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FAST LANE - March
2003
STATE
Kentucky Is a Leader in Alternative Fuel Development
 Kentucky
is establishing itself as a leader in the nation’s development
of alternative fuels, according to Joe Jobe, director the National BioDiesel
Board, a national trade association representing the biodiesel industry.
BioDiesel is a product
made from vegetable oils, animal fats and waste from rendering plants.
It can be added to petroleum-based diesel as a blend or used as a diesel
fuel replacement in any diesel engine without mechanical modifications.
“With the enthusiasm
and leadership of Kentucky soybean growers, proactive involvement by
the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition (KCFC) and the engaging presence
of Griffin Industries (a leading manufacturer of BioDiesel), Kentucky
is poised to be a significant contributor to the national BioDiesel
development effort,” Jobe said.
“Given the
conflict in the Middle East, the use of alternative fuels is no longer
only an environmental issue, it’s an issue of national energy security,”
noted Melissa Howell, executive director of KCFC.
Benefits of using
BioDiesel include improved engine function, longer engine life, increased
range and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The fuel costs approximately
three cents more per gallon than traditional fuel.
Kentucky has implemented
over 20 projects statewide to foster the use of BioDiesel, including
the bus and vehicle fleets of school districts in McLean, Campbell,
Marshall, Kenton and Hardin counties and Murray State University. Other
entities using BioDiesel include the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport,
Mammoth Cave National Park, the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky,
Kenton County Public Works, East Kentucky Power Cooperative, and Lake
Barkley and Greenbo State Parks.
STATE
CITE Designs Program to Help Farmers Diversify
The Kentucky Agricultural
Development Board has authorized a grant for more than $48,000 to the
Center for Information Technology Enterprise, Inc. (CITE) to develop
a new program to bring computers and high-speed Internet access to Kentucky
tobacco farmers and their families.
 CITE,
a Bowling Green-based organization that specializes in information technology
expertise and strategic business planning, has been charged with developing
the business architecture, the conceptual development and the financial
model for the Rural e-Learning Agricultural Program (REAP), which will
utilize Web-based technologies to increase net farm income and expand
tobacco farmers’ knowledge of new business opportunities. The project
could affect as many as 45,000 Kentucky farmers.
The program is part
of the state’s efforts to divert Kentucky’s agriculture community
away from its dependence on tobacco production while revitalizing the
farm economy. The program will network tobacco growers with colleges
and vocational schools, potential customers, agribusiness and others
in a statewide public/private partnership.
“REAP will
involve industry, government and higher education all coming to the
table to support the initiative,” said Dr. Linda Johnson, president
of CITE. “We have a great opportunity to transform Kentucky’s
agriculture community.”
To date, Kentucky
has invested over $98 million in an array of county, regional, and state
projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable
new farm-based business enterprises.
LOUISVILLE
Hillerich & Bradsby Forms New Division
 Louisville-based
Hillerich & Bradsby Co., which manufactures Louisville Slugger baseball
bats, has launched a new division to market its latest development:
the Bionic™ Gardening Glove.
The new glove was
designed by Dr. Jim Kleinert, a successful orthopedic hand surgeon who
was originally retained by H&B to redesign hockey gloves. The result
was a dramatic improvement in glove comfort and function – and
sales. Kleinert was then asked to help rework the Louisville Slugger
line of baseball and softball gloves and mitts. More rave reviews led
to a decision to extend the effort to include many uses.
H&B selected
gardening as the first glove category for the new Bionic Glove Technology
division due to its high popularity among the general public.
“With over
80 million gardeners nationwide, it’s amazing to me that no one
has successfully incorporated anatomy and ergonomics in the overall
design of gardening gloves,” said Kleinert.
The gloves are available
to consumers at www.bionicgloves.com.
CENTRAL KENTUCKY
Summit Brings Counties Together with Focus on Regional
Unity
Nineteen counties
in Kentucky’s heartland have decided to take the future into their
own hands, beginning with a summit to bring about unity and focus.
Last month’s
“Summit on the Future of Kentucky’s Heartland” brought
together officials from the local, state and federal level to brainstorm
and develop a plan with an emphasis on cooperation rather than competition.
The Heartland region
consists of the following counties: Adair, Barren, Boyle, Casey, Clinton,
Cumberland, Green, Hardin, Hart, LaRue, Marion, Mercer, Metcalfe, Monroe,
Nelson, Russell, Spencer, Taylor and Washington counties.
