STATE
Kentucky Technology Initiative Wins National Award

ConnectKentucky and Kentucky’s Prescription for Innovation have been selected to receive the 2006 Excellence in Innovation Award from the United States Economic Development Administration. The award is given annually to recognize organizations that have implemented innovative strategies for economic development.

Kentucky’s Prescription for Innovation is a comprehensive plan to accelerate technology growth, particularly in the areas of broadband deployment and technology literacy and usage. The initiative features four key tenants: full broadband deployment by the end of 2007; dramatically improved use of computers and the Internet by all Kentuckians; a significant online presence for all Kentucky communities; and the organization of technology leadership teams in every community to develop and implement technology growth strategies for local government, business and industry, education, health care, agriculture, libraries, tourism, and community-based organizations.

ConnectKentucky is an independent technology-based economic development organization that works with businesses, government entities and universities to implement the Prescription for Innovation.

Since the program’s launch two years, statewide broadband availability and usage have increased by 33 percent and 45 percent respectively and an estimated 300,000 previously unserved households can now access broadband. Currently, 82 percent of Kentucky homes can access broadband and home computer ownership has grown by 17 percent. More than 100 counties are actively engaged in the eCommunity Leadership process to establish a nine-sector technology growth plan for accelerating technology locally and ConnectKentucky figures show the rate of Kentucky’s high-tech job growth is now outpacing the national average.

ConnectKentucky has also received the 2006 Southern Growth Policies Board Innovator Award for its “No Child Left Offline” initiative, a program that brings together public and private partners to help bridge the gap for the 215,000 Kentucky schoolchildren who do not have a home computer.

Through the program, surplus government computers are refurbished and distributed to the homes of eighth-graders who otherwise would not have a computer at home. For each computer refurbished, Microsoft provides Windows XP and MS Office 2003 while CA, Inc. provides a software security suite. In addition, Lexmark International provides a new ink jet printer for every family that receives a computer. In initial distributions concentrated in the Appalachian region of Kentucky, No Child Left Offline has delivered nearly 1,000 refurbished computers and new Lexmark printers. Two thousand computers are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2006.

ConnectKentucky was selected from more than 200 nominees to receive the 2006 Innovator Award.

NICHOLASVILLE
Alltech to Sponsor FEI World Equestrian Games

Alltech, a global animal health company based in Nicholasville, will be the title sponsor of the 2010 Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Games, a major equestrian event slated to take place at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010. The games, which will officially be known as the Alltech FEI Games Kentucky 2010, will bring together some 800 athletes from more than 50 countries to compete in the eight disciplines that make up the games: show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, endurance, vaulting, reining and para-equestrian.

Lexington will be the first city outside of Europe to host the event. The games are expected to attract more than 500,000 spectators, approximately 40 percent of who will come from outside the United States. In addition, more than 1,000 journalists from 100 different countries are expected to cover the games. The event will have an estimated economic impact to Kentucky in excess of $100 million, making it the largest sporting event ever held in Kentucky.

The Alltech sponsorship is valued at $10 million. Alltech’s name will be used in every official mention, press release and publication.

Since its inception in 1980, Alltech has grown to be a leader in the field of animal nutrition. In addition to its Kentucky headquarters, the company has a European Bioscience Centre in Ireland and operates 14 production facilities located throughout the world.

TOMPKINSVILLE
Belden to Close Cable Plant

Belden CDT Inc. has announced plans to close its coaxial cable manufacturing plant in Tompkinsville, where it employs 200 workers. The Missouri-based company will move the majority of the production to a new facility in Nogales, Mexico; the remainder of the work will be outsourced.

Belden will begin cutting back its staff this summer and will continue until the plant closing, which is scheduled for the end of 2007. The company is also closing a cable facility in Fort Mill, S.C.

“We need a lower cost source for the products currently manufactured in Tompkinsville and Fort Mill in order for them to be more cost competitive and to meet our profitability objectives,” President and Chief Executive Officer John Stroup said. “Establishing additional capacity in Mexico is an important step in our overall plan to increase our manufacturing presence in low-cost regions near our major markets.”

