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SubscribeGov. Matt Bevin and Labor Sec. Derrick Ramsey today announced the launch of the “Kentucky Trained. Kentucky Built.” apprenticeship campaign at Voestalpine Roll Forming Corporation (RFC) in Shelbyville. They were joined by Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton; Ray Leathers, Roll Forming Corporation President and CEO; and Micah Craig, Roll Forming Corporation Process Engineer.
This initiative sets forth a goal of helping new program sponsors tap into the potential that apprenticeships have for their workforce needs.
“In our efforts to make Kentucky the manufacturing hub of excellence in America, we recognize the value of apprenticeships and their ability to help us achieve this goal,” said Gov. Bevin. “While a significant number of employers in Kentucky already realize the potential in apprenticeships, this initiative will seek to devote more resources and identify new industries where apprenticeships can play a pivotal role. This will be essential in addressing the workforce needs of employers in the Commonwealth.
“Apprenticeships provide career pathways for those just entering the workforce as well as increased opportunities for those looking to expand their career track. This is why the apprenticeship model’s ‘Grow Your Own’ approach will be a crucial tool for employees and employers alike. The future of workforce development looks bright in the Commonwealth. By re-committing ourselves to fully embracing the power of apprenticeships, we are placing ourselves in the best position to move Kentucky forward,” Gov. Bevin concluded. Continue reading
Action will save Kentucky businesses $34 million annually
Gov. Matt Bevin announced today that the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet will suspend the current unemployment insurance (UI) surcharge for contributing employers, effective immediately.
The state’s approximately 91,000 employers have been paying a surcharge assessment — currently 0.21 percent of their taxable wage base of $10,200 per employee — since January 1, 2014.
Cabinet officials estimate that this action will save Kentucky companies as much as $34.2 million annually.
“Our administration is committed to making Kentucky the best place in the nation to do business,” said Gov. Bevin. “Whether through sweeping initiatives like Red Tape Reduction or incremental steps like this one, we are doing everything we can to help our employers thrive and grow.”
During the Great Recession, the state’s UI trust fund balance fell far short of the amount required to pay benefits to unemployed individuals.
Beginning in Jan. 2009, Kentucky — along with roughly half of U.S. states — had to borrow from the federal government to pay UI benefits. Eventually, this borrowing (formally referred to as a Title XII advance) reached nearly $1 billion. Continue reading
Business investments growing, strengthening corridor
More than $50 million in transportation improvements under way and planned over the next two years will create a New Dixie Highway and fuel transformation of a major economic corridor for southwest and west Louisville, Mayor Greg Fischer announced today.
The New Dixie Highway, the first major construction project under the Mayor’s MOVE Louisville initiative, will include safety design enhancements, signal improvements, sidewalks, crosswalks and resurfaced lanes.
The city’s busiest transit corridor will also get the region’s first “bus rapid transit” line, including distinctive TARC buses and high-visibility shelters to help move thousands of people daily and better define the 14-mile corridor.
“The New Dixie Highway project is the largest concentrated investment in Louisville’s transportation network since we began the Ohio River Bridges Project,” Fischer said. “Over the next several years, we will create a new Dixie Highway that’s safer for everyone, more efficient for motorists, more reliable for transit users and more enticing for business owners, consumers and investors.”
Fischer, Congressman John Yarmuth, Metro Council members and other leaders provided the New Dixie Highway update at the soon-to-be-completed Kroger Marketplace, a $23 million grocery and retail superstore at 4915 Dixie Highway. The location is appropriate, Fischer said, because the project builds on the renaissance already under way on the corridor, with tens of millions of dollars in private investments in new restaurants, retail businesses and other developments.
Safety improvements will include new signal technology throughout the corridor, and median enhancements, dedicated turn lanes and defined crosswalks concentrated in the Crums Lane to Greenwood Road segment. Future phases will address other segments of the road.
Fischer thanked state legislators and Metro Council members for their commitment to improving safety and mobility along Dixie Highway, noting that without their work to secure state and local matching funds, the city would not have been able to leverage the federal grant to jump-start the project. Continue reading
Company to invest $36.4 million in move to Northern Kentucky, anticipates creation of 500 Kentucky-resident jobs
Gov. Matt Bevin today announced CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, a global, privately held company providing therapeutic expertise to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, will relocate its headquarters to Covington with a $36.4 million investment projected to create up to 500 Kentucky-resident jobs.
“We are grateful for the decision by CTI to move its headquarters to Northern Kentucky and bring with them hundreds of highly skilled jobs,” Gov. Bevin said. “Our administration and local officials are committed to providing the space and resources needed for CTI to continue its growth in the years ahead. CTI is a recognized leader in the life sciences industry and we are delighted to welcome them to Kentucky.”
CTI plans to move its headquarters from the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash, Ohio, closer to the region’s urban center. It will lease about 125,000 square feet in the RiverCenter building. The relocation will help the company consolidate its locations and facilitate future growth.
“We’re thrilled for CTI to be starting a new chapter at RiverCenter,” said Timothy Schroeder, CEO of CTI. “We feel that this location will be a state-of-the-art headquarters for our staff, enabling collaboration and innovation. This site allows us to retain and grow the most talented team in the industry who are helping to develop some of the most innovative life-changing therapies.”