To develop a unified
focus, five areas were identified on which to concentrate: transportation,
tourism, economic development, education and agriculture.
One of the major
projects being studied is a four-lane highway that would connect the
region, running from the Bluegrass Parkway in Washington County to the
Louis B. Nunn Parkway in Adair.
Though funding for
such a project simply isn’t available at the moment – the
state’s road fund has lagged behind the rest of the nation –
county officials say it remains high on their priority list.
“We need to
remember that commerce does not begin and end at the county line,”
said J.R. Wilhite, commissioner of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic
Development, noting the importance of the counties working together
as allies, not competitors.
Congressman Ed Whitfield
summed up the purpose of the conference, saying, “We can sit back
and wait for others to do something or we can step up and take a leading
role.”
LEXINGTON
Anthem Event Focuses on Health Issues Facing Kentucky
Women
LEXINGTON
ELAN's Acquisition by Nortek Puts Company on Track
for Future Growth
ELAN Home Systems,
a Lexington company that specializes in multi-room audio/video systems,
has been acquired by Nortek, a leading manufacturer and distributor
of building, remodeling and indoor environmental control products.
The purchase ends
an 18-month search for investors that met ELAN management’s criteria
for accelerating company growth.
 ELAN’s
products allow customers to control music, video, lighting, security
and HVAC systems in any room in the house from a centrally located source.
Its flagship product, the VIA! Touch Panel, is an LCD touch screen that
provides a colorful graphic user interface for watching TV and movies,
monitoring cameras, controlling music and controlling house-wide systems
from other manufacturers.
In 2002, ELAN introduced
eight products in four months, and won record numbers of awards at the
Consumer Electronics Showcase and the Electronic House EXPO. The company
has seen a 600 percent jump in sales over the last seven years.
“The Nortek
acquisition gives us greater access to capital and a strong manufacturing
expertise,” said Bob Farinelli, ELAN’s president and chief
technical officer. “We were also impressed with Nortek’s track
record of allowing companies to remain autonomous and pursue independent
brand strength.”
Farinelli noted
that Rhode Island-based Nortek owns a number of residential commercial
building product companies, several of which complement ELAN’s
offerings.
ELAN will remain
in Lexington and will retain the same upper management organizational
structure and employees.
HICKMAN
Dyer Fabric Purchases Vacant Garment Plants for $6.1
Million
Tennessee-based
Dyer Fabric is investing more than $6.1 million to purchase and upgrade
two Hickman plants that once housed the operations of garment manufacturer
Henry I. Siegel. HIS closed the plants in 1997 and moved its operations
to Mexico.
Dyer, which supplies
fabric to manufacturers such as William Carter and Bike Athletics as
well as to major wholesalers, will operate the facilities as Hickman
Mills.
The announcement
comes as welcome news in Fulton County, where unemployment rates have
been hovering around seven percent, the highest in a 19-county region.
Area officials have blamed the rise in unemployment on the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which resulted in HIS and other companies
leaving the area for other countries where labor is cheaper.
Dyer expects to
employ approximately 200 people by the end of the year, with average
wages of $10 to $12 per hour.
HOPKINSVILLE
$32M Plant Being Built to Convert Kentucky Corn to
Fuel Additive
 As
part of the state’s effort to preserve and grow agriculture in
Kentucky, the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board has dedicated
$9.5 million to the construction of a new plant in Hopkinsville where
corn will be converted to a high-grade motor fuel additive.
The state’s
financial support of the project represents the largest single investment
funded by money from Kentucky’s tobacco settlement funds.
The $32 million
project is being developed by Hopkinsville Elevator Co, Inc., a 2,300-member
grain cooperative headquartered in Christian County. Started in 1968,
the cooperative also has elevators located in Todd, Warren, and Logan
Counties, as well as a barge loading facility in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Once it is operational
– which is expected to be in about a year – the ethanol plant
will process approximately seven million bushels of wheat and corn grown
within the Hopkinsville area. The plant is projected to produce 20 million
gallons of fuel-grade ethanol annually, plus another 58,400 tons of
distiller’s dry grains.