LEXINGTON
UK Unveils Plans for New Academic Medical Campus

The University of Kentucky has announced plans for a new academic medical campus that university officials say will fuel its goal of becoming a Top 20 public research institution by 2020.

The university’s expansion of the UK Chandler Hospital will serve as the cornerstone of the 20-year, $2.5 billion plan for an academic medical campus. The medical campus plan calls for a new $120 million pharmacy building, additional research buildings, a new health sciences learning center where students from different health disciplines will interact, and additional buildings to house the colleges of medicine, dentistry, nursing, health sciences and public health.

“One of the things that we take very seriously is our responsibility to create new knowledge, to develop the kinds of new treatments and understandings of disease that make a difference to the people of Kentucky, and indeed the nation,” said Dr. Jay A. Perman, dean of the UK College of Medicine. “To do that, we need to constantly attract the best medical scientists available, who are often highly sought after. They are going to spend a good deal of their time doing research in order to create new knowledge. But, they also need to work in state-of-the-art facilities. So an outstanding new hospital, plus more academic and research space, gives us a leg up in attracting to Kentucky the very best professionals possible.”

GLASGOW
Citizens First Corp. to Acquire Kentucky Banking Centers

Bowling Green-based Citizens First Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Kentucky Banking Centers of Glasgow from Farmers Capital for $20 million in cash.

Kentucky Banking Centers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Farmers Capital that, as of March 31, 2006, had total deposits of $110 million.

Upon completion of the transaction, Citizens First and Kentucky Banking Centers will have combined assets of about $355 million and eight banking offices in Warren, Simpson, Barren and Hart counties.

Commenting on the proposed acquisition, Farmers Capital President Tony Busseni said the affiliation of Kentucky Banking Centers with a bank holding company based in Bowling Green would provide additional opportunities for their employees as well as expanded services for customers. Busseni said the transaction also enables Farmers Capital to restructure its balance sheet while providing additional capital for use in markets where it currently has a significant presence but wishes to expand. The additional capital will also expedite entry into new markets, said Busseni.

CRESTVIEW HILLS
Rapid Growth Leads to New HQ Facilities for Columbia Sussex

With the recent expansion of its hotel and casino holdings, Columbia Sussex Corp. is building a new $15 million headquarters building to accommodate the growth in staff the company has experienced.

Since its inception in 1972, when it owned one Days Inn in Richwood, Ky., Columbia Sussex has grown to encompass 83 hotels and nine casinos. Last year, the company paid $1.4 billion for 14 Wyndham International hotels and recently purchased the Casino Queen, a riverboat casino and hotel in St. Louis. It is now in the process of completing a $2.75 billion deal to acquire Aztar Corp., which includes the Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. The rapid expansion has the company bursting at the seams of its current headquarters building in Fort Mitchell.

The company has selected a 38-acre site in nearby Crestview Hills on which to build a new $15 million headquarters, which will house approximately 200 employees. The eight-story building will be approximately 110,000 square feet – more than triple the size of the company’s current headquarters – and will bring all Columbia Sussex corporate employees under one roof.

The company hopes to move into the new building by next summer.

RICHMOND
New Reserve Center Will Combine Air Force, Army Operations

The United States Department of Military Affairs is designing a new Army reserve center to be built at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The project is part of the military’s plan to move the existing reserve center in Richmond to the Blue Grass Army Depot. “Moving the reserve components closer to active duty part of the Army sets both organizations up for the future,” said Dave Easter, public affairs officer for the Blue Grass Army Depot. “You have better interaction, and you get more familiar with the people and the priorities of each other. The Department of Defense sees it as supporting the transition of the military force structure for the future.”

The new facility will combine the operations of four facilities in Richmond and Lexington that are currently being used by the United States Air Force Reserve and the Kentucky Army National Guard. According to information from the Kentucky National Guard, the military expects to save around $500,000 per year by combining the operations into one facility.

HEBRON
Bonfiglioli Begins Construction on New U.S. Headquarters

Bonfiglioli, a worldwide producer of high-end gearboxes, has broken ground in Hebron for the company’s new U.S. headquarters building.

