Automation supplier adding 24 jobs, investing $6 million in expansion project
INDEPENDENCE, Ky. (April 11, 2013) – Gov. Steve Beshear joined local and company officials Thursday to break ground on Balluff Inc.’s new U.S. headquarters building in Independence. The company expects to add 24 new, full-time Kentucky resident jobs and invest $6 million as part of the expansion.
“Balluff has found a successful home in Northern Kentucky, with steady growth here over the past 30 years,” Beshear said. “We’re proud to have the company’s U.S. headquarters in Kentucky, and especially happy to see the company continue to expand, adding 24 new jobs and investing $6 million in the commonwealth.”
One of the world’s leading automation suppliers, Balluff specializes in products for industrial sensing, networking and identification devices. Balluff is the U.S. subsidiary of Balluff GmbH, based in Neuhausen, Germany. The company’s U.S. headquarters currently employs more than 150 people, and has been located in Independence since 1983, with expansions in 1994 and 2001. The facility is the final assembly, distribution and training site for Balluff in the United States.
Balluff’s new 48,000-s.f. building is expected to be completed in March 2014, and will be a state-of-the art customer support, training, and sales and marketing center. The facility will include “green concepts” and worker-friendly features, such as 100 percent employee access to daylight from workspaces.
“Balluff is working hard to help keep jobs in America by offering our customers technology and expertise to increase their productivity, improve their quality and reduce their total cost of ownership, helping to make U.S. manufacturing the most productive in the world,” said Kent Howard, president of Balluff, Inc.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $300,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
KEDFA also approved Balluff for tax benefits up to $150,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing equipment.
“This is a company that placed roots in the community in 1986 and has expanded three times including today’s announcement,” said Gary Moore, judge-executive and chairman of Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp. “We must continue to provide workforce and business solutions to Balluff as it adds such a solid base to our community. We are very appreciative of the investment in Independence and Northern Kentucky.”
For more information on Balluff, visit www.balluff.com.
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