LEWISPORT, Ky. — Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc. will invest more than $167 million in its Lewisport aluminum rolling mill, a project that will create 40 full-time jobs in the years ahead.
The company’s commitment to its 2.3 million-square-foot facility on Kentucky Highway 1957 will include investment in new equipment and building upgrades to modernize the operation and better position the commonwealth to support automotive and industrial customers. New jobs associated with the project will include production, technical and leadership roles. Currently, the company maintains over 1,000 full-time employees in Hancock County, including 875 Kentucky residents. Leaders at Commonwealth expect work on the project to begin in early 2022 and be completed by early 2024.
“This is an exciting time for the company, our customers, employees and the local community,” said Commonwealth CEO Mike Keown. “The investment will allow us to complete the over $750 million investment program we started in 2015 to make the Lewisport facility the most modern and cost-competitive automotive and common alloy sheet plant in the United States. I want to thank our owners, American Industrial Partners, the State of Kentucky and Hancock County for their support.”
Commonwealth Rolled Products was established in December 2020 following the acquisition of the Lewisport facility by American Industrial Partners. The aluminum rolling mill, which most recently operated as Aleris Corp., was established in Lewisport in 1966 as Harvey Aluminum. The facility produces high-quality aluminum-rolled products for the automotive and industrial markets.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) earlier this month preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $1.5 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $167.25 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 40 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $38 including benefits across those jobs.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, Commonwealth can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. These include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives.
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