In early July, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Kentuckians seeking to enter the workforce now have free access to a new online learning program to help prepare them for good jobs in several high-demand industries.
Earlier this month, the nation’s most prominent global site selection consultants gathered in Nashville, Tennessee for the 8th Annual Site Selectors Guild Conference. The marquee event is designed to encourage knowledge sharing, create an interactive exchange of ideas and provide networking opportunities amongst Guild members and economic development professionals. Team Taylor County Executive Director Ron McMahan attended the highly regarded event, bringing back valuable insights and contacts.
Campbellsville Industries is in the running for Coolest Thing Made in Kentucky. Each year, Kentuckians across the Commonwealth nominate and vote for the “Coolest Thing Made in Kentucky.”
With nearly 70 years of experience, 20,500 customers in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries, it’s no surprise that Campbellsville Industries was nominated for the title.
Today, Gov. Andy Beshear joined local officials from Taylor County and leaders from INFAC North America, an automotive manufacturer that specializes in cables, antennas, horns, actuators and electric vehicle (EV) battery system assemblies, to break ground on the company’s expansion in Campbellsville, which will create 220 Kentucky jobs with an investment of at least $53 million.
Team Taylor County recently organized an industry roundtable with U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. Attended by Taylor County businesses and community leaders, including Amazon, Manchester Tank, Ingersoll Rand, Frost-Arnett, Cox Interiors, Wholesale Hardwood Interiors, Murakami Manufacturing USA and more, the group discussed the challenges and opportunities facing businesses today.
The Kentucky Career Center – Cumberlands will co-host a Drive-Thru Job Fair on August 20, 2020, from 11 am – 1 pm ET at its Campbellsville location at 1311 East Broadway Street. Numerous Taylor County employers will be on site conducting interviews right from your vehicle.
As state and national guidelines allow for the re-opening of most business establishments, Taylor County businesses are proving their resilience and adaptability. With new health and safety standards in place, many employers are now able to bring back more of their workforce and ramp up production schedules. While not at 100 percent capacity, most manufacturers have around 80 percent of their original workforce back on site.
By John L. Moore, Central Kentucky News-Journal
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has released an update to the local highway plan, which provides estimated time frames and information on funding sources for various projects. Included among those projects is the Heartland Parkway, which will allow trucks hauling products and materials faster passage between Taylor, Adair and Marion counties, making the area more attractive to companies looking for a place to locate their business.
As of the date of this newsletter, Taylor County’s response rate to the 2020 Census is 68.9 percent, just slightly above the state response rate of 66.3 percent. Team Taylor County is encouraging residents to help boost our community’s voice in this effort. We’re also asking area businesses to raise awareness among employees of the importance of completing this self-reporting survey.
Team Taylor County has taken the proactive step to make sure growing companies don’t have to choose between having a custom-outfitted building or moving in quickly. With Taylor County’s Build-Ready Pad Site, an industrial client can cut through the red tape and occupy a brand new 108,000 square-foot building on 10-acres of expandable property within a few short months.
In the midst of quarantines and healthy at home initiatives, Taylor County’s expansive trail systems have given residents a breath of fresh air, literally. More and more people are flocking to the outdoors to experience the beauty of nature and to escape the walls inside. Achieving certified Kentucky Trail Town status in 2019, Taylor County is demonstrating how to leverage its natural resources to create a quality of life asset for the entire community and visitors alike.
As everyone is adjusting to a new temporary way of life, we wanted to use this opportunity to share the latest information and resources we’ve gathered to help support our business community during the COVID-19 Crisis.
As of the date of this newsletter article, Taylor County is fortunate to not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19. However, business can help play an active role in reducing the risk of exposure to its employees by taking several actions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, Governor Andy Beshear released an executive order detailing additional steps to try and contain the spread of COVID-19. Expanding upon his Healthy at Home Initiative, all businesses that aren’t one of the group considered life-sustaining will close to in-person traffic. The order goes into effect at 8 p.m. Thursday.
On March 20, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Department of Labor announced that small and midsize employers can begin taking advantage of two new refundable payroll tax credits, designed to immediately and fully reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave to their employees. This relief to employees and small and midsize businesses is provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Act), signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020.
As part of its disaster assistance program, the SBA is providing low-interest working capital loans of up to $2 million to small businesses and nonprofits affected by the coronavirus.
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are providing special tax filing and payment relief to individuals and businesses in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The filing deadline for federal tax returns has been extended from April 15 to July 15, 2020.
Kentucky has made available unemployment benefits to those experiencing job loss from the health crisis, including waiving the seven-day waiting period and job search requirements. Complete details and an online application can be found at https://kcc.ky.gov.
If your company is hiring to meet existing or changes in demand driven by COVID-19, we want to hear from you. Additionally, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has established a “COVID-19: Who’s Hiring” database of businesses currently hiring to better connect employees and employers during this time. Businesses can submit job openings online at www.kychamber.com/news/coronavirus/covid-19-whos-hiring.
Team Taylor County Executive Director & CEO Ron McMahan recently sat down for a one-on-one discussion with John Chowning of Campbellsville University on its Dialogue on Public Issues show. The two community leaders highlight recent new location and expansion projects, workforce partnerships and strategies for maintaining Taylor County’s economic growth momentum. Watch the full interview below.
Team Taylor County Executive Director Ron McMahan recently completed the first of a two-week executive education course through the Advanced Economic Development Leadership program. Held at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center in Kansas City Nov. 2-7, the hands-on course focuses on evolving economic and community development issues taught through an experiential, applied learning approach.
