Kentucky Ag Connection - Precision Strip to Invest $15.5 Million in Kentucky

Kentucky Ag News Headlines

Precision Strip to Invest $15.5 Million in Kentucky
Kentucky Ag Connection - 02/12/2016

Governor Matt Bevin announced Precision Strip Inc., a metals processor for various industries, will build a second Kentucky facility with an estimated $15.5 million investment projected to add 15 new full-time positions.

"As evidenced by this announcement, southcentral Kentucky continues to be a model for economic growth in the Commonwealth," said Governor Bevin. "Precision Strip has operated successfully in Kentucky for more than 20 years, and we celebrate their commitment to further growth here in the region. This expansion is a prime example of Kentucky's potential to be the manufacturing hub of America."

Precision Strip plans to build its new, 80,000-square-foot facility in Scotty's Industrial Park in northern Warren County. The facility, which will include a slitting line, will allow the company to better serve its customers in southcentral Kentucky. Precision Strip hopes to mirror the growth of its existing Kentucky location in nearby Woodburn, which now employs 112 people in a 308,000-square-foot facility. The Woodburn facility expanded three times since opening in 1995.

"The new Precision Strip location in Bowling Green will be a nice complement to our existing operations in Woodburn," said Joe Wolf, president of Precision Strip. "It will allow us to add capacity for metals processing in a geographic region that is experiencing healthy growth in the markets we serve. We greatly appreciate the support we received from the Chamber and the state of Kentucky on this project."

Precision Strip processes, stores and delivers steel and aluminum for several markets, including the automotive, appliance, industrial products and beverage-can industries. The company was established in Minster, Ohio in 1977. It currently employs approximately 1,200 people across 12 locations in six states. Precision Strip offers a variety of services related to the toll processing of carbon, stainless steel and aluminum including: slitting, oscillate slitting, multi-blank cut-to-length processing, Class 1 automotive blanking and coil fed laser blanking.

"This new estimated $15.5 million investment from Precision Strip Inc. is great news for Warren County," said Sen. Mike Wilson, of Bowling Green. "The addition of 15 new career opportunities will be big for the local economy, and we are thankful to all those who participated in making this a reality."

"Warren County has proven to be a great place to do business, as evidenced by Precision Strip's existing Woodburn facility," said Rep. Michael Meredith, of Brownsville. "It continues to be a priority of mine to ensure our area can recruit and retain good companies, and to provide the best environment for them to expand. The addition of 15 new full-time jobs and an estimated $15.5 million investment will be welcomed by our community and families."

"Precision Strip's model of just-in-time delivery makes southcentral Kentucky's location ideal to serve their customers both by rail and highway," said Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson. "Interstate 65 is instrumental in providing arterial access to a variety of automotive, appliance, industrial and beverage can industries -- many of which are represented within the southcentral Kentucky region. We are delighted that Precision Strip has decided to call Bowling Green home."

Warren County Judge-Executive Michael Buchanon said the addition of a second Precision Strip location in Kentucky testifies to the strength of southcentral Kentucky's business climate.

"We anticipate growth of this facility just as Precision Strip's original operation in Woodburn has grown to over 100 employees," Buchanon said. "This truly is a great addition to southcentral Kentucky."

Bowling Green Chamber CEO Ron Bunch said the chamber is delighted to celebrate the expansion of Precision Strip in Warren County.

"Precision Strip has been a member of our business community and a leader in our automotive landscape for over 20 years," Bunch said. "We are thrilled that they have chosen to grow their operations here, and we look forward to continuing to work with them well into the future."

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $300,000 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.

Additionally, KEDFA gave Precision Strip preliminary approval for up to $100,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.

In addition, Precision Strip 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.

Other Kentucky Headlines