FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 12, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced continued economic growth in the commonwealth as WILA USA, an industry-leading producer of tooling systems for sheet metals, announced it will be relocating its North American headquarters and establishing manufacturing operations in Jefferson County with an $11.5 million investment creating 24 quality Kentucky jobs.
“It’s no secret why companies continue to choose to locate their business here in the commonwealth,” said Gov. Beshear. “Kentucky’s business-friendly environment and talented workforce make it an ideal option for any company seeking to improve access to their consumer base and increase competitiveness within their market. I want to thank WILA USA’s leadership team for trusting Kentucky to be home to their North American headquarters and manufacturing operation. I look forward to watching their success in the commonwealth for many years to come.”
The project comes in response to the company’s commitment to expanding its presence in the North American market and leveraging the region’s dynamic manufacturing ecosystem. This investment will allow the company to enhance its customer service capabilities and strengthen relationships with existing and prospective clients in North America while reducing lead times, increasing flexibility and delivering tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of the region’s manufacturing sector. WILA’s new facility will be located in an existing 52,000-square-foot building and feature state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, enabling the company to deliver cutting-edge solutions across a wide range of industries. The new facility will serve as the company’s first location in the commonwealth.
“We are excited to relocate our corporate headquarters to Louisville and establish our North American manufacturing operations,” said Hans Willemsen, CEO of WILA. “This strategic move will allow us to strengthen our market presence, improve customer service and further collaborate with our valued partners in North America. We are confident that our investment in Louisville will accelerate our growth and enable us to better serve the evolving needs of our customers.”
Founded in 1932, WILA is a global Dutch-based company that specializes in clamping, crowning and tooling systems for press brakes and distributing them to end users and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) around the world. The company employs 350 people across their two factories in the Netherlands and subsidiaries in the United States and China. WILA USA was established in February 1999 and has grown to play a key role for the company, generating over $20 million in annual sales.
This project adds to Kentucky’s thriving manufacturing sector, which includes more than 5,000 facilities and employs over 250,000 people statewide. Administration-to-date, nearly 590 new-location and expansion manufacturing projects are expected to create more than 30,500 full-time jobs with over $22.6 billion in new investments.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg noted Louisville’s rich history of automotive manufacturing and welcomes WILA USA to the region: “By leveraging our key industries, we are able to create the perfect value proposition for international companies like WILA that are looking to do business in the U.S. Our 110-year-old history of auto manufacturing and a robust talent pool paired with our reputation as a world-class logistics hub make Louisville the perfect place for these headquarter operations. We are excited to add WILA USA to the growing list of automotive manufacturing businesses that call Louisville home and continue to strengthen our advanced manufacturing ecosystem.”
WILA USA’s investment and job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
Last week, Gov. Beshear announced there are more Kentuckians employed than ever before in state history, with more than 2 million Kentuckians employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in its federal survey of business establishments.
The Governor also highlighted that 57,000 new jobs have been filled since the beginning of his administration.
The Governor also recently announced that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. On May 18, Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky set a new historic low unemployment rate of 3.7%, which is the lowest rate ever recorded in the commonwealth.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced 860 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling $26.6 billion in announced investments.
The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits, the second-highest mark since 2010 and an 11.5% increase over the previous year.
The Governor also secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth.
Gov. Beshear also 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. In April 2022, the Governor was joined by leadership at 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.
That position was strengthened even further in May 2023, when the Governor and leaders at Toyota announced a $591 million investment across multiple projects as the company’s largest manufacturing operation in Georgetown introduces its first battery electric vehicle. Growth within the EV sector continued into June as Gov. Beshear joined INFAC North America to break ground on the company’s $53 million investment to support EV-related production in Campbellsville.
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. On May 12, Gov. Beshear announced that his administration secured the first state-level credit rating upgrade in 13 years and the first-ever such upgrade from Fitch Ratings.
Site Selection magazine recently placed Kentucky first in the South Central region and top-5 nationally in its 2023 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects. The publication also placed Kentucky second nationwide and first in the South Central region for its annual Governor’s Cup ranking for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Gov. Beshear’s administration is projected to post the four highest years of budget surpluses in Kentucky history, and the state’s rainy day fund has a record balance of $2.7 billion.
Gov. Beshear recently announced a new “Supply Kentucky” initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in March 2023 preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $675,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $11.56 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 24 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $42.77 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, WILA USA 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 WILA USA, visit wilatooling.com.
A detailed community profile for Jefferson 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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