MURRAY
Pella Corp. Selects Murray as Home to Advanced Materials
Division
TAYLOR COUNTY
Proposed Regional Center to Showcase Kentucky Agriculture
Plans are moving
forward for the development of a regional center near Campbellsville
that will showcase the importance of Kentucky agriculture, highlighting
its role in the past, present and future.
Approximately 230
acres located off KY 55 have been purchased by Taylor County and The
Nature Conservancy for the development of The Homeplace, where area
officials hope to build a center for agriculture and land use research
and demonstrations; educational and recreational activities, events
and exhibits; and a farmer’s market. Plans also call for period
farms, including a working farm set in during the Civil War era.
The center, which
will be located on the banks of the Green River where Taylor, Adair
and Green counties meet, will be owned and operated by a private, non-profit
corporation put together by the three counties. A portion of the money
used to purchase the property came from a grant from the federal Farmland
Protection Act.
Plans for The Homeplace
already include a Smithsonian Institute exhibit scheduled for July-August
2004 that will feature the history of food and fiber in the U.S.
STATE
Security Training Helps Protect Busineses from Computer
Threats
 The
McConnell Technology & Training Center (MTTC) in Louisville has
launched a new course to help businesses protect themselves from computer
security threats.
MTTC’s “Security
Fundamentals” is a computer security course designed for businesses
and individuals interested in learning about the most common threats
to IT security and the means to protect network systems.
The course covers
areas as: general security concepts, communications security, infrastructure
security, basics of cryptography, and operational/organizational security.
At the end of the course, attendees will have covered the ways to protect
their business from hackers, crackers, viruses, worms, identity thieves,
information predators, purveyors of porn and disgruntled employees.
A more advanced
option for businesses to protect themselves is MTTC’s “Security+,”
a 40-hour training course that prepares IT professionals to protect
the businesses and organizations they work for by identifying security
threats, hardening internal systems and services, hardening internetwork
devices and services, securing network communications, enforcing organizational
security policy, and monitoring security infrastructure.
For more information
about MTTC’s complete training offerings, contact Christina Harper,
MTTC Business Training Manager at (502) 367-2186 ext. 715, or e-mail
charper@mttc.org.
LOUISVILLE
UPS Boosts Incentives for Student Workers: Cash for
Good Grades
 When
United Parcel Service set up its cargo hub in Louisville in 1998, the
company established a unique program to attract and keep workers: free
tuition at select area colleges and universities in return for working
the night shift at UPS.
The Metropolitan
College School-to-Work program has been a profound success. Approximately
2,500 students have come to Louisville to participate.
Now UPS is providing
its student workers even more incentive to stay in school and on the
job: cash for academic success. Student workers who take at least six
credit hours receive $500 per semester for successfully completing all
of their coursework. Students who complete at least six hours but had
a few struggles along the way (withdrawals, incompletes or failures)
can earn $350 per semester.
Additional bonuses
are available to students who complete what the company terms “academic
milestones.” Student workers can earn an additional $600 for every
30 credit hours they accrue, up to 90 hours.
UPS officials said
that more than 1,200 student workers earned about $550,000 in first-time
bonuses for classed completed during the fall semester.
STATE
Cattlemen's Association Focuses on Ways to Beef Up
the Industry
OWENSBORO
Packaging Unlimited Expects Expansion to Double Employment
 Packaging
Unlimited of Western Kentucky has launched an expansion project that
will quadruple the size of its Owensboro plant.
The expansion will
add 200,000-s.f. to the existing facility, where the company repackages
food and pharmaceutical products and produces displays for a variety
of companies.
One of the seven-year-old
company’s major clients is Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a division
of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. that specializes in infant formula and vitamins.
Packaging Unlimited assembles samples of Mead Johnson formula, magazines
and other products for new mothers that are then distributed to hospitals
and doctors offices.
However, President
Richard McFarland III – who at age 29 is one of the youngest corporate
executives in the region – said that in order to land larger contracts,
the extra space is a necessity. The company has attracted the attention
of major players such as Proctor & Gamble and Kellogg’s, but
they’ve had concerns about space limitations, explained McFarland.
When the construction project is complete, it should put those issues
to rest, McFarland added.
The expansion will
also result in an increase in jobs, with full-time employment jumping
from 90 to 185. The number of temporary workers – which currently
ranges from 50 to 200, depending on the size of the job – is also
expected to double.
