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FAST LANE - March
2002
STATE
Kentucky Ranked Among Top Business
Locations
A commitment to
leadership development, an “enviable work ethic,” low energy
costs and accessibility to transportation have earned Kentucky a top
spot on Site Selection magazine’s annual ranking of states.
The magazine’s
2001 Governor’s Cup award went to the state of Illinois. Kentucky
received second-place honors, followed by New York in the #3 position.
All 50 states were
reviewed for the competition, with judging based on 10 criteria, including:
total new and expanded facilities per one million population, total
capital investment in new and expanded facilities per one million population,
total new jobs created at new and expanded facilities per one million
population in 2001, percentage of growth in new and expanded facilities
from 2000 to 2001, number of top 100 metros in the annual ranking of
top metros, number of top 100 small towns in the annual ranking of small
towns and the number of 100-plus job projects per one million population
in 2001.
A detailed report
of the results is published in the magazine’s March edition and
can also be seen online at www.siteselection.com. The March issue also
includes a feature story about Kentucky and interviews with six Kentucky
leaders from the manufacturing, construction, education and government
sectors.
Site Selection is
distributed to more than 45,000 business executives who are responsible
for corporate site selection and facility planning around the globe.
STATE
Nominations Sought for Entrepreneur
of the Year
 Ernst
& Young is seeking nominations for Southern Ohio/Kentucky-based
entrepreneurs as part of its 16th Annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
(EOY), a program honoring outstanding owners of fast-growing companies.
Eligibility for
the EOY award is based on a number of factors, including:
- Owners and managers
must have primary responsibility for the growth of a company.
- Their companies
must have been operating for at least two years.
- If the company
is publicly held, the founder must be an active member in top management.
Award recipients
are selected within a diverse range of categories and industry segments,
including Technology/Communications, Retail, Real Estate/Construction,
Health Sciences, Manufacturing, Service, Emerging and Master Entrepreneur
of the Year. In addition, an award for Socially Responsible Entrepreneur
of the Year has been established this year.
Winners from the
Southern Ohio/Kentucky region will be eligible to compete for the National
Entrepreneur of the Year award. National award recipients from past
years include John Schnatter, founder of Louisville-based Papa John’s
International Inc., Michael Dell of Dell Computers and Steve Case of
America Online.
Nominations must
be submitted by April 5, 2002 in order to be considered.
For more information,
contact Kris Baker, Program Manager, Entrepreneur of the Year awards,
Ernst & Young, Aegon Center, 400 W. Market Street, Suite 2100, Louisville,
KY 40202 or call 502-585-6696. Information, including nomination forms,
can also be found at the Ernst & Young Web site: www.ey.com/us/eoy.
STATE
New Partnership Promotes Kentucky
Products Online
 Consumers
shopping by computer soon will be able to click directly from the Kentucky
Department of Agriculture Web site to kentuckyvirtual.com to buy products
from participating businesses over the Internet.
The department’s
Web site, www.kyagr.com, offers businesses a service that enables them
to build and post their own Web page at no charge. Now, businesses that
have a free KDA Web page and also sell products on kentuckyvirtual.com
will have the option of adding an icon that will take users directly
from the Web page to that company’s section on kentuckyvirtual.com.
Once there, customers can make purchases online.
Kentuckyvirtual.com’s
client companies sell food products, crafts, furniture, jewelry, pottery
and many other items.
“The Internet
has become a powerful economic tool which can help us promote Kentucky
products,” said Gov. Paul Patton. “This is a prime example
of an innovative idea matching our traditions and heritage with technology.”
PADUCAH
Paducah to Serve as Base for Newly-Merged
River Barge Line
The merger of two
of the nation’s largest river barge lines is expected to be a significant
plus for Paducah, which will serve as the company’s towing headquarters.
Nashville-based Ingram Industries, has purchased Midland Enterprises
for $230 million, forming a company second only in size to American
Commercial Barge Lines.
The new company
will possess approximately 4,200 barges and 140 towboats. Nashville-based
Ingram currently employs some 400 people in the Paducah area. Midland,
headquartered in Cincinnati, has about 350 in Paducah, which has long
been considered a national hub for river shipping due to its location.
While the merger
alone is not expected to change employment levels, company officials
say that the industry is currently experiencing a shortage of deckhands.
As a result, Ingram/Midland and American Commercial are anticipating
needing at least 500 more people in the coming year.
