FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 16, 2025) – Today in Boone County, Gov. Andy Beshear joined local officials and leaders from L2 Aviation – a comprehensive avionics design, consulting, manufacturing and engineering company – for the grand opening of the company’s first Kentucky location, a $12.2 million investment creating 250 jobs.
“Kentucky’s aviation and aerospace industry has seen tremendous growth in the last few years,” said Gov. Beshear. “This investment from L2 Aviation will bring hundreds of quality job opportunities to the Northern Kentucky region and is yet another example of a company believing in what this great state has to offer. I am happy to celebrate this exciting next step for the company and the community. I want to thank L2’s leadership for their commitment to Kentucky and congratulate them on today’s grand opening.”
The project, which was announced in December 2024, will help the company grow and meet increased customer and industry demand. L2 Aviation is located in a freshly remodeled office and purpose-built production facility, as well as a hangar, at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Boone County. The two facilities will allow the company to increase production, engineering, customer support, new product development and overall operating efficiency. The facility will add 250 new jobs in the region and is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support and partnership we’ve received from the state of Kentucky”, said L2 Aviation’s chief operating officer, Tony Bailey. “Their commitment to fostering a business-friendly environment has been instrumental in helping us expand our capabilities and position ourselves for long-term success. As we look to the future, L2 Aviation is excited to grow our presence in the region, create high-quality jobs and continue delivering innovative aviation solutions that set new standards across the industry.”
L2 Aviation, established in 1997 by founder Mark Lebovitz, began with the mission to simplify avionics modifications for the aviation industry. Lebovitz initially operated the business from his garage in Austin, Texas, and relocated its headquarters in 2001 to Dripping Springs, Texas, a suburb of Austin. Since then, L2 Aviation has expanded its services to include comprehensive avionics design, consulting, engineering, manufacturing and installation. The company supports a wide range of aviation modification and certification projects globally and develops FAA Supplemental Type Certificates for commercial aviation, avionics original equipment manufacturers, business aviation, air cargo and military applications.
Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore praised the new business: “As the home of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Boone County is the epicenter of aviation in the Greater Cincinnati region, and we are thrilled to see continued growth through L2 Aviation’s 250 new jobs. The trajectory of L2’s growth from a garage in Austin, Texas, to a hangar at the fastest-growing freight and cargo airport in North America is truly impressive.”
Larry Krauter, CEO of CVG, highlighted the benefits of the company locating in the community: “L2 Aviation is among the best examples of innovation-based entrepreneurship in the industry, leading the complex work needed to integrate advanced avionics into all types of civil and military aircraft. The addition of L2’s unique technical capabilities to the CVG ecosystem brings the company greater opportunities to support existing customers and to easily reach future customers. It also advances our aviation and aerospace economic development goals while bringing more high-tech employment to our region.”
BE NKY Growth Partnership President & CEO Lee Crume is excited for the new partnership: “BE NKY Growth Partnership placed a major emphasis on the aviation industry over the past few years, including through trips to conferences and conventions focused on aerospace, aviation, and maintenance, repair and operations. We work to promote Northern Kentucky and are so proud that L2 Aviation chose our region for its new $12 million manufacturing operation.”
L2 Aviation’s investment and job creation build on the best five-year period for economic growth in state history.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,100 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $35 billion in announced investments, creating more than 60,500 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth’s history and $14 billion more than the next highest total.
The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. Since 2022, the average incentivized hourly wage has topped $26 in three consecutive years for the first time.
Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On’s transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC’s $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota’s $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; and Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing’s $712 million investment, creating 1,572 jobs in Shelby County, among others.
The Governor’s administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund. In 2023, Kentucky recorded over 2 million jobs filled for the first time ever and has stayed above that number ever since.
Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service.
Site Selection magazine recently ranked Kentucky in the top five nationally and second in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2024 Governor’s Cup rankings. Last April, Site Selection placed Kentucky second in the South Central region and in the top 10 nationally in its 2024 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.
Gov. Beshear also announced a new initiative, called New Kentucky Home, to increase economic investment, attain and attract talent, and increase tourism across the state.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in December 2024 preliminarily approved an incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program.
For more information on L2 Aviation, visit L2aviation.com.
A detailed community profile for Boone County can be viewed here.
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