LEXINGTON
UK Receives $1.14M to Develop Computerized Tools for
Surgery
The University of
Kentucky has been awarded a $1.14 million grant from the United States
Army to produce a standardized educational program for minimally invasive
surgery (MIS).
Minimally invasive,
or “keyhole” surgery, uses a laparoscope, a lighted tube with
a magnifying camera, inserted through small incisions.
“Minimally
invasive surgeries now account for a significant percent of all operations,
ranging from gall bladder surgery to heart bypasses,” said Adrian
Park, M.D., director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center at the
UK Chandler Medical Center and Commonwealth Professor of MIS in the
Department of Surgery at the UK College of Medicine. “This grant
allows us to help medical schools nationwide answer the challenge of
how to train our students, residents and physicians to perform these
procedures. Minimally Invasive Surgery has presented us with new challenges
such as hand-eye coordination, ergonomics problems, and depth perception
that did not exist with open operations.”
TENNESSEE
Technicolor Expansion Results in Record-Breaking Lease
for Space
Technicolor, a subsidiary
of Thomson Multimedia, is embarking on an $85 million expansion of its
Memphis distribution operation that will add 1,200 new jobs to its existing
1,000-employee base.
 To
accommodate the expansion, Thomson has signed a 10-year lease on 922,500
s.f. of space in the Memphis Oaks Distribution Center. The contract
represents the largest single industrial lease in the city’s history.
Technicolor will
use the space as a post-manufacturing packaging operation for DVDs shipped
from Mexico, California and Illinois. The facility will eventually handle
the packaging of more than 475 million DVDs each year.
OHIO
Flat Forecast Leads Federated to Close Stores; 2,000
Jobs to be Cut
Faced with a bleak
financial forecast for the coming year, Cincinnati-based Federated Department
Stores has announced that it is closing 11 stores and eliminating approximately
2,000 jobs.
Federated operates
department stores through the U.S. under the names of Bloomingdale’s,
The Bon Marche, Burdines, Goldsmith’s, Lazarus, Macy’s and
Rich’s.
The company plans
to close seven stores in the Atlanta area; Lazarus stores in Bloomington
and Indianapolis, Indiana; a Goldsmith’s in Memphis and a Macy’s
store in South Brunswick, New Jersey.
TENNESSEE
First U.S.-Made Nissan Maxima Rolls off Tennessee
Production Line
 The
first Nissan Maximas to be made in the United States are rolling off
the assembly line in Smyrna, Tennessee and will be making their way
to dealerships this month.
The Smyrna plant,
which produces Altimas, Frontier pickups and Xterra SUVS, has been given
the responsibility for the company’s redesigned luxury sedan. The
Maxima has been Nissan’s most popular import, which produced strong
incentive for the Japan-based company to move production to the U.S.
Nissan plans to
produce 75,000 Maximas this year, a figure that will bring the Smyrna
plant’s production to 500,000 vehicles.
When the Maxima
reaches full production, Nissan will employ 8,000 people at the Smyrna
plant and a facility in nearby Decherd that manufactures engines for
all Nissan vehicles made in the U.S.
Business
Briefs
ASHLAND
- Mountaineer Coal
Development Co., an Ashland company that is a subsidiary of Horizon
Natural Resources Co. formerly AEI Resources Holding Inc.), is closing
three underground mines and a surface mine and preparation plant in
Mingo County, West Virginia. Mountaineer, which has been doing business
as Marrowbone Development Co., employs approximately 460 people at
the West Virginia mine complex. Company officials with Horizon, which
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, said the closure is being
implemented due to “limited mining opportunities and profitability
of current operations.” Layoffs will begin this month.
- Kentucky Electric
Steel Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its board has directed
management to begin closing down the company’s specialty steel
mini-mill in Ashland, which produces steel bar flats for the leaf-spring
suspension, cold drawn bar conversion, truck trailer support beam
and steel service center industries. As part of the shutdown, KESI
has laid off 59 of its 70 salaried workers; the majority of the plant’s
270 hourly workers were furloughed in December. KESI was removed from
the NASDAQ stock exchange in January due to failure to comply with
market value requirements.
