Canada-based company begins operation at first U.S. manufacturing facility



Kentucky State Seal

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*OFFICE OF GOVERNOR ANDY BESHEAR*

*COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY*








*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*




*Contact:*?

*Crystal Staley*
*502-545-3714*

*Brandon Mattingly
502-782-2006*






*********************Vector Corrosion Technologies Opens New Lexington Facility, Creating 20 Full-Time Jobs with $1 Million-Plus Investment*********************

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""C"anada-based company begins operation at first U.S. manufacturing facility"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

*FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2022) *? Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated Vector Corrosion Technologies Inc., which provides corrosion mitigation products and services, as the company cut the ribbon on a new operation in Lexington, creating 20 full-time jobs with a more than $1 million investment.

Gov. Beshear?s Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins was present for Tuesday?s grand opening of the Canada-based company?s first U.S. manufacturing facility.

?Congratulations to Vector Corrosion Technologies Inc. and to the Lexington area for adding another quality employer for the talented workforce in the region,? Gov. Beshear said. ?We continue to attract new companies to the state that are creating great jobs for our residents, as more decision makers recognize the many benefits of doing business in Kentucky.?

?It?s a great day to be a Kentuckian as we open the doors to Vector Corrosion Technologies Inc., which is creating good-paying jobs for our people and further cementing our commonwealth as a leader in manufacturing,? Adkins added. ?On behalf of Team Kentucky, I want to thank the leaders of Vector for choosing Lexington. There is no stronger workforce than Kentucky?s, and I know together we will see a lot of success for years to come.???

Vector located its first Kentucky operation in an existing 15,200-square-foot building at 800 Winchester Road in Lexington. In addition to acquiring the facility, the new-location project includes purchasing manufacturing equipment and other startup-related costs. Jobs created at the facility include supervisory, quality control, shipping and receiving and production line roles.

?The ceremonial ribbon cutting is an exciting event for Vector as we continue to gear up quickly to bring Kentucky-made corrosion solutions to extend the life of critical infrastructure throughout the country,? said Bob Spriggs, Vector CEO.

?The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and its engineering consultants have expressed their support for the expanded use of cathodic protection technologies in the commonwealth and we are anxious to move forward quickly to support local jobs,? added Chris Ball, senior vice president at Vector. ?In addition to supplying domestic projects, we have also manufactured some cathodic protection systems for export to Brazil.??

Headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, Vector has provided concrete repair and corrosion solutions to extend the life of infrastructure for the past 50 years. In the late 1990s, Vector introduced the original Galvashield XP embedded galvanic anode for concrete repair in North America. Vector has become a global leader in corrosion mitigation products and services for reinforced concrete and masonry structures, such as bridges, parking garages, buildings, marine structures and industrial facilities. Vector maintains offices in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom and partners with over 20 distributors globally to service key markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Vector adds to Kentucky?s thriving manufacturing sector, which employs 250,000 people across approximately 5,000 facilities. Since the start of the Beshear administration, manufacturers have announced 475 private sector new-location and expansion projects creating more than 25,300 full-time jobs with over $18 billion in new investment.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton welcomed the company to Fayette County.

?Welcome to Lexington! Your company goal of environmental sustainability will be right at home here in our city,? Mayor Gorton said. ?Lexington values its healthy, growing manufacturing sector.?

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Councilwoman Liz Sheehan highlighted the creation of quality jobs.

?I am so pleased to welcome Vector Corrosion Technologies to Lexington?s 5th District, which helps to expand the business footprint along the Winchester Road corridor,? Sheehan said. ?This industry leader will provide good-paying jobs while producing more sustainable products for construction and masonry projects.?

Commerce Lexington Inc. President and CEO Bob Quick welcomed the opening of the new facility.

?We are very pleased that Vector Corrosion Technologies calls Lexington home, and we appreciate their continued investment and confidence in Central Kentucky,? Quick said. ?We are honored that this innovative company has opened its very first U.S. manufacturing facility right here in Central Kentucky. We look forward to many great things from Vector Corrosion Technologies in the future.?

Vector?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.

The economic momentum has carried strongly into 2022, with nearly $7.5 billion invested and more than 13,000 full-time jobs created just through September.

Since taking office, Gov. Beshear?s administration has welcomed $21 billion in investments that are creating 40,000 jobs, including the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated [ [link removed] ] 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 [ [link removed] ] 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. In addition, 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 record low unemployment rates for five consecutive months, holding at or below 3.9% since April 2022.

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.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Kentucky lead the entire nation in job growth for the month of August, adding 26,700 nonfarm payroll jobs.

In September, Kentucky reported August 2022 General Fund receipts hit an unprecedented high for any August on record, marking 21 straight months of growing revenues for the state. September was also the third highest revenue month on record with more than $1.4 billion reported, marking the seventh month this year with collections topping $1 billion.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in January preliminarily approved [ [link removed] ] a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program.

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, Vector 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 Vector Corrosion Technologies, visit Vector-Corrosion.com [ [link removed] ].

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

Information on Kentucky?s economic development efforts and programs is available at "CED.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] ].

Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at?governor.ky.gov [ [link removed] ],?kycovid19.ky.gov [ [link removed] ]?and the Governor?s official social media accounts?Facebook [ [link removed] ],?Twitter [ [link removed] ]?and?YouTube [ [link removed] ].

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