Owensboro, Ky. – Food safety solutions company Hollison LLC is expanding in Owensboro.
Hollison will create 34 high-paying jobs and invest nearly $1.2. million into the project.
Hollison was founded in 2005 and provides innovative sampling technology that gives food manufacturers an augmented ability to find contamination – biological, viral and chemical – before a product is shipped. By testing products, as well as the environment around the products, Hollison is able to identify potential risks within a much shorter time frame and more accurately than similar technology.
The company will lease a 30,000-square-foot facility and purchase equipment needed to manufacture technology and facilitate further research and development. The expansion will allow Hollison to handle an anticipated increase in demand for the company’s technology.
“We’re from the Owensboro area, so to be able to stay there and expand there and be able to do it with the support of the state, the county and the city is huge for us,” said Bo Barron, vice president of Hollison. “We’re very excited about this opportunity.”
Hollison is among the first clients to get its start with the Kentucky Innovation Network at the idea stage and remain involved with the network each step of the way throughout its growth and approval for state incentives.
The company partnered with the Kentucky Innovation Network after founder and CEO Kevin Humphrey had a “light bulb” moment about measuring food safety while building grain facilities.
Humphrey met with Madison Silvert, then the director of the Kentucky Innovation Network office in Owensboro, and got Hollison off the ground with seed funding and intellectual property protection on its product.
Hollison was also the first client to locate in the Owensboro Centre for Business and Research business incubator, giving the company access to equipment and lowering initial costs, which contributed to the company remaining in Kentucky.
“Owensboro could not be more proud of Hollison and its continued success. The company’s recent accomplishments validate Owensboro and the Commonwealth’s commitment to an entrepreneurial, innovation-centric economic development strategy – a long-term effort that both solidifies job and wealth creation and the diversification of local economies,” said Joe Berry, director of the Owensboro Kentucky Innovation Network office. “Hollison’s story is an American success story – that a creative individual with a bright idea and a lot of hard work can achieve remarkable things. The Owensboro Kentucky Innovation Network office is proud to be a part of that story, and we look forward to seeing Hollison prosper in the Owensboro community for many years to come.”
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $700,000 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.
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