FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted new growth in Kentucky’s extensive manufacturing sector as MultiTech Industries, a provider of engineered metal components and assemblies, announced plans to expand its Franklin facility, a $3.7 million investment that will create 20 new, full-time positions.
“October is Manufacturing Month in the commonwealth, and thanks to our world-class workforce and great companies investing in communities across the state, Kentucky’s industry is stronger than ever,” said Gov. Beshear. “MultiTech Industries is an important part of the Franklin community, and I am excited to see them continue to grow and find success here in the commonwealth.”
The company will be expanding its Franklin, Kentucky, facility, doubling the square footage and paving the way for additional capacity, technologies and capabilities within the progressive stamping manufacturing product line. The investment adds capacity to better serve MultiTech’s customers and employees in the region, increases the company’s U.S. based manufacturing footprint and provides additional jobs and opportunities to the Franklin and Simpson County communities.
“This marks another significant milestone for our company,” said MultiTech Industries President Anthony Falcone. “Our Franklin, Kentucky, plant expansion is in line with MultiTech’s commitment to be a global leading metal component manufacturing and assembly organization by marrying technology with advanced manufacturing capabilities executed by our best asset, our employees, that is first choice in the marketplace. Additionally, with this expansion, we celebrate the commitment and passion for excellence of the teammates of our Franklin, Kentucky, facility. Through their hard work and relentless dedication, our Franklin, Kentucky, facility has become the flagship stamping manufacturing facility for our company.”
MultiTech Industries Inc., founded in 1993, is a top provider of highly engineered metal components and assemblies. The company provides assembly operations, cold headed fasteners, stampings, machined components, wire forming, springs, engineering, distribution and inventory management to their customers.
Simpson County Judge/Executive Mason Barnes spoke on MultiTech’s accolades in the county: “We are very fortunate to have MultiTech in Simpson County. John Eaton, their plant manager, lives in Simpson County and has done a great job making the plant one of the best industries in our area. MultiTech was our Industry of the Year in Simpson County in 2022 and they continue to be a great corporate citizen for Franklin.”
Franklin Mayor Larry Dixon mentioned the company’s longstanding presence in the community: “MultiTech Industries has been in Franklin now for 10 years. I am very pleased that they have expanded and will be bringing some 20 new jobs to our city. The company is doubling the size of their 30,000-square-foot building to accommodate their additional growth. This is great news for Franklin.”
Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority Chairman Gary Broady showed his excitement for the project: “We are very pleased that MultiTech has expanded at their facility in our Sanders Industrial Park. This Illinois-based company has been a great industry for our community, and we are glad to see them continue to grow.”
MultiTech’s investment and planned job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth.
Last week, Gov. Beshear reported that General Fund receipts for September 2023 totaled over $1 billion, marking the 13th straight month with revenues over $1 billion. The Governor also recently announced that his administration secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history.
The General Fund budget surplus at the end of fiscal year 2023 was more than $1.55 billion. Nearly all of the $1.55 billion surplus will go into the commonwealth’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing the fund to a record balance of $3.7 billion – a 2,700% increase since Gov. Beshear took office in 2019.
This year, the Governor announced that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced nearly 900 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $27.5 billion in announced investments, creating 48,000 jobs. This is the highest investment figure for any governor in state history.
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 and announced the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK On 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 introduced 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.
Over a two-month period this year, Kentucky secured two credit rating increases from major agencies. On May 12, Gov. Beshear announced that his administration obtained the first state-level credit rating upgrade in 13 years and the first-ever upgrade from Fitch Ratings. On June 29, Gov. Beshear announced the commonwealth received its first-ever rating increase from S&P Global Ratings. Recently, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Kentucky’s credit outlook from stable to positive.
Site Selection magazine 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 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 January preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $275,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $3.6 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 20 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $27.24 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, MultiTech 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 MultiTech Industries, visit MultiTechInd.com.
A detailed community profile for Simpson County can be viewed here.
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