DANVILLE
Danville Launches First Phase of
Ambitious Redevelopment Project
 Danville’s
Third Street Development Corporation has contracted with a Louisville
firm to launch the first phase of work required for the redevelopment
of one of the city’s most prominent downtown structures.
Architectural Investments,
Inc. (AI), which has expertise in redeveloping historic buildings for
commercial use, has been hired to evaluate the Hub-Gilcher buildings
from an engineering and rehabilitation standpoint. AI will also collaborate
with the Third Street board on a financial study to determine prospective
tenants, demand for space and prevailing rental rates.
The buildings involved
in the project were constructed around 1917 and encompass approximately
85,000 square feet. The buildings were most recently were used by the
Hub department store, which closed in 1995.
According to Donovan
Rypkema, a national expert in economic redevelopment who visited Danville
last year, the Hub-Gilcher project may well be the largest economic
redevelopment project attempted by any small town in the U.S.
Redevelopment of
the area has consistently been cited in local forums as the highest
economic priority for Danville and Boyle County.
BEAVER DAM
Daicel Announces Plans to Build
New Auto Parts Plant in Ohio Co.
Daicel Chemical
Industries has announced plans to establish a new manufacturing operation
in Beaver Dam that will produce airbag inflators, an essential component
of automobile airbag systems.
A 65,000-square-foot
plant is being planned for construction in the Bluegrass Crossings Business
Centre Park in Ohio County. The new facility is expected to be operational
by the end of the year, employing approximately 70 people and growing
to as many as 130 by 2005.
The plant will have
an annual capacity of 1.2 million inflator units for driver’s seat
airbags with the capability of increasing production to 3.5 million
units by 2008.
The new subsidiary,
known as Daicel Safety Systems America, LLC, is a joint venture with
Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., an automotive supplier that currently operates
two plants in Kentucky.
LEXINGTON
UK Improves Research Ranking; Effort
Put it Closer to Top 20 Goal
 The
University of Kentucky is making progress in its quest to attain status
as a Top 20 research institution. UK has advanced two places in the
annual rankings of the top 200 research universities, recently published
by the National Science Foundation.
UK is now ranked
47th among all research universities and colleges, both public and private,
up from the 49th spot.
The NSF rankings
are based on research expenditures. UK reported $202,392,000 in expenditures
for fiscal year 2000, a 16 percent increase over the previous year.
“Our faculty
and staff are to be congratulated on their increased research productivity,
reflected not only in these numbers but also in the record increases
in new grants and contracts brought in over the past few years,”
said Jim Boling, acting vice president for research.
CASEY COUNTY
Corn Needed for Fuel Ethanol Could
Provide Farming Alternative
Two Casey County
businessmen are hoping to help Kentucky farmers by building a fuel ethanol
plant that would utilize 600,000 bushels of corn per year.
To achieve that
goal, chemist Kevin Williams and his brother Kirby, a retired engineer,
have applied for a grant through the state’s tobacco settlement
money and other funds earmarked to offer alternatives to tobacco farming.
In addition to rejuvenating
Kentucky’s family farms, the brothers say the plant’s product
would also lessen the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.
After beginning
with a demonstration version, the Williams want to eventually build
a plant that could produce 1.5 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol
per year.
GEORGETOWN
Georgetown's New 'Smart Park' Designed
to Diversify Economy
 Georgetown’s
efforts to diversify its economy have been furthered by the purchase
of 52.02 acres off of U.S. 62 that will be used for its proposed “smart
park.”
Concerned that the
community was becoming too reliant on the presence of Toyota Motor Manufacturing
– payroll taxes from the auto giant equate to approximately 70
percent of Georgetown’s operating budget - the city has set out
to create an office/industrial park that will attract high-tech industries
such as research laboratories and communication centers.
So far, the city
has purchased nearly 400 acres at a cost of $4 million.
Toyota itself is
helping promote the idea. The company is paying 50 percent of the proposed
park’s land costs, up to $4 million.
Coincidentally,
the announcement of the new “smart park” came within days
of UK’s presentation of an honorary doctorate of engineering to
Toyota CEO Fujo Cho. It was Cho’s responsibility to oversee the
development and start-up of the Georgetown plant in the mid-1980s.
