BOWLING GREEN
The Western Kentucky University Board of Regents has approved a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management. The new program is designed to prepare graduates with skills in health data management, information policy, computer information systems administration and administrative and clinical workflow. Graduates will be able to take the Registered Health Information Administrator exam. U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics predict a 16 percent growth in employment for medical and health services managers from 2008 to 2018.
CAVE CITY
Yahagi America Molding Inc. (YAMI) is adding 16,000 s.f. of space to its existing 33,600-s.f. plastic injection molding plant in Cave City. The company is investing approximately $1 million in the project, which will add five to 10 new jobs to the existing 42-member workforce. One of YAMI’s primary customers is DMMI, which supplies automotive HVAC systems to General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.
COLUMBIA
The Adair Progress reports that Westlake Regional Hospital’s board of trustees has voted to enter negotiations to sell the hospital and its affiliated clinics to Tennessee-based LifePoint Hospitals. The hospital has been struggling financially as a result of long-term debt and considered proposals from Norton Health System of Louisville and Ephraim McDowell Health System in Danville before selecting LifePoint. Westlake is a 77-bed acute care hospital that serves Adair County and the surrounding area.
COVINGTON
The Catalytic Development Fund Corp. of Northern Kentucky has reached its initial fundraising goal of $10 million thanks to recent investment commitments from PNC Bank and Fifth Third’s Community Development Corp. (CDC). PNC increased to $2.5 million its initial investment of $2 million and Fifth Third committed $1 million. The money will be invested in the development of high-quality market rate real estate development projects in the Northern Kentucky communities of Covington, Newport, Ludlow, Bellevue and Dayton. The fund’s mission is to accelerate Northern Kentucky’s urban renaissance through targeted investments in catalytic real estate development and redevelopment projects in urban neighborhoods.
FORT WRIGHT
Indiana Tech’s College of Professional Studies has opened a new campus in Fort Wright, its second location in Kentucky. The College of Professional Studies will offer undergraduate and graduate programs in an accelerated format designed to accommodate nontraditional students who are balancing work, family and community responsibilities. In addition to its main campus in Fort Wayne, Ind., the university has satellite campuses in 11 Indiana communities and opened a Louisville campus last fall.
FRANKFORT
The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board has awarded $998,000 to Kentucky State University over the next two years to help implement the initiatives of the Kentucky Center for Sustainability of Farms and Families, which works to foster development and improve profitability of tobacco-dependent small farms as well as underserved and limited-resource farmers within the commonwealth.
FRANKLIN
— New Mather Metals Inc. is adding a new production line to its manufacturing plant in Franklin, where it produces solid and tubular stabilizer bars for use in the automotive and off-road industry. The company is investing $5.9 million in the expansion project and anticipates adding 20 new jobs to the existing 300-member workforce.
— Franklin Precision Industry Inc., an automotive supplier that has been in operation in Franklin since 1989, is investing $50.5 million to expand its plant there. The investment includes the purchase of equipment and the construction of additional buildings for production, warehousing and manufacturing operations. The Franklin plant currently employs 471 workers and expects to add 113 full-time jobs as a result of the expansion.
HEBRON
n The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport reopened its main terminal, passenger tunnel and Concourse A on May 15 following an extensive $36 million renovation. The renovated concourse offers more dining and shopping options, WiFi, workstations and outlets to recharge electronic devices, a USO military lounge and a children’s play area, as well as an improved ticketing area and tunnel enhancements to provide faster access to passenger gates.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS
General Cable Corp. has acquired Alcan Cable, the wire and cable business of Rio Tinto plc, for $185 million in cash. Alcan Cable employs approximately 1,050 associates in its aluminum cable manufacturing and distribution facilities servicing the energy and construction markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. General Cable estimates that the acquisition will contribute approximately $650-700 million in revenues at current metal prices.
HOPKINSVILLE
TeleTech Services Corp., a global provider of technology-enabled customer experience solutions, has announced plans to invest more than $12 million to open a customer service center in Hopkinsville that will create 500 to 700 jobs over the next several years. Founded in Denver in 1982, TeleTech now has more than 41,000 employees and operates more than 60 “customer experience delivery centers” worldwide. The 45,000-s.f. facility in Hopkinsville is expected to be operational this fall.
LEXINGTON
— Keeneland’s 15-day spring meet brought a record attendance of 269,292 for an average of 17,953 per day. The figures eclipse the previous records of 250,163 and a daily average of 14,715 set during last fall’s 17-day meet.
— TeamLogicIT, a provider of computer services and network support for small- to medium-sized businesses, has opened an office in Lexington. The company provides a variety of computer consultation and maintenance services, including quick-response troubleshooting and repair of desktops, servers and online systems, as well as managed IT services.
— The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center has received a $5 million grant from the Edward P. Evans Foundation along with a $1.25 million donor gift to fund research of myelodysplastic syndrome, a deadly blood and bone marrow disease often caused by chemotherapy or radiation treatments. “Our researchers are some of the best in the country, and receiving the Evans grant and the gift are further proof of that,” said Dr. Mark Evers, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center. “The $6.25 million in funding has the potential to help us make a huge difference in the lives of those patients who are most at risk for developing myelodysplastic syndrome. As we move towards applying for National Cancer Institute Designation, leading-edge research like this will become more and more of a focus for the Markey Cancer Center.”
LOUISVILLE
— The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees has approved a master plan to repurpose the seminary’s campus in a move that represents the most significant physical revitalization of the seminary since moving to its current location in 1926. The master plan will repurpose the historical Mullins Complex as a state-of-the-art facility for Boyce College, the undergraduate school of Southern Seminary.
