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FAST LANE - September
2004
The USDF consists of more than 33,000 members throughout the U.S. The organization focuses on education, recognition of achievement and the promotion of the sport of dressage, a classic system of training that develops the horse’s balance, suppleness and natural gait. Dressage is one of the three equestrian sports featured as an Olympic event. Previously located in Lincoln, Nebraska, the USDF moved their national headquarters to a temporary location in Lexington in June 2002, with the purpose of joining the National Horse Center to strategically position the organization to move the sport of dressage forward throughout the entire country. Along with other tenants, such as the United States Equestrian Federation (the national governing body for all equestrian sport in the United States), the USDF will become part of a “neighborhood” of equestrian organizations that further strengthen the Bluegrass region’s claim as being the “Horse Capital of the World.” In addition to housing USDF headquarters and its 45 employees, the new facility will also house the USDF Hall of Fame, an interactive multi-media center, a USDF store, and a venue for seminars and events. STATE Expansion Management magazine, a leading international economic development publication, has given Kentucky’s industrial workforce training programs high honors once again, ranking Kentucky fifth in the nation in its annual survey of industrial site selection consultants. This year’s fifth place position ties Kentucky’s 2001 ranking as the highest showing since the publication began issuing their annual survey, jumping from eighth last year. The Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC) is the primary agency, within the Cabinet for Economic Development, whose mission is to stimulate economic development through programs of skills training to meet the needs of business and industry. The BSSC, in cooperation and coordination with other state employment and training organizations, has the capability to customize a comprehensive program of skills training services for new, expanding and existing industries. “Having a ready supply of educated and trainable workers is still the No. 1 priority for any business executive who is considering opening up a new facility,” said Ken Krizner, managing editor of Expansion Management magazine. “Given the enormous capital expense incurred in expanding or relocating a manufacturing facility, any assistance a company can receive from state and local governments to meet its initial training needs may play a decisive role when that company is down to its shortlist of two or three competing locations and must make its final decision.” In the survey, consultants were asked to identify states where they found the best workforce training programs while investigating potential sites for their clients. Southeastern states dominated the rankings, with Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and Kentucky making up the top five. More information about the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation is available online at www.thinkkentucky.com/bssc/ or by calling (502) 564-2021. MADISONVILLE
Land O’Frost, which ranks as the nation’s sixth-largest brand of retail lunchmeats, has nearly 1,000 employees at its facilities in Illinois and Arkansas. The company plans to construct a 175,000-square-foot facility near Hwy. 41-A in Madisonville and anticipates the eventual employment of several hundred Kentuckians. “Land O’Frost is a 46-year-old family business that puts down deep roots,” said Donna Van Eekeren, Land O’Frost CEO. “We’ve been in Lansing, Illinois since 1969 and in Searcy, Arkansas since 1976. With a history of longevity in our employee base and strong ethical values, we searched long and hard for a community that mirrored these attributes. We feel we found that in Madisonville. We look forward to a mutually prosperous long-term relationship with your community.” HODGENVILLE Konsei USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kondoh Seisakusho Co., Ltd. of Japan, has selected a Kentucky site on which to build its first North American manufacturing operation. Konsei, which manufactures automotive parts, will construct a $1.5 million on 10 acres in LaRue County, where it expects to hire approximately 20 staff members within two years of the facility’s completion. Konsei President Yasumas Kondo noted that the new site offers easy access to the company’s customer base, in addition to providing the “type of workforce we are looking for to help our customer continue to grow.” Yasumas also noted that “one of the reasons we chose Hodgenville was because of the kindness and enthusiasm that state and local officials showed to Konsei during the selection process.” STATE
“Our park dining rooms will now be a showcase for our outstanding Kentucky produce,” said Governor Ernie Fletcher, who announced the new arrangement during a press conference at the Franklin County Farmers Market. Parks Commissioner George Ward said the new arrangement is just one of the changes in store for Kentucky state parks. “Serving local farm grown produce is part of an effort for parks dining rooms to become more individualized,” explained Ward. “Chefs will develop menus that reflect local dishes, rather than one cookie-cutter menu. Kentucky artists will be featured in background music played in dining rooms [and] Kentucky arts and crafts will be displayed.” Fletcher noted that the wholesale price farmers will receive for their products is higher than the typical price paid by a wholesale distributor or farm co-op. Farmers can sell directly to any of the 17 state resort parks during the growing season by registering at the park and working with the park chef. Payment is determined by a weekly survey of wholesale prices. Until now, the Department of Parks bought its produce exclusively from wholesalers. “The financial side of this program makes sense for all concerned,” noted Fletcher. “Farmers get good prices for their produce, while the Department of Parks will not pay more than their normal wholesale distributor price and we have the added benefit of marketing Kentucky agricultural products.” LOUISVILLE