BARDSTOWN
- A plan to move
Flaget Memorial Hospital from its aging downtown facility to the northwest
part of Nelson County is dividing city officials. Those who support
the move say the hospital is cramped for space and point to the jobs
created by a major construction project that would be the county’s
largest in years. Opponents say the move will create sprawl by increasing
the need for other services around the hospital, bringing traffic
to areas unequipped to handle the volume. They also maintain that
other property is available closer to downtown.
BENTON
- Alcan Composites
has taken a purchase option on 12 acres in the Benton Industrial Park
for future expansion. Alcan, which paid $95,000 for the property,
hopes to build a 90,000-s.f. plant for the production of a new foam
material. The company currently operates a plant in Benton where it
makes Alucobond, an aluminum and plastic material primarily used for
the exterior of commercial structures, and Sintra, a plastic board
used for signs and advertising.
BOONE COUNTY
- Construction
has begun on a new world headquarters office and distribution facility
for U.S. Worldwide Logistics Inc., a global logistics provider that
provides freight services to more than 86 countries. Paul Hemmer Companies
is handling the construction of the 85,000-s.f. facility, which is
being built at Airpark International, a 366-acre business park that
is also home to companies such as Pomeroy and General Electric.
BOWLING GREEN
- Bowling Green-based
Best Business Systems, which produces stationery and business forms,
has partnered with several other companies to form a new company,
International Business Solutions Alliance. The new company has been
established to allow the entities involved the opportunity to serve
a broader range of clients than could be managed alone. ISBA is expected
to create 25-50 jobs in areas such as Web design and software design,
with salaries of $35,000-$40,000 per year.
BOWLING GREEN
- City leaders’
hopes of hitting the 50,000 population figure were dashed after a
Census recount showed that the official count came in at 49,278. City
officials had asked for a recount when the initial count was listed
at 49,296: Cities that attain the 50,000 mark are eligible for Community
Development Block Grants and other funding. Ron Crouch, director of
the Kentucky State Data Center, has said he expected the city to have
easily met the mark, but noted that communities that are home to universities
and a large immigrant population sometimes experience difficulty in
getting an accurate count.
CASEY COUNTY
- Casey County
has purchased 156 acres between U.S. 127 S and Green River with plans
to build an agricultural arena and recreational facility. Plans call
for two outdoor arenas that could accommodate 4-H events, rodeos,
horse shows, livestock shows and sales, a farmers market, conventions,
concerts, sporting events and seminars. Long-range plans include an
RV park along the Green River as well as a swimming pool and horse
and walking trails. The purchase was funded with an interest-free
loan from the Liberty Economic Development Committee. The county is
now seeking grant money to assist in the development of the property.
COVINGTON
- Former Ashland
Chairman and CEO Paul Chellgren has been granted a lump sum of $7.6
million and will receive $300,000 per year as part of a severance
agreement. He also stands to gain $2,000 per day if the company uses
him for consulting purposes. Chellgren, who was with the company for
28 years, was forced to retire from his position due to a violation
of company policy regarding personal office relationships.
EASTERN KENTUCKY
- Coal companies
throughout the Appalachia region are continuing to struggle through
the industry’s worst downturn in more than 20 years. More than
4,000 jobs have been lost over the last 13 months in Kentucky, Pennsylvania,
Virginia and West Virginia, 700 of which have been in Kentucky. The
industry experienced a temporary surge two years ago when power shortages
prompted electric generating plants to purchase more coal. Now, say
industry experts, the price of coal – currently running about
$24 per ton - is simply too low compared to the cost of extraction.
ELIZABETHTOWN
- Fort Knox National
Co., which provides electronic payment services, is moving to a new
facility in Elizabethtown in order to accommodate company growth.
The company’s new headquarters is nearly three times the size
of its previous 12,000-s.f. building and will house executive offices,
client support technology and an expanded call center. It will also
serve as headquarters for its Fort Knox National’s Military Assistance
Co., which handles payroll deductions for military and federal civil
service employees. The previous site will be used to house data processing
and information technology systems for the company.
FLORENCE
- Construction
has begun on a 4,000-seat stadium to house Florence’s new minor
league baseball team. Tom Gill Chevrolet Field is being built by Klenco
Construction Co. on 33 acres near U.S. 42 and I-75. Team tryouts are
scheduled for this month, with opening day slated for June 3.
