Kentucky State Seal

 

*OFFICE OF GOVERNOR ANDY BESHEAR*

*COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY*








*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*




*Contact:* 

*Scottie Ellis
502-401-6933*

*Brandon Mattingly
502-782-2006*






Gov. Beshear Celebrates 140th Anniversary of Bicycle Brand and Helps United States Playing Card Co. Cut Ribbon on Expansion in Erlanger

"P"laying card manufacturer and distributor has operated in Kentucky since 2008""

*FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2025) *– Today, Gov. Andy Beshear joined local leaders in Erlanger and executives from the United States Playing Card Co. (USPC) to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Bicycle brand playing cards and cut the ribbon on its new expanded facility, which created 10 new jobs.

“This is yet another great project for the commonwealth and an exciting milestone for the United States Playing Card Co.,” said *Gov. Beshear*. “I am proud to celebrate the 140th anniversary of its Bicycle brand and to help cut the ribbon on their newly expanded facility in Erlanger. I want to congratulate the USPC and thank them for their continued belief in what Kentucky has to offer.”

Originally announced in May 2024 [ [link removed] ], USPC has now expanded its Boone County operation, which allows for additional manufacturing capacity with a new press and finishing line. USPC’s investment is initially creating 10 quality Kentucky jobs, which will primarily include production technicians and machine operators as well as roles in engineering, customer service, sales and production planning. This increase adds to the more than 300 locally employed USPC team members.

“We are thrilled and honored to welcome Gov. Andy Beshear to the United States Playing Card Co. headquarters and manufacturing facility as we celebrate the 140th anniversary of the iconic Bicycle brand and officially unveil our new finishing line and press,” said *Craig Townsend, president of USPC*. “For 140 years, USPC has proudly produced our playing cards in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati region. Having Gov. Beshear here to commemorate this exciting expansion of our manufacturing capabilities is a moment of great pride for our entire team and community.”

USPC was founded in Cincinnati with manufacturing operations at a factory in Norwood, Ohio, for over 100 years. Due to business growth and a need for a larger and more efficient manufacturing site, USPC began operations in Kentucky in 2008 and moved the company’s total operations to the commonwealth in 2009. USPC subsequently invested in equipment including new printing presses, new paper laminating equipment, new warehouse equipment, plus an additional investment in upgrades to the building with the relocation.

The United States Playing Card Co. is the leader in the production and distribution of premier brands of playing cards, including Bicycle, Bee, Aviator, Hoyle, Kem and Congress brand playing cards. Bicycle has been the bestselling playing card brand in the world for more than 130 years. Founded in 1867, the company manufactures, markets and distributes traditional playing cards, card games, children’s card games and card accessories. The company is part of Cartamundi Group, a worldwide leader in playing cards, card and board games, and collectibles and trading card games.

*Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore *recently toured USPC to congratulate company leaders on the 140th anniversary of the Bicycle brand: “We appreciate USPC’s continued investment and job growth in Northern Kentucky. It’s quite impressive seeing how they make the decks of cards, purchased by families throughout the United States, right here in Boone County.”

*BE NKY Growth Partnership CEO Lee Crume* congratulated USPC leaders on their expansion: “Dozens of consumer products are made in Northern Kentucky and one of the most iconic is Bicycle playing cards. Advanced manufacturers succeed in the Cincinnati region and USPC is one of our most recognizable examples.”

USPC’s investment and job creation build on the best five-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,200 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $43 billion in announced investments, creating more than 63,200 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth’s history and $18 billion more than the next highest total.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. Since 2022, the average incentivized hourly wage has topped $26 in three consecutive years for the first time.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On’s transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park [ [link removed] ] in Hardin County; AESC [ [link removed] ]’s $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota [ [link removed] ]’s $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; Ford Motor Co. [ [link removed] ]’s $2 billion, 2,200-job commitment in Louisville; and Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing [ [link removed] ]’s $712 million investment, creating 1,572 jobs in Shelby County, among others.

The Governor’s administration also secured [ [link removed] ] the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund. In 2023, Kentucky recorded over 2 million jobs filled for the first time ever and has stayed above that number ever since.

Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings [ [link removed] ], S&P Global Ratings [ [link removed] ] and Moody’s Investors Service [ [link removed] ].

Earlier this year, Site Selection magazine ranked [ [link removed] ] Kentucky in the top five nationally and second in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2024 Governor’s Cup rankings. Site Selection also placed [ [link removed]. ] Kentucky second in the South Central region and No. 6 nationally in its 2025 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.

Gov. Beshear also announced [ [link removed] ] a new initiative, called New Kentucky Home [ [link removed] ], to increase economic investment, attain and attract talent, and increase tourism across the state.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in May 2024 [ [link removed] ] preliminarily approved an incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide tax incentives based on the company’s investment and annual job 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, USPC 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 USPC, visit usplayingcard.com [ [link removed] ].

A detailed community profile for Boone County can be viewed here [ [link removed] ].

Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at "NewKentuckyHome.ky.gov" [ [link removed] ]. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at "facebook.com/CEDkygov" [ [link removed] ]", on Twitter ""@CEDkygov" [ [link removed] ]", Instagram ""@CEDkygov" [ [link removed] ]" and ""LinkedIn" [ [link removed] ].

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