The 83,000-square-foot facility will provide more than three times the space the company currently has leased in a Hebron industrial park.

Since opening its Hebron location approximately four years ago, Bonfiglioli USA’s headquarters staff has grown from six employees to 40. Last year, the company was named to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s “Emerging 30” list, which recognizes the region’s fastest-growing small companies.

Founded in Bologna, Italy in 1956, Bonfiglioli now operates production facilities in 14 countries with a global workforce of more than 2,000 employees. The company’s annual revenue last year was $435 million, with a client list that includes Caterpillar, John Deere, Genie, and Ingersoll Rand.

Bonfiglioli’s Hebron facility is expected to be complete by February 2007.

OHIO COUNTY
State Awards $1 Million Grant for Tamarlane Industries Expansion

A $1 million community development block grant from the state has been given to Ohio County to help renovate an existing manufacturing facility for Tamarlane Industries, Inc.

Tamarlane is a not-for-profit workshop that provides employment and training for mentally and physically challenged citizens who are out of school and available for work.  The company currently employs 118 individuals and has committed to adding at least 50 new jobs within the next two years.

Tamarlane began in 1983 in a classroom at the Ohio County Vocational School. Its initial work of gardening, greenhouse work and printing evolved into subcontract work for local business and industry.  Today, 86 percent of Tamarlane’s income is from subcontract work.  The company’s employees assemble doorsills, dishwasher parts and hardware, and the company has recently added woodworking operations. 

As part of the current expansion project, a cross-training program will be added in which employees will receive training as fork lift operators, bronco nail operators, chop saw operators and trim saw operators. They will also be trained in pallet nailing, aluminum cutting, aluminum grooving and other skills. 

“Tamarlane Industries fosters skill development and job creation for individuals with disabilities while providing a great economic impact on the community,” Gov. Ernie Fletcher said. “Once these individuals receive their training, they can then transition into a competitive work force setting.”

STATE
Louisville, Lexington Lauded as Best Cities for Relocating Families

A worldwide association of relocation managers has named Louisville and Lexington as two of the top cities in the nation for families who are relocating.

The recipients of the 2006 Best Cities for Relocating Families™ were announced by Worldwide ERC, an association for global employee relocation, and Primacy Relocation, a full-service relocation provider. The two organizations worked with Bert Sperling of Sperling’s BestPlaces to rate cities based on a variety of factors – both short-term and long-term – that determine the likelihood of a successful relocation.

Among the issues considered in selecting the cities were traditional factors such as tax rates, average home costs and appreciation, as well as more diverse cost of living and quality of variables, such as the ability to qualify for in-state tuition, the service quality of local utilities, commute times, auto taxes, the level of community volunteerism, and number of family-friendly events and venues. The ratings also factored in issues such as fees and occupancy rates for temporary housing and storage units, and the quality and availability of care for seniors.

Louisville topped the list of large metro areas (population of 500,000 or more), while Lexington was No. 2 on the list of mid-sized metropolitan areas (population of 250,000 – 500,000). Owensboro was included in the top 50 small metro areas (population 50,000-250,000), coming in at No. 41.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS
NKU Seeking State Funds for New College of Business Building

With its College of Business enrollment nearly doubling over the past seven years, Northern Kentucky University officials are hoping to get funding from the state to help construct a new building to house the rapidly growing college.

According to Michael Carrell, dean of the NKU College of Business, Northern is the only state-supported university that doesn’t have a dedicated building for the College of Business. Carrell estimates that a new facility will run $35 to $40 million.

Carrell has also formed a committee to investigate the feasibility of procuring private donations for the building project and for an endowment that would be used to help attract faculty, provide student scholarships and fund additional programs.

NKU could possibly get a substantial donation in return for naming rights of the new facility. The Bank of Kentucky recently paid $6 million in exchange for naming rights of the university’s $60 million arena. (The arena is currently under construction and is expected to open in late 2007 or early 2008.)

The NKU College of Business currently has some 2,300 undergraduate students and 330 graduate students.

“The college is a major driver of economic growth in our region, in terms of graduates who start businesses and support businesses already here,” NKU President James Votruba said. “It is central to our region’s future.”

