Sealants, adhesive company to establish North American headquarters
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (June 12, 2014) – Soudal Holding NV will acquire and expand Accumetric LLC in Elizabethtown.
Soudal, an international adhesive and sealant manufacturer, will retain the 85 jobs currently at the facility and plans to create as many as 77 new positions.
“The commonwealth is excited to welcome Soudal to our growing international corporate community,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “I know that the company could have located anywhere. The fact that it chose to grow in the commonwealth is a strong testament to our pro-business climate and quality workforce.”
Soudal plans to invest nearly $21.2 million in the project, which will entail technology upgrades and an expansion of the 200,000-s.f. facility on Ring Road. The move also will establish Soudal’s North American headquarters in Hardin County. Even with the change in ownership, the facility will still operate under the name Accumetric.
“Kentucky’s business-friendly environment, coupled with strong expansion options, helped to solidify our location decision,” said Soudal’s chairman and CEO Baron Victor Swerts. “As a rapidly growing company, we need a business environment that will respond quickly to our needs, and the commonwealth and Elizabethtown-Hardin County communities clearly fit this requirement. Soudal is excited to be investing in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and looks forward to the accelerated growth of Accumetric here in North America.”
Soudal was formed in Belgium in 1966 and is a global leader in sealants, foam and adhesives. The company operates in more than 100 countries.
In acquiring Accumetric, Soudal inherits a company that has manufactured, packaged and marketed adhesives, sealants, lubricants and related products to domestic and foreign customers worldwide for more than 40 years.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Soudal’s expansion for tax incentives up to $1.2 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows the 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 Soudal for tax benefits up to $300,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Investment 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.
For more information on Soudal’s domestic operations, visit soudalusa.com.
Kentucky has witnessed great success in attracting foreign companies. Last year, almost 40 percent of new investment and more than 30 percent of new jobs came as a result of foreign direct investment. Almost one in five of Kentucky’s announced projects in 2013 came from foreign-owned companies.
Add Comment