The Bowling Green Daily News reports that German-owned automotive parts maker Fritz Winter North America LP plans to build a foundry and production facility in Franklin, KY that will bring an anticipated 343 jobs to the area. Construction is anticipated to start early next year and casting and machining of disc brake rotors may begin in 2017.
According to Louisville’s Courier-Journal, the decision by Fritz Winter to select Kentucky for its new foundry “underscores the advantages our state offers automotive suppliers,” said Gov. Bevin. “Our thriving automotive industry and central location provide quick access to assembly plants in the South and Midwest."
Fritz Winter joins 64 other German-owned facilities already employing more than 10,500 full-time workers in Kentucky. To encourage Fritz Winter’s investment, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $5 million. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
According to local news source WBKO, KEDFA also gave the company preliminarily approval for up to $690,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
Fritz Winter is also eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies can receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 5,600 Kentucky companies.
