Gov. Beshear Joins INFAC North America to Break Ground on Taylor County Expansion
$53 million-plus investment announced in January 2023 will create 220 full-time jobs
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (June 2, 2023) ? 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.
?Our economy is only as strong as the companies that continue to invest and believe in what Kentucky has to offer,? said Gov. Beshear. ?INFAC North America has been a key contributor to the commonwealth?s manufacturing sector for 15 years and will now play a role in supporting our rapidly growing EV industry. I want to thank company leadership for their continued presence and investment in Taylor County and look forward to their success in Campbellsville for many years to come.?
The expansion project, located at the company?s existing facility in Campbellsville, comes in response to growing customer demand to boost growth in North America and increase the company?s global competitiveness. The $53 million investment will see the company add 125,000 square feet to its existing 110,000 square feet building for increased manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, the project will create 220 quality, full-time jobs for Kentuckians. This project marks the second expansion by INFAC North America at their Campbellsville facility since it was established in 2008.
?Since the opening of INFAC North America in Campbellsville, Kentucky, we?ve always been very happy with the excellent workforce and supportive local and state organizations,? said INFAC Chairman Ohe Gil Choi. ?When the time came for the next investment and expansion to prepare for INFAC North America, there were many options to consider, but it was an easy decision for us to invest in Campbellsville because we already knew how easy it would be to work with the local government, both at the state and county level, and how good the teamwork would be with the diligent, hardworking people of Taylor County.?
Established in South Korea in 1969, INFAC specializes in the manufacture of automotive components such as control cables, solenoids, antennas, actuators and horns. Recently, the company expanded into the field of eco-friendly technology, adding EV battery and electrification-control systems to its list of products. In September 2008, the company established INFAC North America with its first production facility in the United States, located in Campbellsville. The company quickly outgrew the initial space in Taylor County and added an additional 110,000-square-foot assembly, manufacturing and warehouse facility in 2013.
This project adds to Kentucky?s thriving manufacturing sector, which includes more than 5,000 facilities and employs over 250,000 people statewide. Administration-to-date, nearly 590 new-location and expansion projects from manufacturers are expected to create nearly 30,000 full-time jobs with over $22 billion in new investments.
Taylor County Judge/Executive Barry Smith is encouraged to see a quality company expand its existing business in the community.
?This is a great day for Campbellsville and Taylor County,? said Judge Smith. ?We are excited to have INFAC expand in our community. INFAC?s huge capital investment is a testimony to the excellent work ethic of our people.?
Campbellsville Mayor Dennis Benningfield noted the strong local workforce and future potential this investment brings to Campbellsville.
?We are very excited to see the expansion of INFAC in Campbellsville,? said Mayor Benningfield. ?I want to thank them for making this large investment. Their decision to expand in Campbellsville speaks to the strength and dedication of their local workforce. We look forward to their future growth potential and the effect on our local economy.?
Ron McMahan, executive director and CEO of Team Taylor County, is excited to see the job opportunities created by the project.
?We are honored to have INFAC expand their existing manufacturing facility in Campbellsville,? said McMahan. ?Their capital investment and job creation will have a tremendous economic impact on our community. It is always a great honor to have an existing business grow their presence in Taylor County.?
INFAC?s continued growth furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced the creation of 46,300 full-time jobs and roughly 860 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling $26 billion in announced investments.
The Governor also secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth.
In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years.
That momentum continued strongly into 2022 with 248 new-location and expansion announcements totaling 16,000 full-time jobs behind nearly $10.5 billion in new investment.
The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits, the second-highest mark since 2010 and an 11.5% increase over the previous year.
Gov. Beshear also announced the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. And in April 2022, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision AESC to announce a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. These announcements solidify Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.
Kentucky?s success has been noted by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, which have upgraded the state?s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth?s surging economy. On May 12, Gov. Beshear announced that his administration secured the first state-level credit rating upgrade in 13 years and the first-ever such upgrade from Fitch Ratings.
Site Selection magazine recently placed Kentucky first in the South Central region and top-5 nationally in its 2023 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects. The publication also placed Kentucky second nationwide and first in the South Central region for its annual Governor?s Cup ranking for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Gov. Beshear?s administration is projected to post the four highest years of budget surpluses in Kentucky history, and the state?s rainy day fund has a record balance of $2.7 billion.
Gov. Beshear recently announced a new ?Supply Kentucky? initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.
The Governor also recently announced that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. On May 18, Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky set a new historic low unemployment rate of 3.7%, which is the lowest rate ever recorded in the commonwealth.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in January 2023 preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can tax incentives based on the company?s investment and annual job and wage targets.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, INFAC North America can receive resources from Kentucky?s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
For more information on INFAC North America, visit infac.com.
A detailed community profile for Taylor County can be viewed here.
Information on Kentucky?s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at?governor.ky.gov,?kycovid19.ky.gov?and the Governor?s official social media accounts?Facebook,?Twitter?and?YouTube.
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