ASHLAND
AEI Resources Files for Chapter
11; Creditors Approve Prepackaged Plan
AEI Resources Holding
Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy under a “prepackaged”
plan that has the support of its major creditors.
AEI, also known
as Addington Enterprises, will receive a $150 million loan to continue
operations during the course of the bankruptcy process and will receive
an additional $250 million loan when once the bankruptcy plan is approved
by the court.
The failure of AEI’s
bonding company, Frontier Insurance Co., is being blamed in large part
for AEI’s troubles. Those problems were compounded by the events
of September 11 and a slowing economy.
In a statement issued
by the company, CEO Don Brown emphasized that the bankruptcy proceedings
“are not expected to have any impact on daily operations”
and that the company’s 4,000 employees would not be affected.
“Our mines
and office will remain open and transactions will proceed as always,”
Brown added.
AEI operates coal
mines in the Appalachian region, Illinois and the Rocky Mountains. The
majority of AEI’s employees are in Kentucky and West Virginia.
SHELBYVILLE
New Spanish-Language Directories
Target Growing Hispanic Population
With Kentucky’s
Hispanic population tripling between 1990 and 2000 to nearly 60,000,
Bluegrass Telephone Directory is reaching out to that segment by publishing
a Spanish-language business directory.
The Shelbyville
company, which also produces The Blue Book Area Calling Directory, is
planning to distribute La Conexion in both Louisville and Lexington
this spring. The guides will be available at groceries, churches, restaurants
as well as other locations that typically draw Hispanic customers.
In addition to ads
highlighting area businesses, the guides will also feature information
such as how to contact immigration offices, how to obtain a driver’s
license and where to find healthcare providers and services.
If your company
is interested in being included in the guides, contact Bluegrass Telephone
Directory at 888-578-3765.
FORT MITCHELL
Northern Kentucky Landmark Hotel
to Join the Villager Lodging Chain
 The
Drawbridge Inn and Convention Center, one of Northern Kentucky’s
most well-known landmarks, has become part of the Villager hotel chain
after being independently owned and operated for more than 30 years.
As part of the change,
the name will be altered slightly to become Drawbridge Villager Premier
Hotel and the 485-room hotel will undergo some renovations and updates,
but will continue to be owned and managed by Jerry Deters, the original
owner and manager of the Drawbridge.
Deters has said
that the move to join a national chain gives the hotel complex more
exposure. The Villager chain is owned by Cendant Corporation, one of
the world’s largest hotel franchises.
LEXINGTON
Health Providers and Insurers Team
to Improve Industry and Economy
Lexington healthcare
providers have partnered with insurers to form a new organization designed
to promote both the well-being of local residents and the area healthcare
industry.
The new Lexington
Health United organization includes most of the area’s hospitals
and health-insurance providers along with groups such as the Greater
Lexington Chamber of Commerce and Lexington United. The organization
plans to promote comprehensive community wellness programs and develop
areas of common interest that unite the providers in a single cause.
Smoking cessation has been identified as its first key community wellness
program.
Healthcare plays
a major role in the Lexington economy, with health-related jobs numbering
more than 23,500 in 1997. Accordingly, Lexington Health United is now
studying the industry’s effect on the area’s economy. The
organization is also working to identify sources of venture capital
to encourage start-up health-related businesses in the Bluegrass.
BOWLING GREEN
Corvette Enthusiasts to Converge
in Kentucky for Annual Gathering
Hundreds of Corvette
enthusiasts will converge on Bowling Green in May for the annual “Gathering,”
an event sponsored by the National Corvette Museum
The three-day event,
scheduled for May 9-11, brings together Corvette owners, engineers and
C4 Corvette specialists with road tours, technical seminars and tours
of the GM Corvette Assembly plant. This year’s gathering will feature
a two-day “Corvette School” seminar, led by C4 Corvette Specialist
Gordon Killebrew. A full weekend of social events is slated as well,
including a barbecue, speed events at Beech Bend Raceway Park, and an
auction to benefit the museum.
Registration information
and event details are available at www.corvettemuseum.com or by calling
800-53-VETTE.
LOUISVILLE
Thousands Expected in Louisville for Mid-America Trucking
Show
LEXINGTON
Four University Alumni Inducted into Gatton College
Hall of Fame
 Two
international businessmen, the chairman of a leading accounting firm
and a prominent Kentucky banker are the newest inductees into UK’s
Gatton College of Business and Economics Hall of Fame.