LOUISVILLE
Republic Bancorp to Acquire Florida Bank for $18.1 Million

Republic Bancorp has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GulfStream Community Bank of Port Richey, Fla., for $18.1 million in cash.

GulfStream, which began operations in 2000, currently has total assets of $66 million, with total loans of $46 million and total deposits of $57 million. Republic Bancorp is the holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company and Republic Bank & Trust Company of Indiana, and has $2.7 billion in assets.

“We believe GulfStream, which is located just north of Tampa, is a perfect fit for our culture and our future business plans in Florida,” Republic Bancorp President and CEO Steve Trager said. “While the deal is not expected to impact earnings per share in the first year of operations, we are very excited about the long term benefit to our shareholders that we believe this acquisition affords us in one of the fastest growing states in the country.”

MAYSVILLE
State Grants Approval for New Clean-Coal Generating Unit

The Kentucky Division of Air Quality has granted approval for Winchester-based East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) to build a clean-coal generating unit at H.L. Spurlock Station in Maysville.

The new unit will use a technology known as the Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) process, which is recognized for extremely low emissions.

Construction of the unit, which will cost of approximately $470 million, will take about three years to complete.

According to EKPC President and CEO Roy Palk, construction of the new unit is expected to create up to 700 construction jobs that have an average wage of $60,000, creating some $20 million in construction payroll for Mason County and the surrounding area. Once operational, the unit’s operations will create about 40 permanent positions and generate some $1 million in payroll taxes for the City of Maysville during the first 20 years of operation.

The power from Spurlock Unit #4 will be shipped to East Kentucky Power’s 16 member electric cooperatives, which serve about 500,000 Kentucky homes and businesses across 89 counties.

STATE
Kentucky Quality Awards Recognize Companies' Pursuit of Excellence

The Kentucky Center for Performance Excellence recently presented five companies with the Kentucky Award for Performance Excellence, an annual award that recognizes organizations for their progress and achievement in the pursuit of performance excellence.

Saint Joseph HealthCare of Lexington is the first winner of the Kentucky Excellence Award. Organizations recognized at this level have demonstrated management excellence with superior results over time, which are directly attributable to a well-deployed improvement approach and management system.

Clark Memorial Hospital of New Albany, Ind., Mainline Communications, Inc. of Grayson, and I. B. Moore Company, LLC of Lexington were the recipients of the Commitment Award, which recognizes companies for progressing to a point of demonstrating serious commitment to and implementation of performance improvement principles.

TubeMaster, Inc. of Louisville was recognized as the recipient of the Interest Award, recognizing organizations that are interested in adopting and applying the Baldrige-based continuous improvement principles.

The Kentucky Awards Program is based on The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, which is the basis for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award process.

TENNESSEE
Dell Expands Tennessee Operations, Up to 1,000 New Jobs to be Added

Dell Inc. has announced plans to expand its facilities in Middle Tennessee, and will add up to 1,000 more employees within the next several quarters. The increase will bring the total number of employees in Tennessee to nearly 4,500.

“Our continued Americas growth, combined with the quality of this area’s workforce, made the decision to expand our operations here an easy one,” said Kevin Rollins, Dell’s chief executive officer. “Today’s announcement reconfirms our commitment to keeping Nashville and Middle Tennessee as one of our primary operations sites in the Americas region.”

Dell opened its Tennessee operations in 1999 with approximately 200 employees. The company now has some 3,500 workers at three facilities in Middle Tennessee, including a 260,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Lebanon that produces the Dimension and OptiPlex desktop computers, a 360,000-square-foot office facility on the Nashville campus that houses the company’s technical support call center and sales operations, and a 250,000-square-foot fulfillment center that services customers in the eastern U.S.

INDIANA
Rolls-Royce to Add 600 New Jobs at Indianapolis Manufacturing Plant

Rolls-Royce Corporation will add 600 new jobs in Indiana over the next eight years as part of a $145 million expansion of its plant in Indianapolis.

