FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A logistics firm is expanding in northern Kentucky, creating nearly 700 full-time jobs, company officials and government leaders said Friday.
Elovations Services Group LLC Chairman Arthur Maxwell announced the $13.7 million expansion during an event in Erlanger that drew several political leaders, including Gov. Steve Beshear.
The promise of jobs is good news for Kentucky, which has been slowly recovering from an economic recession that had caused widespread unemployment.
Maxwell said in a statement that northern Kentucky is an ideal location for the company, which will package and process a variety of products sold to international buyers.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has preliminarily approved $7 million worth of tax incentives for the company.
Beshear heralded the expansion, saying Elovations will provide "a tremendous economic boost" in northern Kentucky.
"Kentucky has demonstrated time and time again that it is a logistical paradise for companies that need to get products into the stream of commerce quickly and efficiently," Beshear said in a statement. "The commonwealth is proud to partner with Elovations to make this e-commerce operation, and the nearly 700 jobs that will be created, possible."
The company will operate from a 150,000-square-foot facility it will lease in Boone County.
"The opportunity to leverage Northern Kentucky's availability of modernized facilities and proximity to key shipping corridors were very helpful in the decision to locate here," Maxwell said.
Northern Kentucky is home the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport and is near key interstates that crisscross the country, including I-75, a major north-south corridor.
Republican state Rep. Addia Wuchner of Florence said northern Kentucky's "great economic climate and outstanding workforce" continues to draw new businesses to the region.
"Northern Kentucky continues to serve as a strong economic base not only for our region but the commonwealth as well," she said.