HARLAN
- Sunshine Valley
Farms Inc. has shut down its breakfast food manufacturing plant in
Harlan, leaving 17 workers without jobs. The company, which is partially
owned by Kentucky Highlands Investment Corp., opened in Harlan in
1995 and was given grant money through the Kentucky Economic Development
Finance Authority to establish business there, with the understanding
that the company would create more than 100 full-time jobs. In 2000
the KEDFA filed a lawsuit against the business for failing to create
the number of jobs it had projected.
HARRODSBURG
- Despite efforts
to save its history, the building believed to be one of the state’s
oldest industrial buildings has been demolished. Known as the Hat
Factory, the Harrodsburg structure dated back to the late 1700s. The
board of the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation had voted
in favor of using funds to move the building, but fell short of the
amount needed to do so.
HEBRON
- Cincinnati Machine
is moving its aerospace and after-market services business from its
long-time Cincinnati plant to an existing facility in Hebron, which
will be expanded by 33 percent to add manufacturing space for the
company’s aerospace composites lines. A new technology center
will also be added to support research and development. The facility
will serve as the production headquarters for Cincinnati Machine’s
advanced technology, high-speed, multi-axis, and multi-function products
for the global aerospace industry. The company has been approved for
a $500,000 income tax credit by the Kentucky Economic Development
Finance Authority and will move 300 to 350 jobs to the new location.
The average pay for those positions is more than $45,000.
HENDERSON
- Big Rivers Electric
Corp. has announced plans for a new $7.8 million headquarters facility
to be attached to the existing offices of Kenergy Corp. Though the
two are separate companies, some of its operations overlap, so the
shared situation provides a number of advantages. When the new facility
is complete, Kenergy plans to relocate 20-30 of its employees to Henderson
from its office in Owensboro. The new facility is expected to be complete
in 2005.
- Patriot Coal
Co. has requested permission to rezone four square miles between the
Audubon Parkway and Bluff City to expand surface mine operations.
The request to rezone the property, which lies adjacent to 86 other
parcels of property, is one of the largest rezonings to be considered
by the Henderson Planning Commission. A spokesman for Patriot estimated
there to be approximately six million tons of coal reserves within
the area in question, an amount that would sustain company operations
there for approximately five years.
- The Henderson
County Riverport Authority has taken out an option to buy approximately
185 acres adjacent to the port to allow for future economic development.
Much of the area’s recent development has been around the riverport
and a great percentage of the land there is either already developed
or tagged for construction. The riverport authority paid $75,000 for
a one-year option on the land, which has a selling price of $2.1 million.
HOPKINSVILLE
- Planters Bank
Inc. has opened its first branch location in Tennessee. The Hopkinsville-based
company is now operating in Clarksville after acquiring a Tennessee
charter from City State Bank of Martin, which merged with several
other banks earlier this year.
INDEPENDENCE
- Toebben Construction
Co. has begun construction on a new 20,000-s.f. manufacturing facility
for Wissman Brothers at Enterprise V Industrial Park. Wissman Brothers,
which specializes in custom stairs and handrails, is one of the area’s
oldest businesses, beginning in 1894.
LEXINGTON
- Gray Inc., the
parent company of the Lexington design/construction firm of James
N. Gray Co., has acquired a South Carolina planning and consulting
company for an undisclosed price. Operations Associates is based in
Greenville, South Carolina and has 34 employees at offices in Greenville,
Atlanta and Phoenix. The firm specializes in site planning, information
technology and telecommunications consulting, and facility master
planning and consulting services.
- The W.E. Kingsley
Co., a Lexington firm that provides wholesale insurance services to
retail insurance brokers, will merge its operations with those of
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage
and risk-management services firm headquartered in Illinois. Gallagher’s
Lexington office operates as Equity Insurance Managers.
LOUISVILLE
- Careerbarn.com,
a Louisville-based employment Web site, has expanded its coverage
of job listings, employers and career services to include Frankfort,
Lexington and Richmond. The Web site has also added features such
as a calendar of job fairs, seminars and employment workshops. Careerbarn
currently offers job openings with more than 400 regional employers.
- Louisville-based
Genscape Inc. has purchased the assets of Posita Power Technologies,
an Austin, Texas company that designs technology for remote monitoring
of high-voltage transmission lines. The consolidation of technology
resulting from the acquisition makes Genscape the nation’s exclusive
provider of real-time online power plant and transmission line information.