Rolls-Royce is considered a leader in advanced manufacturing, research and development and gas turbine engine servicing for civil aerospace, defense, marine and energy markets. The Indianapolis facility is the largest of the global company’s manufacturing sites in North America and currently employs more than 4,000 people.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation will provide a $17 million forgivable loan in return for the company’s commitment to expand. In addition, the city has approved a 10-year abatement worth approximately $11 million, based on agreed Rolls-Royce capital investment and job creation.

Jobs will be spread over manufacturing and engineering, as well as research and development. Up to 150 of the new positions will be created through the establishment of a center of excellence dedicated to the advancement of aerospace industry technology. The additional 450 new jobs will be created in increments over the next eight years. The new positions will have an average salary of $75,000.

Business Briefs

CARROLLTON

• Parthenon Metal Works will close its steel-tubing plant in Carrollton next month, resulting in the loss of 62 jobs. The company, which is a division of Leggett & Platt Inc., has cited excess manufacturing capacity as the reason behind its decision to close the Carrollton facility.

COVINGTON

• Corporex, a Covington-based development company, has announced plans to expand its operations in the western portion of the country and has named Kim Koehn as president of its Denver, Colo., affiliate, Corporex Colorado. According to company representatives, Corporex plans to expand its Denver operations in all three of its product categories: condominium, hotel, and office.

FORT KNOX

• A $530 million budget shortfall within the U.S. Army’s Installation Management Agency has resulted in some 200 service workers being laid off at Fort Knox. One dining facility at the post has been closed and contracts for cleaning services, grounds maintenance, pest control and retirement services have been terminated. A statement from the IMA said the financial issues were because of “unbudgeted fact-of-life costs such as fuel price increases, physical security costs and foreign currency exchange rate differences.”

FRANKLIN

• Construction has begun on a 58,000-square-foot facility in the Sanders Industrial Park that will house the new Bowling Green Technical College-Franklin Center. The center will offer both academic and technical training and will collaborate with Western Kentucky University to offer programs that will allow graduates to work toward a four-year degree. Proposed program offerings include certificate, diploma, and degree programs in the areas of recreational vehicle technician training, industrial maintenance, information technology, health technologies, computer-aided drafting, engineering technology, welding technology, electronics technology, and business technology. The center will also offer business and industry training as well as online training. Construction is slated to be complete by October 2007.
• The Medical Center at Franklin has broken ground on a $5 million expansion that will add 11,450 square feet of space. The new wing will house 25 private patient rooms – the hospital presently has mostly semi-private rooms - and is expected to open next spring.

FULTON COUNTY

• Burke-Parsons-Bowlby Corp. has been awarded a $1 million community development block grant that will be used to purchase equipment for a new manufacturing facility in Fulton County. BPB manufactures treated wood products, primarily railroad ties, making the rail location in Fulton County advantageous to the company in terms of receiving raw product as well as serving their customers in the southeastern United States. The company plans to purchase 80 acres of land north of the county’s existing industrial park and expects to hire approximately 52 people with the next two years. The new facility represents the company’s second location, with the first being located in Stanton. Additional BPB facilities are located in West Virginia, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

HAZARD

• The University of Kentucky Center for Rural Health will begin offering an academic program this fall designed to prepare health care professionals in southeastern Kentucky for management roles and responsibilities. The Clinical Leadership and Management program is intended for current providers who have an associate degree in a health-related discipline and at least one year of employment experience in a health care setting. Program graduates receive a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree from UK and will be prepared to assume greater responsibilities at their current jobs, be better qualified for job promotions, and positioned for graduate studies. The program will accommodate transfer students for a range of health disciplines, including radiological technology, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene and nursing.

JESSAMINE COUNTY

• Jessamine County is utilizing a $50,000 community development block grant from the state to establish a micro-enterprise development program. The program will provide beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of training and technical assistance in areas such as business feasibility, business planning, marketing and financial management to low-income persons who are interested in starting a business or managing an existing business. Jessamine County has contracted with Community Ventures Corporation, a non-profit community development organization with over 20 years of experience in developing and implementing programs designed to promote economic opportunities among low-income and minority populations. As a Small Business Administration lender, Community Ventures will be able to offer different levels of business financing to program participants with loan amounts ranging from $500 to $35,000.