The Award for Excellence recognizes business membership growth, member involvement, programs and management. GLI won in largest category, which includes chambers with more than $1 million in annual dues. GLI qualified for the award when it scored above the national average in net gain in members, member dollars, and retention in 2003. It became a finalist when its programs and operations were selected as being among the best in the nation by an expert panel of membership development professionals. Among the programs reviewed by judges were: the Greater Louisville Inc. Development Expedition (GLIDE), which takes local business and community leaders to competitor cities to study their best practices; GreaterLouisvilleWorks.com, the job portal created by GLI, KentuckianaWorks, MyCareerNetwork.com and Career Resources, Inc.; Inc.tank, GLI’s small business arm; the restructuring of GLI’s corporate marketing efforts; and GLI’s new internal hiring process. LOUISVILLE A new start-up company has announced plans to build a $374 million steel mill in Louisville that is expected to bring some 270 jobs with an average salary of $44,000. Leo Inc., headed by CEO Matt Botsford, anticipates beginning construction by October. The project is expected to take approximately two years to complete. The facility will be built in Louisville’s Riverport industrial complex, a location selected due to its proximity to the Ohio River. The majority of the industry’s steel slabs come to the U.S. from South America. Because transportation by land or air is cost-prohibitive due the weight of the steel, accessibility via water is critical. In addition, the Louisville site also places the mill within easy reach of many of its clients. In addition to five auto plants located within 150 miles of Louisville, there are General Electric’s Appliance Park and numerous steel-processing companies in the area. BOYLE COUNTY The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has taken an innovative approach to develop an expanding market by training inmates at Northpoint Training Center in Boyle County to assist in the development of freshwater shrimp ponds. The inmates, who are supervised by officials from the KDA and the Department of Corrections, have been receiving technical advice from Dr. Jim Tidwell, of Kentucky State University’s nationally-known aquaculture program. The ponds, dug by the inmates on the prison farm, have been stocked with freshwater prawns as well as tilapia, a “filter-feeding” fish that has been rapidly growing in popularity and is now the sixth most frequently consumed fish in the nation. Research conducted at SKU indicates that the prawns and tilapia grow better when raised together. State officials have also trained the inmates to operate a mobile processing unit to ready the shrimp for sale. A pond-side sale, slated for later this month, will be one of many across the state. The joint effort helps produce revenue while also helping inmates develop useful skills and productive work habits. “This shows how different sectors of government, education, business and non-profit organizations can work together to create a winning situation all-around,” said Richie Farmer, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. STATE
“In June alone”, said Bailey, “we cut overtime costs 45 percent versus last June, which equals $700,000 in savings. In fact we’ve saved $1.9 million over the last three months by cutting down on overtime.” Approximately half of the lapsed funds are a result in savings on overtime, out-of-state travel, and more efficient hiring and purchasing practices. STATE
“Animal identification is a top priority of my administration,” said Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. “Farmers want to be able to contain disease outbreaks and minimize the economic impact of an outbreak. Consumers want to know where their food comes from.” Two-thirds of the KDA grant will go toward establishing a system for identifying all 87,000 farms throughout the state. The premises identification project is expected to take approximately two years, according to State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Stout. The remainder of the grant will be used to track 1,500 slaughter cows in the 10-state Southeastern Livestock Network to the Shapiro packing plant in Augusta, Ga. “We hope that through relationships with the state veterinarians, we can test the system to trace animals back to their farms of origin,” said John Stevenson, of the Kentucky Beef Network, an organization that is working with the KDA to execute the project. “We hope to prove we can provide the needs of a national identification project. The USDA has set a deadline for mid-2005 for all cattle, swine and small ruminants slated for interstate movement to have individual or group/lot identification. Farmer has said he hope to develop Kentucky as a model for a national identification system. SHEPHERDSVILLE A Pennsylvania company that provides distribution services for e-commerce sporting goods dealers and other retailers has announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot distribution center in Shepherdsville’s Cedar Grove Business Park. GSI Commerce Solutions Inc., which develops and operates Web sites for companies such as Kmart, Linen ‘N Things, Liz Claiborne and NASCAR, expects to hire approximately 100 people to staff the new facility. Wages will range from $8.85 to $25.06 per hour. The company, which also operates a fulfillment center in Jefferson County that employs approximately 350 workers, anticipates investing some $9.6 million in the new facility. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has authorized state tax credits of up to $1 million for year for 10 years. The Kentucky site was chosen over locations near Indianapolis and Cincinnati and another in Illinois. HAZARD