Bambang Suibyo,
former finance minister of Indonesia, earned his Doctor of Business
Administration degree in accounting from the Gatton College in 1985.
He is currently chairman of the government’s task force for fiscal
decentralization.
Zaki Baridwan was
awarded his master’s degree in accounting at UK in 1984 and his
doctorate in 1989. Now president director of Bank BNI in Indonesia,
Baridwan presides over more than 650 bank branches and an employee group
numbering more than 15,000.
After earning his
MBA from UK in 1973, Randolph C. Blazer served in the U.S. Army, where
he was responsible for helping install the force’s first computerized
personnel system. Blazer is now chairman and chief executive officer
of KPMG Consulting, Inc.
O. Trigg Dorton
received his bachelor’s degree in commerce from UK in 1942 and
eventually succeeded his father as president of the Second National
Bank (now Citizens National) in Paintsville. Dorton, now retired, remains
highly involved in professional, civic and charitable organizations
throughout the state.
RUSSELL COUNTY
Hitachi Cable Auto Parts Plant to Bring 100 Jobs to
Russell Co.
Hitachi Cable Indiana
(HCI) has announced plans to expand its automobile parts operation with
a new plant, to be located in Russell County, Kentucky.
HCI’s new Kentucky
plant will provide fluid movement systems – hoses, tubes, fittings
and connector assemblies - directly to automotive companies as well
as to other suppliers and business partners.
The new 50,000-square-foot
production facility will be located in the Russell Springs Business
Park and is expected to be operational by mid-year.
Company officials
anticipate hiring approximately 100 people in the first year, based
on current business projections.
Business Briefs
BARBOURVILLE
- The James
Graham Brown Foundation of Louisville has provided a $300,000 grant
to Union College that will be used to modernize the residence halls
and install a new dormitory security system.
BARDSTOWN
- Heaven Hill
Distilleries Inc. has expanded its brand portfolio with the purchase
of Whaler’s Rum from the Levecke Corporation of California. The
Hawaiian-style, premium-label brand features an array of tastes, including
vanilla, spiced and coconut flavors. Rums, particularly the flavored
varieties, have gained popularity in recent years and now hold nearly
12 percent of the U.S. market.
- Johnan America
Inc. has announced plans for a new 25,000-square-foot manufacturing
plant in Bardstown’s Wilson Industrial Park, where it will produce
components for the automotive industry. The company, a subsidiary
of Johnan Seisakusho Company Ltd. of Japan, has had a limited-production
facility in Bardstown since 1998. With the new facility, Johan expects
to create some 40 new jobs within the first two years of operation,
with up to 200 jobs possible in the future.
BRACKEN COUNTY
- Northern Kentucky
Family Health has broken ground for a new $1 million medical center.
The 6,000-square-foot healthcare facility, located at the intersection
of Kentucky 9 and Kentucky 19, will serve patients Bracken, Robertson,
Mason, Harrison and Pendleton counties.
CAMPBELLSVILLE
- Campbellsville
University’s board of trustees has approved plans for a $1.4
million construction and renovation project involving the school’s
athletic facilities. The new 12,000-square-foot O.D. and Bessie Hawkins
Athletic Field House will include two classrooms, a weight room, football
and baseball locker rooms, and six offices. The project also calls
for the addition of a 5,500-square-foot wellness and athletic training
center in the J.K. Powell Athletic Center, which currently houses
the gymnasium and aquatic center, faculty offices and classrooms.
CATLETTSBURG
- Marathon Ashland
Petroleum LLC has selected C&I Engineering of Louisville to provide
engineering, procurement and construction support services for the
offsite portion of expansion at the company’s Catlettsburg refinery.
CAVE CITY
- Mammoth Cave,
one of Kentucky’s premier tourist attractions, is slated to undergo
nearly $6 million worth of infrastructure improvements in the coming
years. Among the projects scheduled are the renovation of the park’s
visitor center, construction of a bike trail from the park’s
headquarters to Park City, updating the cave’s lighting system,
and repaving some roads. As one of 20 national parks to be selected
as a Center for Environmental Innovation, the park’s projects
will be planned using environmentally friendly solutions or technology.
DANVILLE
- Vacuum cleaners
produced by the Matsushita plant in Danville have been ranked #1 in
the latest assessment by Consumer Reports. Built for Sears under the
Kenmore brand name, the Matsushita-made products topped the list in
both the upright and canister categories. The vacuums are designed,
produced and tested at the Danville facility.