— Kosair Children’s Hospital has installed a $1.7 million dual-source scanner that reduces radiation doses, which has been a major negative concern in modern CT imaging for children. Kosair is the only pediatric facility in the state to have the technology in use and only the third facility in the United States.
— Norton Neuroscience Institute is enrolling patients in a national trial to test a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack healthy tissue and can ultimately cause the complete loss of neurological function. The disease affects 400,000 Americans and some 200 new cases are being diagnosed each week. Norton is the only facility in the Kentucky/Indiana/Ohio region to participate in the national ACCLAIM study.
— BellaNovus Development Co., a Louisville-based medical design and manufacturing company, has entered into an agreement with Device Technologies for the exclusive distribution of BellaNovus’ Ouchless Needle product in Australia and New Zealand. Developed by Dr. Marc J. Salzman, a Louisville plastic surgeon, the Ouchless® Needle Collection is a disposable syringe-attachable dispenser that delivers an instant topical refrigerant to the skin just prior to needle insertion for cosmetic injections such as botox. The arrangement with Device Technologies represents the first international distribution agreement for BellaNovus.
— Frost Brown Todd has merged its law firm with MGLAW PLLC, a seven-member law firm headquartered in Nashville. The acquisition will give FBT 23 lawyers in its Nashville office.
— In Every Language, a Louisville-based language services provider that offers translating and interpreting in more than 170 languages, has opened an office in New York City in order to tap into a larger talent pool for translation projects. “By meeting talented project managers where they are, we’re able to better work with them and to ensure that the best in the business truly are working for our clients,” said CEO Terena Bell. Translation project management and quality control will be supervised out of Brooklyn; interpreting project management will continue to be run out of In Every Language’s Louisville headquarters.
— A record crowd of 165,307 was in attendance at Churchill Downs to witness the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, breaking last year’s record attendance of 164,858. Wagering from all sources for both the Derby race and the other 12 races of the day was a record $187 million, up 13.2 percent from last year’s $165.2 million.
— The (Louisville) Courier-Journal newspaper has started charging customers for content on its website. Publisher Wesley Jackson announced in May that the paper was transitioning to a new subscription model that would provide all content in print, web, mobile or tablet platform, with subscription options and fees ranging from full access to digital only. Noting that “we are no longer just ‘the newspaper,’” Jackson said advertising customers would have access to expanded, targeted and integrated solutions for all platforms.
LORETTO
The United States Court of Appeals last month upheld a district court ruling protecting the registered trademark for Maker’s Mark signature dripping red wax seal. The ruling is a decisive victory for Maker’s Mark in a trademark dispute that dates back to 2003 and upholds an injunction prohibiting Jose Cuervo International and its affiliates from using a dripping red wax seal on any Cuervo tequila product.
NICHOLASVILLE
Nicholasville-based Alltech has launched a graduate development program that will recruit up to 20 applicants each year from around the world and prepare them for future managerial and leadership positions in the global agribusiness company. Alltech founder Dr. Pearse Lyons said the 12-month, salaried, executive program will be an integral part of the company’s overall growth strategy, fueling the pipeline of executives to further the direction of the company’s business opportunities. The graduates will have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s top specialists in the fields of science, aquaculture, marketing, veterinary science, information technology, business and biotechnology.
OWENSBORO
First Security Bank of Owensboro Inc. has agreed to purchase four banking offices of First Federal Savings Bank of Elizabethtown Inc. that are located in Louisville. Upon completion of the acquisition, First Security is projected to have total assets of $650 million, total loans of $380 million and total deposits of $540 million. Once the transaction has closed, First Security will have 13 banking centers in Kentucky and Indiana. First Security has also closed on its purchase of a former bank branch located in Newburgh, Ind. The Newburgh branch will represent the 14th banking center and is expected to open sometime in the fall of 2012.
PAINTSVILLE
Plans to establish a new pharmacy school in Paintsville have fallen through after the University of Charleston (W. Va.), which was exploring the possibility as part of an initiative with Midway College, determined that it was not in its best interests to proceed. Midway and UC signed a letter of intent in January that outlined a proposal for a pharmacy school at Midway’s Paintsville campus. Midway is no longer seeking accreditation for the pharmacy school and has stopped accepting student applications, according to the school’s website.
RUSSELL
Kentucky and Ohio officials gathered last month for a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaiting Ohio River bridge replacement linking the communities of Russell, Ky., and Ironton, Ohio. The $81 million project is being led by the Ohio Department of Transportation and is expected to be complete in four years.
SCOTTSVILLE
Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems has announced that it will reopen an electrical components plant in Scottsville that has been closed for years. The company is investing $3 million to renovate the facility, which will manufacture electric wire terminals for automotive wiring harness applications. The plant is scheduled to reopen in October, with some equipment and manpower being moved from the company’s existing manufacturing location in Scottsville. Sumitomo currently employs 170 people in Scottsville and plans to add eight to 10 more positions as a result of the renovation project.
ST. CATHARINE
Starting this August, St. Catharine College will begin offering a bachelor of science degree in radiation therapy, making it the only school in the state to offer the degree. Radiation therapists use advanced computer systems to operate sophisticated equipment, such as linear accelerators, primarily in treatment of cancer patients. The U.S. Department of Labor projects employment of radiation therapists needed to treat cancer patients will grow by 27 percent between 2008 and 2018.
STATE
Dr. Pearse Lyons, president of Nicholasville-based Alltech, has challenged the students of three Kentucky universities – the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and the University of Pikeville – to develop a business plan competition with the goal of fostering innovation, economic development and entrepreneurship in nine Eastern Kentucky counties: Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin and Pike. The Innovation Competition will run November 2012 through January 2013, when the students will present their final plans to a panel of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and business leaders. The winning team will receive $20,000 from Alltech for their university’s business school, while the state will prosper by capitalizing on the universities’ innovative ideas.
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