Nothing wraps up the end of the year like a ribbon cutting to celebrate new jobs! That’s what Taylor County’s own Frost-Arnett did this week. With company officials, employees and community leaders present, the company celebrated the official opening of its new 400-person call center in Campbellsville.
Ingersoll Rand Company recently held a celebration saluting current employees and retirees, recognizing the company’s 50th anniversary in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Ingersoll Rand has been assembling quality air compressors used around the world in Campbellsville since October 1969.
Senator Rand Paul recently met with INFAC North America’s U.S. and South Korean management in Campbellsville to discuss the impact of federal issues. Topics covered included trade policies and infrastructure, both of which are important issues impacting INFAC’s global operations.
Having a regional hospital in the heart of Taylor County does more than provide high-quality healthcare to local residents. Its presence creates an economic ripple effect that can be felt throughout the region. With nearly 750 employees, Taylor Regional Hospital is making a profound impact on the communities it serves. Through job creation, healthcare innovations and collaborative workforce development initiatives, Taylor Regional Hospital is proving to be a catalyst for population and business growth.
It’s no secret that Campbellsville University plays a major role in shaping the minds and futures of the thousands of students that attend there each year. What may not be as well known to the general public is just how in-tune the university is with aligning its programming to meet the needs of business and industry.
We often take for granted how everyday products come to be and the processes that go in to creating a finished product. Not to mention the jobs that are created and sustained as a result of those processes. That’s most likely the case for plastic tubing. However, if you stop and think about just how many different products rely on this durable material, you’d probably have a hard time counting them all.
Vibrant and welcoming downtowns are the heartbeat of any great community. Extraordinary transformations over the past 15 years have revitalized downtown Campbellsville into a bustling shopping, dining and business center. Thanks to numerous beautification and business development initiatives, downtown Campbellsville now exudes an energy that can be felt throughout the region.
Continued growth in a community’s population is a sign of a healthy economy and reflects upon a location’s livability. Communities that possess a vision for the future and forge strong connections between government, education, business and economic development tend to lead the way.
New jobs are on the way. After a thorough site selection process, Manchester Tank & Equipment Co., a division of McWane, Inc. has announced that it has purchased a building and land located in Campbellsville. The more than $10 million investment is expected to create 175 full-time jobs.
Vision. Collaboration. Motivation. Each of these words summarize the spirit behind a new way of approaching industry-focused education in Taylor County and surrounding area. For years, Taylor County lacked the physical presence of a vocational training school. However, thanks to visionary education, industry and community leaders, this reality is quickly changing. In August, the community is set to unveil the Central Kentucky Career Academy, a newly remodeled facility that will house expanded programming directly aligned with industry demand in the region.
After working in manufacturing for 25-plus years, Murakami Manufacturing USA’s Chairman and CEO Michael Rodenberg has seen his fair share of workforce challenges. From changing demographics and culture shifts to evolving technology and in-demand skill requirements, companies like his must constantly adapt to shifting labor trends in order to attract and retain a quality workforce.
For nearly 65 years, Campbellsville Industries has been a staple of Taylor County’s manufacturing landscape. And while its name may be a bit inconspicuous, Campbellsville Industries’ architectural landmarks can be admired in cities and towns across the country and around the world.
Foreign direct investment has been an undeniably significant source of job growth in the Commonwealth of Kentucky over the past few decades. In all, more than 500 facilities across the state have foreign ownership ties to 34 unique nations. Taylor County is no exception to this trend. Representing a diverse industry base, which includes automotive components manufacturing and distribution, plastic tubing manufacturing and customer support operations, Taylor County’s internationally owned facilities showcase a dynamic and progressive business climate.
Time is money, and nowhere is that sentiment more evident than in the site selection process. Companies seeking to site a new business location look to eliminate as many barriers as possible to ensure a timely and cost-efficient transition. It’s for this very reason that Team Taylor County has taken the extra step in its site development efforts, taking the guess work and red tape out of the picture for prospective industrial clients.
Campbellsville has experienced a major jump in a national ranking of U.S. micropolitan areas, indicating a continued rise in growth and quality of the local economy.
A large portion of central and southern Taylor County has been designated as an Opportunity Zone. In 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury certified 144 Opportunity Zones in 84 Kentucky counties under a program in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that aims to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide.
Team Taylor County and INFAC North America, a South Korean automotive supplier located in Campbellsville, Kentucky have teamed up to showcase the community’s business advantages to new and expanding businesses. In a newly produced video, INFAC General Manager Brian Bland discusses the company’s decision to locate its North American plant in Taylor County 10 years ago and the many reasons for their success here.
In cooperation with its Kentucky Crossroads partners, Team Taylor County was prominently positioned to discuss the community’s business advantages to dozens of the state’s leading real estate advisors during a networking luncheon held in the fall.
Kentucky Crossroads, a regional economic development partnership in central Kentucky, is celebrating its business growth achievements during 2018, a year in which a record nearly $800 million in new capital investments were announced within its 11-county borders. The amount more than doubles the previous highest investment year set back in 2010.
The new year will bring new jobs to Frost-Arnett Co., an accounts-receivable management firm operating in Campbellsville for nearly two decades. The company is adding 135 full-time jobs and making a $2.84 million investment to relocate to a new office within the community.
As the leading economic development agency for Campbellsville and Taylor County, Team Taylor County is wasting no time in its pursuit to bring new jobs and long-term investment to the community.