ELIZABETHTOWN
- Fort Knox
National Company (FKNC) has been selected to provide customer service
representative-assisted electronic payment services for National Enterprise
System, a national collection agency. FKNC allows collectors to accept
payments from customers by direct debit of their checking or savings
accounts.
- Dana Corporation
has announced plans to build a $2.8 million addition to its Elizabethtown
plant, where it produces frames for Ford Motor Company. The new 42,000-square-foot
addition will be utilized for painting frames with a special process
known as electrocoating. As a result of problems at Ford, Dana had
recently announced that it would be laying off approximately 80 of
its 1,000 Elizabethtown workers. However, the company has been able
to reduce that number to 40.
ERLANGER
- Gap Inc. has
announced that it will be closing its Banana Republic distribution
center in August. The closure will affect some 250 employees, but
Gap officials anticipate that many of the jobs will be absorbed by
the company’s five other distribution centers in the Northern
Kentucky area or eliminated through attrition. Employees who are not
able to secure positions either inside or outside of the company will
be offered transition packages.
- In response
to customer complaints citing problems with oil-sludge build-up in
models manufactured between 1997 and 2001, Toyota Motor Manufacturing
has sent letters to three million Toyota and Lexus owners offering
to make repairs related to the problem. Still, the company insists
that it is “not aware of any cases…in properly maintained
engines” and emphasizes that “engine oil gelling” is
the result of not changing the oil at the recommended intervals.
FORT MITCHELL
- Huff Realty
has merged with Columbus, Ohio-based HER Realtors to form Real Living,
Inc., which in turn has acquired Cleveland-based Realty One, the largest
real estate firm in Ohio. The newly-formed company now ranks as the
third-largest privately-held real estate company in the nation, with
sales of more than $5 billion and a network that stretches from Northern
Kentucky to the Great Lakes region.
GEORGETOWN
- Carolina Pottery,
which closed its store at Georgetown’s Factory Stores of America
Outlet last year, has announced plans to reopen. The store shut down
last year when the chain’s owner went bankrupt. Tim Marsh, the
original owner of Carolina Pottery, has purchased the company’s
remaining assets and is reopening stores across the country.
GLASGOW
- Western Kentucky
University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System
have teamed to open a new $9 million facility that provides students
the opportunity to take courses and earn degrees through Western and
Bowling Green Technical College. Located on a 30-acre site next to
Barren County High School, the facility will offer extended education
and job training for students in Barren, Adair, Allen, Clinton, Cumberland,
Metcalfe, Monroe and Russell counties.
GRAVES COUNTY
- Plans are
moving forward for a new industrial park to be built near U.S. 45
in the northern part of Graves County. As of mid-February, sale agreements
had been secured from nearly two-thirds of the 16 landowners involved.
Some $9 million in federal funding will be put towards the $39 million
price tag for the first phase of the project. Funding is also being
sought from the Purchase Area Community Reuse Organization, the state,
and other sources. If fully developed, the industrial park will include
approximately 3,000 acres and could bring up to 7,000 new jobs to
the area.
HARDIN COUNTY
- Kentucky is
one of the finalists in Hyundai Motor Company’s search for a
site on which to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant. The Korean-based
company is considering a 1,500-acre site in Glendale for the $1 billion
facility, which will initially employ approximately 2,000 workers.
The company is expected to announce its final decision this summer.
HOPKINSVILLE
- A new Wal-Mart
distribution center is slated to open in Hopkinsville this spring,
bringing up to 600 new jobs to the area.
LEXINGTON
- GRW Engineers,
Inc., a Lexington engineering, architectural, planning and mapping
firm, has acquired Elrod-Dunson, Inc., a 22-person engineering firm.
The wholly-owned subsidiary, GRW Elrod Dunson, Inc. will have offices
in Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee.
- Right Place
Media has been awarded media buying responsibilities for Sinclair
Broadcast Group’s television stations in Cincinnati (WSTR-WB),
Lexington (WKDY-FOX), Nashville (WZTV-FOX, WUXP-UPN), and Birmingham
(WTTO/WDBB-WB, WABM-UPN). Account billings are expected to be between
$500,000 and $750,000.
