FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 9, 2022) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced leaders at third-party logistics provider Bluegrass Supply Chain Services LLC (BSC) will locate a new operation in Warren County with a $25 million investment creating 110 full-time jobs as the company expands its logistics capabilities to serve the automotive and food and beverage markets.
“I want to thank the leaders at Bluegrass Supply Chain Services for growing the company’s presence in Bowling Green and continuing to serve key industries in the commonwealth,” Gov. Beshear said. “This investment highlights the continued growth of existing businesses in our state, which play an integral role in building a brighter future for Kentuckians.”
BSC leaders will co-develop and lease a facility in Bowling Green in partnership with Sunnyside Gott REIG, which operates under the same ownership as BSC, for office and warehousing space, the company’s second location in the community. The operation will allow BSC to better serve customers throughout Kentucky and the surrounding region. Company leaders expect work on the project to begin in October 2022 and be completed by January 2024.
“We are excited to develop a new corporate office, warehouse space and a truck facility to support our operations in Bowling Green and Warren County,” said John Higgins, CEO of BSC. “This community has been fantastic for our business. The location provides us easy access to the new connector road to Interstate 65 and close proximity to many of our customers.”
BSC, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in September, provides value-added warehousing and supply chain services to customers within the automotive, food and beverage and consumer products sectors. The company offers warehousing, reverse logistics, e-commerce fulfillment and transportation management services across a six-state region, with approximately 40% of its customer base located in Kentucky. Its sister company, Bluegrass Dedicated, also is based in Bowling Green and operates a fleet of 100 trucks that provide transportation services to customers throughout the United States.
The project adds to Kentucky’s strength in distribution and logistics. Since the start of the Beshear administration, companies within the sector have announced over 5,700 full-time, Kentucky-resident jobs across more than 90 facility expansion and new-location projects with $608 million in private-sector investment in the commonwealth.
Warren County Judge/Executive Mike Buchanon said the project adds to the region’s growing distribution and logistics presence.
“We appreciate Bluegrass Supply Chain Services’ continued investment in Warren County,” Judge Buchanon said. “Their continued growth and success further emphasize the strength of Warren County as a hub for transportation, distribution and logistics.”
Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott is proud to see BSC grow in the community.
“I love hearing stories of companies like Bluegrass Supply Chain Services that were founded and have grown and thrived right here in Bowling Green,” Mayor Alcott said. “These companies make me continuously proud to serve such an amazing community.”
Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ron Bunch
“Bluegrass Supply Chain Services provides a valuable service to many businesses and organizations across the South Central Kentucky region and beyond,” said Bunch. “We commend them for their accomplishments and are thankful for the positive impact this will have on our community. We look forward to many more years of success.”
BSC’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 July preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $1.75 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of at least $5.09 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 110 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $26 including benefits across those jobs.
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, the company 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 Bluegrass Supply Chain Services, visit BSC3PL.com.
A detailed community profile for Warren 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.
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