The $13.1 million state-of-the-art Bailey-Stumbo building represents a unique collaboration of university, state, federal and private funding sources and is named for Benny Ray Bailey and Dr. Grady Stumbo, two East Kentuckians who have played a significant role in improving healthcare in the region. The new building houses the UK Family Medicine Clinic and its family practice and dental residency programs, nursing laboratories, a radiographic simulation area, clinical labs and classrooms for distance-learning capability. Space is also provided for the Center for Rural Health and Hazard Community and Technical College physical therapy and PT assistant programs, a student learning center and office space for UKCRH community outreach programs, as well as office space for Hazard Community and Technical College and UKCRH faculty and administrative functions for the center. PULASKI COUNTY Construction on Interstate 66 took another step forward last month when ground was broken in Somerset for a northern bypass that will eventually link that city and surrounding Pulaski County with major transportation routes I-64 and I-75. And while a contingent of state and federal dignitaries including Gov. Ernie Fletcher, US Rep. Hal Rogers (R-5th) and US Sen. Jim Bunning, (R-Ky.) were on hand to extol the infrastructure project’s virtues, local political and business leaders are looking ahead toward the project’s role in their long term economic development plans. The cost of the I-66 is projected to be approximately $7 billion. Of that, more than $31 million represents the Somerset interchange and the expansion Route 27 from Eubank to Somerset. The Route 27 expansion will give the city “a straight shot at Lexington.” Transportation leaders say the I-66 and 27 widening projects factor significantly in a trio of major developments designed to put Somerset and Pulaski County on corporate site selectors’ radar screens. By the end of September, ground will be broken for an intermodal transportation and logistics center on a site with access to the connector in Somerset. Meanwhile, dedication ceremonies for Valley Oak Technology Complex, a business park designed with a high-speed fiber optic network and direct broadband connectivity to attract high-end, technology-focused manufactures, was slated for Sept. 10. The I-66 Interchange in Somerset is slated for completion in 2006. TENNESSEE
Parcel Direct has developed a successful model for parcel consolidation that is tailored to meet the needs of targeted high-volume shippers. The model is based on a low-cost, highly efficient network specifically designed to take advantage of the United States Postal Service’s Parcel Select service. After the acquisition is completed, which is expected to take place in the second fiscal quarter, Parcel Direct will be a subsidiary of FedEx Ground. INDIANA Argosy Gaming Co. is investing some $150 million to add new gaming space as well as more hotel rooms and parking at its riverfront casino in Lawrenceburg. The Lawrenceburg casino, which is already Argosy’s largest casino, has seen its popularity surge in recent years and has been faced with having to turn away customers on weekend nights. Argosy’s proposal to the Lawrenceburg City Council includes plans for a slip barge that would be situated in the water in between the casino and the boarding area. The slip barge would accommodate a restaurant, teller area and other non-gambling aspects. By moving those functions off the casino barge, the company would be able to make more room for slot machines and gaming tables. A new hotel tower is also likely. Argosy’s competition in the area, Belterra Casino Resort, recently completed a 300-room hotel tower as part of a $35 million expansion that included a new conference center and restaurant. OHIO Cincinnati-based Joseph-Beth Booksellers is expanding into the Pittsburgh market with the opening of a 24,000-square-foot store in a new retail development scheduled to open this month. The retailer, which ranks as one of the largest independent booksellers in the nation, will be one of the gateway tenants at SouthSide Works, a new development that has been built on a former steel mill site. The developers are working to create an urban-oriented mix of restaurants, shops and cinemas. The Joseph-Beth Group was founded in 1986 and now operates stores in Lexington, Cincinnati and Cleveland. In addition, the company operates three Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee.
Business Briefs CALVERT CITY
CORBIN
COVINGTON
EDMONSON COUNTY
ERLANGER
LA GRANGE
LEXINGTON
LIBERTY
LOUISVILLE
MURRAY
PADUCAH
UNION COUNTY
WESTERN KENTUCKY
STATE
OHIO
TENNESSEE
WEST VIRGINIA
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Copyright 1996-2004, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content
is copyright 2004, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
The Kentucky Horse Park has signed an agreement with the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) to lease land at the park for the purpose of building the USDF National Education Center. The USDF will move its national headquarters to the park when the building is completed, making the USDF the 21st national, state or regional equine organization to join the park’s National Horse Center. The move is expected to take place in the fall of 2005. 