LEXINGTON

• The board of directors of Tempur-Pedic International, a Lexington-based manufacturer of premium mattresses and pillows, has increased the total authorization of the company’s share repurchase program by an additional $40 million. The increase brings the total repurchase program to $220 million. “We continue to believe the share repurchase program is an attractive vehicle to significantly increase shareholder value over the long term, particularly in light of the strong cash flow generated by the company’s business model,” Tempur-Pedic CEO H. Thomas Bryant said. Since the inception of the company’s repurchase program, Tempur-Pedic has repurchased more than 15 million shares for a total cost of $180 million. The company was recently awarded a patent for its ComfortPillow by Tempur-Pedic™.
• A 60,000-square-foot addition to Bluegrass Station is expected to bring some 400 new jobs to Kentucky. The $11.2 million aviation modification hangar at the federally owned facility will be used to modify helicopters for the United States military, creating jobs for mechanics, electricians and other aircraft specialists. State officials say the expansion is expected to have an economic impact of approximately $300 million.
• Central Baptist Hospital has announced plans to relocate on a 129-acre site near I-75 in order to better serve the needs of Lexington and the surrounding region. In announcing the hospital’s plans, Central Baptist CEO Bill Sisson noted Lexington’s rapid growth eastward and the fact that the hospital already draws many of its patients from Eastern Kentucky, making a location near I-75 more convenient for many patients. The new facility would feature all private rooms and be divided into separate buildings for medical specialties such as heart and vascular services, cancer and research, women’s and children’s care, neurosciences and surgery. Assuming the hospital obtains the necessary certificate of need from the state, Central Baptist plans to sell its present site and move to the new location within the next six to seven years.
• Slone’s Signature Markets has announced plans to close one of its Lexington locations and will focus on expanding the company in rural areas. The company has sold its Tates Creek Road store in Lexington to The Fresh Market, a North Carolina-based retail specialty grocer. Slone’s will continue to operate its remaining Lexington location on Southland Drive. The company also has locations in Grayson, OIive Hill, Morehead and Jackson.
• The University of Kentucky has accepted the most broad-based gift in the history of the institution from Dr. E. Vernon Smith, a Cincinnati resident who graduated from UK in 1937. The gift, made in the name of Smith and his late wife, Eloise C. Smith, totals more than $11.5 million (including matching funds) and will create scholarships in the areas of nursing, medicine and band; professorships in history, business, nursing and macular degeneration research; and endowed chairs in macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease research.
• Ceradyne Inc. has received an order from the U.S. Marine Corps for ceramic body armor totaling more than $15.8 million. California-based Ceradyne’s advanced ceramic operations plant in Lexington is among the company’s locations that specialize in the production of body armor.

LONDON

• Marymount Medical Center has finalized a purchase option to acquire 52 acres of land on which to build a new hospital facility. The medical center currently operates an 89-bed hospital that employs a staff of more than 800. Hospital officials expect to move into the new facility by 2010.

