FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 23, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear noted continued momentum of the state’s manufacturing sector as leaders at Halton, a leading maker of commercial kitchen ventilation and air distribution systems, announced a $7.4 million expansion of the company’s facility in Allen County, creating 60 full-time Kentucky jobs.
“We continue to see incredible growth and momentum within some of the largest industries in our great state,” said Gov. Beshear. “I am thrilled to see a company like Halton expand and grow its operation in Allen County and further strengthen Kentucky’s manufacturing sector. I look forward to Halton’s continued success in the commonwealth and want to thank its leadership as well as local and state officials who helped make this project a reality.”
The project will see the company expand its current manufacturing operation in Scottsville by 50,000 square feet, bringing its total operational space to 91,000 square feet. The added space will allow room for a research and development lab specifically for the air moving product line. The company will also add additional manufacturing space to allow for new product lines to support the overall growth of the business. The 60 full-time jobs created from the project will bring the company’s total Kentucky employment to 240.
“Kentucky has been a great home for our U.S. operations for more than 30 years,” said Mika Halttunen, chairman and owner of Halton Group. “We are excited to continue growing our team and facilities including setting up a new Innovation Hub and laboratory. This will enable us to provide the highest quality innovative air-handling products for the domestic U.S. commercial kitchen ventilation market and also to export those to rest of the Americas, Middle East and Asia Pacific.”
Halton was formed in Finland in 1969 by founder Seppo Halttunen. Over the last 50 years, the company has become a leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation and air distribution systems. The company invested heavily in research and development from an early stage, and as a result saw strong sales and growth in the domestic market. In 1982, the company’s first sales office was established in the U.S. and in 1989, U.S. operations expanded with new manufacturing facilities. In 2016, a new U.S. corporate headquarters for the company was established in Kentucky. In 2019, a second Kentucky-based manufacturing facility was opened to support the growing air-handling segment of the business.
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, more than 570 new location and expansion projects from manufacturers are expected to create nearly 29,000 full-time jobs with approximately $22 billion in new investments.
Allen County Judge/Executive Dennis Harper looks forward to the continued relationship between the company and community.
“We are truly honored that the Halton Co. has decided to expand their manufacturing in Allen County,” said Judge Harper. “This expansion will provide more jobs and allow more Allen Countians the opportunity to work here.”
Scottsville Mayor David Burch is excited to have a company like Halton stay and grow within Scottsville and Allen County.
“We are excited about Halton’s expansion,” said Mayor Burch, “especially given the positive partnership they have had with our local community over many years.”
Jordan Clarke, chairman of the Allen County-Scottsville Industrial Development Authority, looks forward to the impact the job opportunities from the project will have on the community.
“On behalf of the Allen County-Scottsville IDA, we are thrilled that Halton has selected their Allen Springs Industrial Park site for expansion,” said Clarke. “Halton is a terrific community partner, and we look forward to their employment growth for our community.”
Halton’s investment and planned job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced the creation of 46,000 full-time jobs and more than 852 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling $28.89 billion in announced investments.
The Governor has now secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth.
In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years.
That momentum continued strongly into 2022 with 248 new-location and expansion announcements totaling 16,000 full-time jobs with nearly $10.5 billion in new investment.
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.
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. And in April 2022, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision 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.
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 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.
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.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in April preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $600,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $7.45 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 60 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $21 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, Halton Company 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 the Halton Group, visit halton.com.
A detailed community profile for Allen 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.
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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