LOUISVILLE
- Two Weber
Shandwick executives have purchased the public relations firm and
have renamed the company New West LLC. New owners Rebecca Simpson
(who will serve as New West’s CEO) and Tom Howell (chief operating
officer) say the company will continue to be an affiliate of the Weber
Shandwick system. The firm employs approximately 30 people and has
a client list that includes Brown & Williamson, General Electric,
and Tricon.
- With passenger
counts falling following the events of September 11, the Regional
Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County is deferring
a number of previously planned projects, including runway extensions
and a terminal renovation. A hiring freeze, reduction in employee
travel, and a hold on equipment purchases have also been put in place.
- A company
restructuring leaves Louisville’s Worthington Steel plant operating,
but will result in the loss of eight salaried positions. The Ohio-based
company is shutting down plants in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia
and Oklahoma and dissolving partnerships in Brazil. Though the Louisville
plant is small, employing only 70 people, it is a significant producer
of steel for Southern auto assembly plants.
- Louisville-based
Sani-Dryer LLC has inked a deal with Winn-Dixie to install its cart-sanitizing
system at the grocery chain’s Blankenbaker Lane store. Sani-Dryer’s
system sanitizes and dries up to 3,000 shopping carts per day, eliminating
germs and viruses transferred from either food or previous users.
The Sani-Dryer system is already in place at a Cincinnati Thriftway
store and is also being used by Superquinn stores, a chain of 19 supermarkets
in Ireland.
- United Graphics
Printing Group has been awarded a three-year, $5.1 million contract
with Norton Healthcare to provide its entire forms business along
with other miscellaneous printing jobs.
- The Presnell
Group, an architectural, engineering and construction company, has
changed its name to Qk4. The new name, which was the brainchild of
Red7e advertising and the Guthrie/Mayes public relations firm, draws
from the words “quintessential knowledge” and the four elements
of earth, air, fire and water.
- Creative Alliance
Inc. signed an agreement with Yorkshire Global Restaurants to develop
all print, point-of-purchase materials and merchandising for the Lexington-based
company. Yorkshire is the parent company of Long John Silver’s
and A&W Restaurants.
MARION
- Martin’s
Tire Recovery has announced plans to build a new manufacturing facility
that will recycle rubber tires into products such as mulch, mats,
floor tiles, and rubber chips. Rubber mulch is becoming an increasingly
popular alternative to wood mulch, offering more durability and efficiency.
Owner Ken Martin has not yet determined the location of the new plant,
which will require approximately 50,000 square feet and is expected
to employ about 60 new workers. Martin’s current operation, which
employs 40 people, shreds used tires and sells the material to power
companies for use as fuel.
- Par-4 Plastics
has purchased the former Tyco manufacturing facility for $650,000.
Tyco, which closed its 113,000-square-foot electro-mechanical manufacturing
plant in 2000, at one point had the facility on the market for $2
million. However, in a purchase plan put together by the Crittenden
County Economic Development Corporation, Tyco agreed to a selling
price of $1,650,000 in which it will receive a $1 million tax-deductible
credit for donating the remainder to the city. As part of the plan,
Par-4 then agreed to pay the city the $650,000 for the building. In
addition, Par-4 will be exempt from city property taxes on the building
and the 24 acres on which it sits for the next five years. Par-4,
which produces custom injection and molded plastic products, plans
to utilize the facility for future expansion.
MAYFIELD
- Continental
General Tire has been named as the exclusive supplier for Ford Motor
Company’s 2003 Expedition sports utility vehicle. To meet the
demand of that contract, Continental has announced that it will be
hiring approximately 65 new workers in order to increase production
to some 20,000 tires per day.
MAYSVILLE
- Howard Publications,
owner of the Maysville Ledger-Independent newspaper, has been acquired
by Lee Enterprises Inc. for $694 million. The deal involves newspapers
in 10 states, including Kentucky.
MURRAY
- Mattel Inc.
has informed the remaining employees at its Murray plant that the
facility will be shut down in June, rather than the previously announced
October date. The company announced last April that it was closing
the plant – the last of its U.S. manufacturing facilities –
and moving the operations to Mexico, putting approximately 1,000 Kentuckians
out of work. Local economic development officials are now working
to bring other businesses to the area to fill the vacant space.
NEWPORT
- The Carnegie
Library is offering to sell its building in downtown Newport to the
city for $500,000, under the condition that it remain in public use.