LOUISVILLE

• Bellarmine University’s doctor physical therapy (DPT) program has received a $144,000 grant from the Kentucky Hospital Research and Education Foundation that will support increased enrollments in the program and faculty research. “We hope this grant will be a win-win situation,” said Sue Davis, dean of Bellarmine’s Lansing School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “We get important funding to expand our program, and Kentucky hospitals will get more qualified physical therapists to help address the current shortage.” According to 2004 figures, there is a 13 percent vacancy rate for physical therapists in Kentucky hospitals. Bellarmine’s DPT program is slated to graduate 28 students this year. The program is expected to have 34 graduates in 2007 and more than 40 in subsequent years.
• Greater Louisville Inc.-Metro Chamber of Commerce officials and Louisville civic leaders recently wrapped up a trip to Atlanta, where they held a “reunion” to reconnect with young professionals there who have past ties to the Louisville area. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said the Louisville reunions help spread the buzz about new developments, amenities, job opportunities and low cost of living in Louisville and connect former and potentially future Louisvillians to the city. The event was the second such reunion in Atlanta; earlier events have been held in Chicago, Dallas and the San Francisco area. “We have found that these reunions are excellent opportunities to reconnect with folks who have left Louisville, and perhaps want to move back,” Abramson said. “Having been recently named the nation’s best place to relocate a family, we know that Louisville has a lot to offer families that some of the bigger cities don’t.” GLI President and CEO Joe Reagan noted that Louisville “has a great workforce, wonderful neighborhoods and a special quality of life, but it’s our job to make sure that corporate leaders and CEOs know that Louisville is an outstanding place to do business.” While in Atlanta, city officials also met with national site consultants and development companies to explore their plans for expansion or relocation.
• An economic impact report presented to the Louisville Arena Authority indicates that a downtown arena could be expected to generate nearly $117 million in new spending in the first year. According to statistics projected by The Leib Group, a Wisconsin-based sports consulting firm, construction of an arena - which would serve to host University of Louisville basketball games and other such events - would generate nearly $110 million in payroll. In addition, construction workers hired to erect the structure would pour another $50 million into the local economy via lodging, food and retail expenditures.
• KFC has opened a new restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, the first of three the Louisville-based company plans to open by the end of the year. KFC, which is owned by Yum! Brands Inc., is the first U.S. fast food company to enter the Vietnam market.
• The law firm of Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC has combined and relocated its two Louisville offices to accommodate the firm’s plans for growth over the next several years. The firm’s new offices in Louisville’s PNC Plaza features state-of-the-art technology that links the firm’s Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort and Henderson offices to each other and to clients around the world.
• Papa John’s International Inc. has announced plans to open 500 stores in India. The company has selected two franchisees – Om Pizza and Eats India – to open the first 100 stores, which will be located in the northern region of the country. Company President Nigel Travis said the growing number of Indian women holding jobs has led to more affluence and increased numbers of families eating out.

MARSHALL COUNTY

• The Marshall County Hospital has selected a 17-acre site on U.S. 641 on which to build a new hospital. Original master facilities plans call for a 67,000-square-foot structure that would include a long-term care facility. American Health Facilities Development has been hired as the project manager. Earl Swensson Associates, a Nashville architectural firm that specializes in health care facilities, has been hired for the design work.

PERRYVILLE

• The third national reenactment of the Battle of Perryville is expected to draw some 25,000 spectators when it takes place this fall on October 7-8, the anniversary date of the actual Civil War battle. The reenactment will take place at the Perryville Battle State Historic Site and will involve 5,000 re-enactors from 38 states and five countries.

SCOTTSVILLE

• J.M. Smucker Company’s plant in Scottsville, Ky., will be assuming all production responsibilities for the company’s popular Uncrustables line – crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – as a result of the company’s decision to close its facility in West Fargo, N.D. Officials with the Ohio-based company said the decision to close the North Dakota plant was based on a need to have a facility that was more centrally located to its customer base and the supply chain for ingredients. Smucker produces peanut butter at its plant in Lexington, which is less than three hours’ drive time from Scottsville.

SIMPSON COUNTY

• New Mather Metals, Inc. has expanded its facility in the Sanders Industrial Park, where it produces stabilizer bars for the automotive industry. The expansion has added nearly 180,00 square feet to the company’s existing facility and resulted in more than 90 new jobs, boosting the local workforce to nearly 250.

SOMERSET

• Lifeline Home Health Care, a privately-held company headquartered in Somerset, has agreed to sell its Kentucky-based assets to LHC Group, Inc. for $15 million in cash. LHC Group is a Louisiana company that provides post-acute health care services primarily in rural areas of the South. The acquisition of Lifeline involves approximately 2,400 patients and some 350 Lifeline employees in 29 Kentucky counties. In 2005, Lifeline reported Kentucky-based revenue of approximately $23 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of July.