- Joe Guy Hagan
Realtors of Louisville, an affiliate of Century 21, has announced
plans to merge with Century 21 Realty Group of Indianapolis. The combined
entity, which will be called Century 21 Realty Group Hagan, will be
the third-largest Century 21 franchise in the nation with nearly 700
agents and expected annual sales of $1.3 billion.
- The Louisville
advertising firm of Sheehy & Associates has opened its first satellite
office in Nashville.
- The reorganization
of the Federal Reserve will result in approximately 70 jobs at the
Louisville branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis being cut.
The Federal Reserve is consolidating its check-processing centers
and cutting 400 positions, citing a drastic decline in check-writing
nationwide. As result, check-processing operations will be discontinued
at 13 of 45 locations. Regional offices in five cities, including
Indianapolis, will be completely shut down.
- The Kentucky
Center for the Arts is changing its name to be known as simply The
Kentucky Center. The change is being implemented to capitalize on
the center’s reputation as an entertainment center and will be
phased in over the coming months in anticipation of the center’s
20th anniversary festival in October.
- A committee established
by the Regional Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County
to consider proposals for a new hotel at Louisville International
Airport has recommended a concept submitted by Wyndham International
Inc. The four-star hotel will be situated on airport property and
will offer 225 rooms.
NELSON COUNTY
- Though four main
tracts of land remain available in Bardstown’s Wilson Industrial
Park, the Nelson County Economic Development Agency has announced
that it has begun the search for land for a new industrial park in
order to accommodate future growth. Wilson Industrial Park, which
is the county’s second industrial park, was developed in 1998
and is home to companies such as Linpac, Newcomb Oil and Johnan. The
county’s original industrial park houses businesses such as Jideco
and Tower Automotive.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
- Northwest Airlines
has added new self-service kiosks at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
International Airport that allow passengers to change seat assignments
or flights, upgrade to first class or print ticket receipts. Passengers
using the kiosks for the first time will earn 2,000 extra frequent
flier miles.
OWENSBORO
- U.S. Bank Home
Mortgage has purchased the former Whitehall Furniture factory for
$1.9 million. The 208,000-s.f. building will serve as the company’s
national records center, where it will house paperwork on more than
430,000 mortgages from all 50 states.
- The board of
directors of Downtown Owensboro Inc. has unanimously endorsed a proposal
for a $200 million casino and entertainment complex to be built downtown,
lauding the “positive impact” that the estimated 3,000 jobs
would bring. The proposal, which has also gained the approval of the
Owensboro-Daviess County Hotel-Motel Association, has been put forth
by John Bays, owner of the Executive Inn Rivermont in Owensboro. Bays’
plans call for a $50 million casino, a $90 million arena with seating
for 20,000, and expansion of the existing hotel and convention center.
In order for Bays to proceed, however, the state would have to change
its constitution to allow casino gaming.
PADUCAH
- Energy supplier
USEC Inc. has offered a voluntary early retirement program to eligible
employees at its Paducah plant, the only operating uranium enrichment
facility in the nation. The program is part of the company’s
plan to reduce the number of employees by 200 over the course of 2003.
As of last year, the plant employed approximately 1,400 workers.
RADCLIFF
- Hardin Delivery
Inc. has announced a $175,000 expansion of its trucking and logistics
facility in Radcliff. The expansion will add approximately 10 jobs
to Hardin’s current staff of 62.
WINCHESTER
- Clark Regional
Medical Center has received state approval to build a $40 million
facility on 30 acres located approximately two miles from the existing
hospital. Construction is expected to begin this spring.
STATE
- Republic Bank
& Trust Co., which last year launched a program aimed at assisting
the financial needs of the Hispanic community, has introduced two
new products for individuals with poor credit history who have been
turned away from banks in the past. The Honor Plus and Currency Connection
programs are designed to help participants learn money management
skills. The programs allow access to accounts only through a debit
card for the first six months. Individuals who are in good standing
after a year can then move up to a traditional checking account.
- Kentucky’s
prepaid tuition plan, known as KAPT (Kentucky’s Affordable Prepaid
Tuition), drew almost 3,000 new participants during its most recent
enrollment period, bringing the total to approximately 7,000. Since
its inception, the lump-sum payment for four years of tuition under
the standard plan (which guarantees tuition rates at Kentucky’s
public four-year universities) has increased from $14,698 to $16,338.
