Gov. Beshear Celebrates Grand Opening of New Purem by Eberspaecher in Louisville, Creating 250 Jobs
Louisville location will serve as auto supplier?s seventh U.S. site
FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 27, 2022) ? Today, Gov. Andy Beshear joined officials from Louisville and Purem by Eberspaecher representatives to celebrate the opening of the automotive supplier?s Louisville operation, which is expected to create close to 250 quality jobs and will serve as the company?s seventh site in the United States.
?Kentucky?s automotive industry continues to see incredible momentum and remains one of our state?s most important sectors,? Gov. Beshear said. ?This can only happen because of companies such as Purem by Eberspaecher are committing to the commonwealth and our workforce. Today?s official opening is an incredible achievement not just for Eberspaecher, but for Louisville and our automotive sector statewide. I am thrilled to be here today to celebrate this exciting step and I look forward to Eberspaecher?s success for many years to come.?
Purem by Eberspaecher will occupy over 180,000 square feet of an existing 314,500-square-foot facility at 7001 Greenbelt Highway in the Louisville Riverport, to serve its recently expanded customer base in the United States. The new facility also will allow the company to increase its focus on environmental protection, safety and comfort across its products, which includes diesel exhaust aftertreatment systems for passenger vehicles.
?Louisville was the place of choice because of the convincing logistical location on the one hand,? said Purem by Eberspaecher Co-CEO Volker Cwielong. ?On the other hand, the cooperation with the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the City of Louisville was characterized by openness and commitment. We are really looking forward to the successful production start of our new Purem by Eberspaecher site.?
Purem by Eberspaecher is a subsidiary of the Esslingen-based Eberspaecher Group. To achieve clean and quiet mobility, around 7,100 employees develop and produce exhaust and acoustic systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and off-road vehicles. The technologies make a significant contribution to meeting the strictest emission standards and noise guidelines. Its customer base includes the world?s leading vehicle manufacturers.
Currently, more than 525 automotive-related facilities operate in Kentucky, including four original equipment manufacturers. The sector employs 100,000 people statewide. Since the start of the Beshear administration, the industry has contributed to more than 90 announcements totaling $9.4 billion in new investments and over 11,000 full-time jobs.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said he is thrilled not just for this project, but for the region as a whole as it continues to thrive in the automotive innovation industry.
?We are excited that Eberspaecher continues to invest and grow in Louisville with the addition of its Purem by Eberspaecher division,? said Mayor Fischer. ?This project builds upon our strong local automotive manufacturing and supplier industry, while also looking to the future of the industry ? clean mobility. This announcement and other major projects like the Ford BlueOval SK Battery Park are positioning the Louisville region as a hub for automotive innovation.?
Purem by Eberspaecher?s investment and planned job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
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. Kentucky?s average incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before benefits, a 9.4% increase over the previous year.
In the past year, the Beshear administration 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 of this year, 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.
The economic momentum has carried strongly into 2022, with both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings upgrading Kentucky?s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth?s surging economy.
And Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky at 6th in its annual Prosperity Cup rankings for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Kentucky has posted new record low unemployment rates for three consecutive months, falling from 3.9% in April to 3.8% in May and 3.7% in June.
In July, the Governor reported the highest annual growth rate in 31 years. And for the second year in a row, Kentucky?s General Fund budget surplus has exceeded $1 billion. Also in July, Gov. Beshear reported that the state?s Rainy Day fund is up to a record balance of $2.7 billion, significantly higher than the $129 million balance the fund had when the Governor took office.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in March 2021 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-creation 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, Purem by Eberspaecher 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 Purem by Eberspaecher, visit Eberspaecher.com and purem.com.
A detailed community profile for Jefferson 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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