STATE

• Louisville Gas and Electric Co. (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) have an introduced online energy calculator to assist commercial and small industrial customers with their energy costs. The calculator – accessible at www.eon-us.com – is designed to help business customers in identifying what facility improvements and behavior changes will help them achieve the most significant energy savings. The calculator is pre-programmed to account for local weather data and rates for LG&E and KU. The commercial energy calculator does not replace the companies’ traditional free commercial energy audit, where customers can request to have a qualified technician visit their business to help them identify potential energy savings. The Web site also features a home energy calculator for residential customers.
• Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 6.1 percent in April 2006 to 5.6 percent in May 2006, making it the lowest rate recorded for the state since February 2005’s 5.6 percent rate, according to Kentucky’s Office of Employment and Training. May’s preliminary jobless rate was below May 2005’s rate of 6 percent. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell from 4.7 percent in April 2006 to 4.6 percent in May 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Gov. Ernie Fletcher has submitted a recommendation to the Appalachian Regional Commission for $36,300 in funding to develop a youth entrepreneurship program. The weeklong summer institute for youth will be open to students in the 42-county region served by the Center for Rural Development. The program will include training, speakers, business tours and a business competition that will tie into the Excellence in Entrepreneurships Awards program held each year by Eastern Kentucky University, the Center for Rural Development and the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation. Thirty students will be selected to participate in the institute program, where they will work with industry experts and learn to develop a business concept.
• The Kentucky Public Service Commission has granted authorization for Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities to withdraw from the Midwest Independent System Operator, a regional transmission organization, concurring that the withdrawal would better serve utilities customers by reducing costs and maintaining local control over key aspects of the companies’ operations. The PSC also found that MISO’s creation of a wholesale energy market, combined with MISO’s functional control of the LG&E and KU transmission system, had the effect of reducing the ability of the PSC to exercise jurisdiction over LG&E and KU’s electric costs.

INDIANA

• BioCrossroads, Indiana’s life science initiative, has invested $285,000 to help support a young company that is developing a new series of diagnostics to detect cancer. CS-Keys, which has identified an antibody that has been shown to be highly effective in identifying malignant cells, will use the $285,000 Indiana Seed Fund – a seed-stage venture fund managed by BioCrossroads – to conduct clinical studies and complete market and product strategy studies. According to figures released by BioCrossroads, the market for molecular cancer diagnostics in the United States is estimated at $5 billion by 2009, with double-digit growth forecasted.
• American Commercial Lines Inc., a marine transportation company headquartered in Jeffersonville, has been awarded $11.3 million in state incentives for future expansion that will create up to 1,100 jobs. The economic incentive package from the state of Indiana includes $11.0 million in tax credits based on job creation and capital investments, as well as $295,000 for the training of new and existing employees over the next three years. The company’s subsidiaries include barge manufacturers Jeffboat LLC and American Commercial Barge Line LLC. The company has approximately 2,600 employees and reported 2005 revenues of $740 million.

OHIO

• King’s Island is one of five amusement parks slated to be sold by Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair, L.P., a Sandusky, Ohio company that owns seven amusement parks. In addition to King’s Island, the agreement, valued at $1.24 billion, includes Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto, Canada; King’s Dominion near Richmond, Va.; Carowinds near Charlotte, N.C.; and Great America in Santa Clara, Calif. King’s Island, located on 453 acres north of Cincinnati, opened in 1972 and features draws more than three million visitors each year.

TENNESSEE

• Healthways, Inc., a Nashville-based provider of health care services, has signed a definitive merger agreement with California-based LifeMasters Supported SelfCare in a deal valued at $307.5 million. Together, Healthways and LifeMasters, which provides disease management programs and services, will have nearly 75 customers including health plans, employers and government Medicare and Medicaid programs, and will provide services to over 500 employers. The combined company will employ more than 3,500 people.
• Memphis-based FedEx Corp. has launched a new company designed to help customers manage high-value and time-critical inventory. FedEx Critical Inventory Logistics will focus on customers in the telecommunication, semiconductor, biomedical and other high-tech industries. The new company’s services will enable customers to deploy replacement parts at FedEx Kinko’s centers throughout the United States, allowing customer representatives to obtain critical replacement parts on short notice. In announcing the new company, Tom Schmitt, president and CEO of FedEx Global Supply Chain Services, said the new service will significantly lower costs for customers “by reducing inventory while providing more efficient network planning and the ability to choose shipping options based on timing and cost.”

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