- The law firm
of Woodward, Hobson and Fulton, L.L.P., which operates offices in
Louisville and Lexington, has consolidated its practice with Fleming,
Ward & Brice, PLLC, a Lexington firm that specializes in corporate
finance, real estate, estate planning and tax law. The consolidation
of the practices will create a firm of over 50 attorneys, 17 of them
in the Lexington office.
- Kentucky’s
unemployment rates dropped for 85 counties between December 2001 and
December 2002, with increases in 33 counties. Unemployment statistics
remained the same for two counties. The lowest unemployment figures
were in Woodford, Jessamine, Kenton, Franklin, Oldham, Campbell, Fayette,
Henry, Boone, Anderson, Mason and Shelby counties. Butler County had
the highest unemployment, at 14.1 percent, followed by Magoffin, Harlan,
Letcher, Russell, Morgan, Ohio, Breathitt, Clay, Lyon and McCreary
counties.
- The state has
awarded three Renaissance Kentucky grants totaling $700,000 for Green,
Lincoln and Mercer Counties. The Renaissance Kentucky program is designed
to aid communities in developing business, housing and rental opportunities
in their downtown areas. Green County will receive $100,000 to remove
overhead utilities and install ornamental lampposts, new sidewalks,
trees and shrubs. Lincoln County will receive $100,000 for the city
of Stanford’s transformation of Willy’s Overland Motors
Dealership building into an indoor downtown parking and transportation
museum. Mercer County will receive $500,000 for the city of Harrodsburg’s
Diamond Point Project, which will restore 7,000 s.f. of an 1840 building.
INDIANA
BLOOMINGTON
- The City of Bloomington
is considering an ordinance that would ban smoking in all enclosed
public places, with fines for violating the law ranging from $100
for a first offense up to $500. Current fines range from $10 to $100.
EVANSVILLE
- Officials with
the Evansville Regional Airport are considering leasing approximately
200 acres of airport property for business development as part of
a new master plan. Portions of the property under consideration lie
within the airport development zone and the foreign trade zone, which
would allow companies to avoid certain taxes.
VINCENNES
- Beech Coal Co.
is idling its Sycamore Mine and preparation plant near Vincennes,
Indiana, citing the loss of contracted shipments and the failure to
gain additional sales in a weak market. Beech, a subsidiary of Kentucky-based
Horizon Resources Co., employs 60 workers at the mine. Horizon is
currently in the process of reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
OHIO
- Ohio has invested
$3.3 million to preserve six farms as part of the state’s farmland
preservation program. The land owners, who are paid the difference
in price between the agricultural value and the development value,
are guaranteed that the property will never be developed for anything
other than agricultural purposes. The farms were chosen from a pool
of 442 applicants.
TENNESSEE
GORDONSVILLE
- ArvinMeritor,
Inc., which produces automotive window regulator and sunroof systems,
will close its plant in Gordonsville by August. The company said the
closure of the plant, which employs 317 full-time workers, is the
“result of overcapacity in the North American passenger car supplier
market and part of the company’s overall efforts to cut costs,
as well as to maintain its leadership position in a highly competitive
industry.”
MEMPHIS
- ProLogis, a leading
provider of distribution facilities and services, has purchased two
facilities near the Memphis International Airport with a total of
620,100 s.f. The acquisition is part of a purchase that also included
facilities in Florida and North Carolina.
- The NBA’s
Memphis Grizzlies has donated $1.5 million to three Memphis nonprofit
organizations, making them the most community-involved team in the
NBA, according to franchise information. Last year - the franchise’s
first year in Memphis – the Grizzlies donated $7.2 million to
charitable organizations in the region.
NASHVILLE
- O’Charley’s
Inc., a Nashville-based restaurant chain, has acquired Ninety Nine
Restaurant & Pub, a 78-store, family-owned casual dining chain
based in New England for $116 in cash and 2.35 million shares of common
stock. O’Charley’s now operates three stand-alone concepts
– O’Charley’s, Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub and
Stoney River Legendary Steaks – with a total of 268 locations
in 21 states and approximately 23,000 workers.
- Boeing is laying
off 115 of its 520 Oak Ridge employees, citing a decline in the airline
industry and a need to make the company more competitive. The Oak
Ridge facility produces parts for commercial and defense aircraft.
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