Founded in 1999 by Schroeder and Lynn Fallon, CTI is a global leader in clinical research, working with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to plan, manage and analyze clinical trials, a critical step in bringing new drugs, therapies and medical devices to market. The company is therapeutically focused on critically ill patient populations, chronic diseases and unmet medical needs including the areas of regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy, rare disease, immunology, transplantation and oncology.
CTI has associates in more than 25 countries and has worked on over 2,700 projects across six continents. CTI has contributed to more than 100 new drug and device approvals by regulatory agencies around the world.
Sen. Christian McDaniel, of Taylor Mill, said the company’s relocation and employment growth will serve Northern Kentucky well in the coming years.
“This company’s relocation from Blue Ash to Covington is yet another example of Kentucky’s business-friendly atmosphere and opportunities for economic growth,” he said. “I am excited to welcome CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services to Covington and I look forward to their future endeavors in our region.”
Rep. Arnold Simpson, of Covington, said the location of CTI is evidence of the region’s ability to support large-scale business growth.
“This is great news for Northern Kentucky,” Rep. Simpson said. “We are encouraged by CTI’s confidence in the Commonwealth with this significant investment and trust that other corporate leaders will take note. I want to thank CTI for making this decision and bringing these jobs here. We look forward to making their employees feel right at home in Covington.”
Rep. Addia Wuchner, of Florence, chairwoman of the Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus, said CTI’s move will advance the area’s biomedical industry.
“On behalf of the Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus, we extend a warm welcome to CTI,” Rep. Wuchner said. “We look forward to a surge in the life sciences industry in our region with CTI’s leadership.” Continue reading
The expansion and renovation of Louisville’s downtown convention center has begun. The Kentucky State Fair Board announced the closure of the Kentucky International Convention Center as it undergoes a $207 million make-over.
Louisville’s largest convention center, The Kentucky Exposition Center which is adjacent to the airport, remains open for business while the downtown center expands.
Third Street between Market and Jefferson Streets will remain open through the end of the year when the Kentucky International Convention Center expansion project gets underway tomorrow, August 17. Hunt Construction, the general contractor is revising plans to help mitigate downtown traffic congestion around the convention center. Additionally, LMPD will monitor traffic flow to determine when to increase traffic detail in the area.
Barriers and construction fencing will go up around the building within the coming weeks. The construction area is in the block bordered by Third and Fourth Streets between Market and Jefferson.
The KICC construction project will expand exhibit hall and ballroom space in the same footprint. Studies show that with the additional convention space along with more than 1500 new hotel rooms can attract up to 25 percent more convention business when completed in summer, 2018.
In addition to the expansion, Louisville is undergoing a transformation with $1 Billion invested in projects including a new 600-room Omni Louisville Hotel, more bourbon distilleries and attractions and other investments. To follow this progress: www.transformationlouisville.com
Expansion Will Add up to 90 New Jobs
Louisville Plate Glass, a century-old manufacturer of architectural window and building-panel glass, has opened a new $5 million production facility, a project expected add up to 90 jobs.
“Louisville Plate Glass is setting a great example for all manufacturers by recognizing and acting on an opportunity to expand. The result is the creation of 90 new jobs in Kentucky,” Gov. Bevin said. “In addition to providing state-of-the art manufacturing space, this new facility also increases LPG’s capacity and product range. We applaud this innovative vision and look forward to the company’s continued success.”
During a ceremony today, U.S., state, local and company officials cut a ribbon on LPG’s 60,000-square-foot building at 4301 Chefs Way in Louisville’s Newburg neighborhood. The facility adds manufacturing space and, for the first time, a glass-tempering line, a high-capacity automated cutting line, and water-jet fabrication, enabling production of heavy glass doors and fabricated shower enclosures. Previously, LPG purchased pre-tempered glass sheets to fabricate its high-strength products.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled than to open our new manufacturing plant today,” said LPG President Bill Stone. “This new facility and the hires we’re making to staff it will help us even better serve our market footprint in the central U.S. Most important, by our actions today we have secured an iconic Louisville company for decades into the future.” Continue reading
The Bloomberg Kentuckiana index showed signs of area businesses recovering from the beating that they took following the stock market shakeup on news of Britain’s exit from the European Union – dubbed Brexit.
Stocks fell sharply across the board last Friday as investors heard news that leave votes had outnumbered remain votes, spurring uncertainty about currency valuations and changes to trade deals. Businesses tied to the Kentuckiana area did not escape the plunge.
The Bloomberg Kentuckiana Index is a price-weighted index that tracks companies either headquartered in Kentucky or Indiana, or having a large presence in the area. Each company has a minimum market capitalization of $15 million. The index was developed with a base value of 100 as of December 29, 1995. Index members include Kindred Healthcare, Humana, Churchill Downs, Lexmark, Ford, GE, Yum! Brands, Papa Johns, and Brown Foreman, among others.
The index closed at its recent peak of $451.51 last Thursday but then dove sharply when the markets opened on Friday with Brexit news. The dive continued on Monday as the index bottomed out at $425.34, which was still higher than lows seen as recently as February of this year.
Investors seemed to have settled down Tuesday and Wednesday as the index rebounded, lead higher by gains by Kindred, Cummins, Churchill Downs, CSX, and Ashland. Although BKYIN:IND is not back to pre-Brexit levels, two straight gains of positive movement are promising as the index climbs into the $430s.
For more information on the Bloomberg Kentuckiana Index, track it here.
