President Obama will use his visit to Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corp. in Kansas City on Thursday to highlight how the federal government is using stimulus grants to encourage more private investment and job creation, administration officials said.
Smith Electric has received a total of $32 million in Department of Energy grants, which the men said the company matched with $36 million of its own money to help produce 500 all-electric delivery trucks that will be bought by such firms as Coca-Cola, Staples, Frito-Lay and Kansas City Power & Light Co.