The city, which is applying for a $400,000 federal Renaissance grant
to assist in the purchase, wants to use the 100-year-old building
to house museums highlighting the region and life along the Ohio River.
NICHOLASVILLE
- Computrex
Inc., a freight-payment and audit company in operation since 1973,
is in the midst of Chapter 7 bankruptcy following claims filed in
court by shippers who say the company owes as much as $25 million
to carriers.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
- Citing lower
hotel occupancy rates resulting from a sluggish economy, the Comair
strike, and an overall reduction in tourism after September 11, The
Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a 1.06
percent increase in the area’s hotel/motel tax. The current tax
rate is 10.24; an increase would boost that figure to 11.30 percent,
adding approximately $1.60 to the cost of the average stay at an average
hotel room rate. In order for the measure to be implemented, the issue
would require approval from Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.
PADUCAH
- BellSouth’s
Paducah call center is slated to close later this year as part of
a regional consolidation that will merge 75 sales, service and collection
centers in 28. The closure will result in the loss of 87 jobs. As
part of consolidation, the Louisville call center will add another
130 positions, bringing its overall employment to approximately 400.
Paducah employees will have the option to transfer to Louisville or
apply for other BellSouth jobs in the Paducah area.
RICHMOND
- Nichidai America
Corporation has purchased 10 acres in the Richmond Industrial Park
South II with plans to built a 28,000-square-foot manufacturing facility
to produce forged automotive parts. The new plant, which will represent
the company’s first U.S. manufacturing facility, is expected
to be operational early next year and employ approximately 30 people.
SOMERSET
- Plaid Clothing,
formerly known as Palm Beach, has announced that it is closing its
Somerset facility at the end of the month. The plant, owned by Intercontinental
Branded Apparel, produced men’s suits and coats.
WESTERN KENTUCKY
 The
Sierra Club is moving to sue four Western Kentucky chicken farms,
claiming that the facilities produce a toxic level of ammonia. The
farms – located in Webster, McLean and Hopkins counties –
are contracted by Arkansas-based Tyson Foods to supply chickens for
its processing plant in Henderson County. Tyson officials maintain
that there are no comprehensive studies to measure how much ammonia
is released from such facilities and that the Environmental Protection
Agency has no guidelines as to how to report agriculturally-produced
ammonia.
WHITLEY CITY
- Long John
Silver’s has teamed up with Pizza Inn to open a new co-branded
restaurant in Whitley City. The 3,200-square-foot, freestanding restaurant,
which will be operated by franchisee Kirby Cordell, represents the
first such pairing for the two chains. Pizza Inn, a Texas company,
has some 450 restaurants in 21 states. Lexington-based Long John Silver’s
operates more than 2,300 stores in the U.S. and abroad.
WINCHESTER
- Fire has damaged
three buildings at Fort Boonesborough, a popular tourist site near
Winchester. Fortunately, recent repair work on some of the buildings
had required that many of the more valuable items, such as a portrait
of Daniel Boone, be removed, thus sparing them from any fire or water
damage. The fort is expected to open as usual on April 1.
- Ale-8-One,
the Winchester soft-drink company that enjoys an avid customer base
throughout the Central Kentucky region, has signed an agreement with
Coca-Cola Enterprises that will allow Coca-Cola to distribute the
ginger-based drink in 61 Kentucky counties as well as markets in Ohio
and Indiana. Ale-8 is currently available only within a 60-mile radius
of Winchester. The new distribution plan will take effect in April.
STATE
- Five Kentucky
companies are among those featured on Forbes’ Platinum 400 list,
a compilation recognizing the best of the nation’s large companies.
The companies named to the Platnum 400 represent those that have achieved
long- and short-term growth and return on capital. This list is culled
from some 1,000 companies that have at least $1 billion in annual
revenues. The Kentucky companies selected for the list were: Lexmark
International (#52), Genlyte Group Inc. (#142), Brown-Forman Corp.
(#280), Ashland Inc. (#354) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing NA (#361).
- Kentucky farmers
are being urged to participate in the 2001 Agricultural Resource Management
survey, a study that will provide vital statistics about the economic
condition of production agriculture. Data collected from Kentucky
producers will be the last financial picture presented to Congress
as they begin work on the next Farm Bill and will serve as a resource
when policymakers determine federal assistance. For more information,
visit www.usda.gov/nass or call 800-928-5277.
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