The governor’s office made two announcements about new business, an expansion in Versailles/Franklin County and a headquarters relocation to Lexington.
Quad/Graphics
Commercial printing company Quad/Graphics will invest nearly $3 million and create 45 new full-time jobs by expanding in Franklin and Versailles.
“A company planning to grow its business in Kentucky is always great news (and) Quad/Graphics’ decision to simultaneously expand two of its plants in the Commonwealth is even better,” said Bevin.
“We are very pleased with the expansion of jobs and the investment of new equipment at Quad/Graphics. This has been an important industry for Franklin for over 30 years and we are glad to see them grow in our community,” Franklin Mayor Ronnie Clark
At its Versailles location, Quad/Graphics will invest nearly $2.5 million, create 20 jobs and retain 468 others.
“Quad/Graphics has been a fixture in this community for many years and experienced many transitions in a global economy,” said Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott. “We are fortunate to be able to provide a skilled workforce that contributes to the success of the company and community.”
In Franklin, it will invest nearly $480,000, create 25 jobs and retain 148 positions.
“We are very pleased with the expansion of jobs and the investment of new equipment at Quad/Graphics,” said Franklin Mayor Ronnie Clark. “This has been an important industry for Franklin for over 30 years and we are glad to see them grow in our community.”
It also plans to invest in plants it views as part of its long-term plan. The company’s retail-insert plant in Franklin and book production operation in Versailles are slated to receive continuing upgrades to ensure each maintains up-to-date technology, high production and efficient operations to provide customers with cost-effective service.
The company, now based in Sussex, Wisconsin, is the second-largest provider of print and media solutions in the western hemisphere.
“In Versailles, we are using new digital print technology to produce books on demand, bringing zero inventory and just-in-time delivery closer to reality,” Quadracci said. “In Franklin, we have an advanced, cost-efficient platform for producing retail advertising inserts, among other products.”
Quad/Graphics operates a network of printing plants spanning 28 U.S. states with more than 70 facilities employing 20,000-plus workers.
To encourage Quad/Graphics’ investment and job growth in the state, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $400,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program for the Franklin expansion and $400,000 for the Versailles project. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
In addition, Quad/Graphics is eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies are eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 5,600 Kentucky companies.
For more information on Quad/Graphics, click here .
nanoRANCH
In moving its offices to Lexington, nanoRANCH, parent company of a group of nanotechnology businesses, will invest $700,000 and create 35 jobs in Kentucky.
“I am delighted to announce the relocation of nanoRANCH’s headquarters to Lexington from Texas. We will continue to attract exciting new companies, jobs and investments as Kentucky moves forward,” said Gov. Bevin. “With its research aimed at improving the quality of life for people across the world, I expect nanoRANCH to flourish in the Commonwealth as it continues its innovative work. They are a great example of the thought leaders that we are actively seeking in Kentucky.”
Company President Nalin Kumar attributes his decision to relocate nanoRANCH – and its primary company, UHV Technologies Inc. – to Lexington in large part to Kentucky’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Matching Funds program. The grant program, begun in 2006, provides qualifying companies a match of up to 100 percent of federal SBIR/STTR awards they receive.
UHV Technologies received matching funds in 2014. Out-of-state companies, such as UHV Technologies, are eligible for funding should they decide to relocate to Kentucky.
Kumar plans to locate the new nanoRANCH headquarters in Lexington, along with assembly and R&D operations and a design lab. Positions will begin being filled by the end of December and he expects the new location to be operational by February.
UHV Technologies, established 20 years ago in New Jersey, focuses on research and development in advanced nano-materials and devices. The company is currently funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through three grants and contracts.
Projects include development of products for continuous monitoring of mercury emissions from coal power plants, which led to nanoRANCH Environmental Systems locating in Lexington in 2014. Other DOE-funded research centers around high-speed automated aluminum alloy sorting from automotive scrap and nano-crystalline diamond foils for DOE’s high-energy nuclear physics labs.
Commercial application of the company’s research includes low energy X-ray windows. Other functions include the National Institute of Health-funded development of online sensors to detect metallic contaminants during pharmaceutical manufacturing and technology for cancer diagnoses and cancer-progression tracking.
Additional matching funding received through Kentucky’s SBIR/STTR program would help nanoRANCH move proven concepts out of the prototype phase and into production and market-ready products, Kumar said.
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved nanoRANCH for tax incentives up to $600,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program.
The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
In addition, nanoRANCH is eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies are eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 5,600 Kentucky companies.
Office of Gov. Matt Bevin