million plant, which promised 4,000 jobs and generated much excitement. But after financial markets plunged, investors pulled their money, draining the project of construction funds. The site remains untouched.

Now, some Franklin residents are skeptical of the plant’s future.

“There’s been so many delays,” said Debra Jackson of Franklin. “I’m afraid it’s going to keep getting delayed ... a lot of people wanted to apply for positions even before the groundbreaking.”

Dodd said the plant has endured some setbacks and the project is still uncertain.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “I don’t want everybody to think it’s a done deal.”

Dodd decided to tackle the project because he believes electric vehicles will be in high demand and the project will be a boon to the state. Dodd said he had similar feelings about the Toyota plant.

“There was a lot of controversy then about that project,” he said. “At that time, I felt it was a really good project for Kentucky, and I feel the same sense about this project. Electric cars are going to happen.”

Dodd plans to further develop the ZAP product by producing four-wheel vehicles (most ZAP vehicles have three wheels) that can travel 150 miles per charge at speeds up to 85 miles per hour.

After first phase construction, the plant will produce 15 cars a day, Dodd said.

Franklin Mayor Jim Brown said the company change is a good sign for the proposed plant, especially because Dodd is at the helm.

“I think that our credibility in this project has been built on Gary Dodd,” he said. “He invested his own time in this, and if he didn’t believe it was a viable project, he wouldn’t be continuing down that path ... hopefully they can get through the hurdles and get through the process.”