BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Harbor Steel & Supply Corp., a distributor and manufacturer of fabricated products for the steel and aluminum industries, as a company and local leadership gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on a new $8 million operation in Bowling Green that is creating 25 full-time jobs.
Harbor Steel announced in September 2021 plans to locate its second Kentucky facility in Warren County. In May 2022, the company broke ground on the 50,000-square-foot facility in the Kentucky Transpark. In addition to the initial investment, the operation provides potential expansion and job creation opportunities. The company’s investment included acquiring laser machines, press brakes for forming, automated saws and other equipment.
Harbor Steel also operates in Lexington, which opened in 1991 and employs 60 Kentuckians. The Bowling Green facility will support overflow from the Lexington operation and support the growth of the company’s customer base and service area.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in September 2021 preliminarily approved an incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide tax incentives based on the company’s investment and annual job and wage targets.
Additionally, KEDFA approved Harbor Steel for tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
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, Harbor Steel can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