Land O’ Frost, a private Illinois company that specializes in pre-packaged lunch meat, has selected a 28-acre site in Madisonville on which to build its third facility. 
For the first time in history, Kentucky’s state parks will now be purchasing fresh produce from Kentucky farmers rather than buying its goods from wholesalers.
Greater Louisville Inc. – The Metro Chamber of Commerce (GLI) has won the top award from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives for its efforts to promote the Louisville community. The American Chamber of Commerce Executives is a national group consisting of some 1,300 local chambers. 
KENTUCKY Transportation Cabinet Secretary Maxwell Clay Bailey recently announced that the state has seen a one-time savings of $23 million dollars as a result of the Road Fund Lapse for Fiscal Year 2004. Furthermore, the savings were seen in spite of a reduction in the overall budget for the Cabinet in FY2004 of more than $16.6 million. 
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has been awarded $269,093 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for animal identification programs that will target the reduction of disease outbreaks.
The new UK Center for Rural Health has officially opened in Hazard, bringing to fruition one of the largest capital projects to be undertaken by the UK Chandler Medical Center in the past decade. 
According to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Mike Goins, Interstate 66 – the so-called “America’s Main Street” – will enter the state in far Eastern Kentucky at the West Virginia border and exit Western Kentucky at southeastern Missouri. The corridor will serve Pikeville, Hazard, London, Bowling Green, and Paducah in addition to Somerset. Last month’s groundbreaking represents the first phase of the project in Somerset that will create an interchange or northern bypass around the city, Goins said. 
Memphis-based FedEx Corp. has announced an agreement to acquire Parcel Direct for $120 million in cash. Parcel Direct, a division of Quad/Graphics, is a leading parcel consolidator based in Wisconsin. The company generated approximately $250 million in gross revenue in 2003 and has about 450 employees.
Covington pharmaceutical firm Omnicare Inc. has entered into a multi-year information service agreement with IMS Health to offer comprehensive pharmaceutical prescription and sales information to the long-term care industry. Omnicare CEO Joel Gemunder said the affiliation with Pennsylvania-based IMS will “enhance industry understanding of emerging trends.”
For the second year in a row, Lexington-based Thomas & King Inc. has been ranked as the ninth-largest restaurant franchisee in the nation, according to Restaurant Finance Monitor’s annual “Monitor 200” survey. The survey ranks restaurant franchisees by revenue. Thomas & King currently owns and operates 77 Applebee’s restaurants, primarily in Kentucky, Ohio and Arizona and employs approximately 6,000 workers. The company also owns and operates a Johnny Carino’s restaurant in Lexington and plans to add dozens more in the coming years. 
The owner of the Dallas Cowboys football team has acquired a 49 percent interest in 71 Papa John’s stores in the Dallas, Austin and Waco, Texas markets. Jerry Jones’ joint venture with Louisville-based Papa John’s International also includes Texas Stadium signage, co-branded restaurant staff uniforms and delivery vehicles, and Dallas Cowboys game-day activities. Financial details of the agreement have not been released. 
Briggs & Stratton Corporation is expanding its presence in Murray with the construction of a new 65,000-square-foot facility in the Murray-Calloway County Industrial Park. The expansion is expected to create 80 new jobs over the next two years.The small-engine manufacturer recently completed a $7 million expansion at its current location on Main Street in Murray that created approximately 100 new jobs. Construction of a new facility will accommodate production of the company’s carburetors and fuel systems, freeing up 50,000 square feet of space at the downtown location. 
Vinyl Window Technologies has announced plans for a $1.8 million expansion of its Paducah window manufacturing plant that will create 225 new jobs over the next three years. The plant currently employs approximately 250 workers. 
General Electric is laying off 525 employees at its refrigerator plant in Bloomington by the end of March 2005. The cuts, which will reduce the plant’s employee base by nearly a third, come as part of the company’s decision to move production of its higher-end models to a plant in Mexico. After the layoffs, the Bloomington plant will continue to employ approximately 1,125 employees who will produce models priced under $1,000. 
Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp has signed an agreement to purchase First National Bankshares of Florida Inc. and its subsidiaries for $1.58 billion. Naples-based First National is the state’s largest bank holding company headquartered in Florida, with $5.3 billion in total assets, $3.9 billion in total deposits and 77 full-service banking centers. When the acquisition in complete, Fifth Third will own more than 90 banking centers and more than $6 billion managed assets in Florida.