Company currently employs nearly 300 Kentuckians
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 27, 2025) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted an exciting project for Kentucky’s distribution and logistics sector, as Marquette Transportation Co., the leading independent provider of barge towing services on America’s inland waterways, announced plans to expand current operations at its Paducah facility with an over $5 million investment, creating up to 55 new Kentucky jobs.
“One of Kentucky’s greatest strengths has always been its unique access to resources and ideal location for companies to distribute their products to businesses and consumers quickly and efficiently,” said Gov. Beshear. “This is an exciting project not just for our surging distribution and logistics industry, but for Paducah and Western Kentucky. I want to thank Marquette Transportation’s leadership for their belief in the commonwealth and look forward to their continued success.”
The over $5 million investment will see the company expand their current operation in McCracken County, adding a new training center, warehouse and additional office space. The project is expected to add 55 new jobs, bringing the company’s total Kentucky employment to over 340. The jobs created will include both shoreside and vessel positions.
“We are proud to be headquartered in Paducah, and we appreciate the Governor, the State of Kentucky and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for their dedication to fostering business growth across the Commonwealth,” said Damon Judd, president and CEO of Marquette. “The potential incentives from KEDFA will help us continue our investments in training and supporting our people – our most important asset. We appreciate the support from Mayor Bray, Judge/Executive Clymer and Mr. Wilcox of our industry and for Marquette’s expansion project. Paducah plays a central role to America’s inland waterway industry, and we are thankful that we are able to offer hardworking Kentuckians a rewarding career with great advancement opportunities in the marine transportation industry.”
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky, Marquette Transportation Co. is the leading provider of barge towing services on America’s inland waterways system. With diverse capabilities and a long history of operational and safety excellence, the company services over 6,000 miles of America’s inland waterways in support of its customer partners. The company employs over 1,500 passionate mariners and a team of over 250 shore-based staff.
McCracken County Judge/Executive Craig Clymer is excited to see a longtime company of the community continue to invest in the local workforce: “Marquette Transportation is one of our longstanding local companies and one of the reasons Paducah/McCracken County is known as the Inland Waterway Capital of the United States. It is exciting to bring new business, but it’s especially rewarding to see our long-standing, locally based businesses expanding with even more employees at strong wage levels. Marquette and the Eckstein family have for decades been enormous contributors to our community, and their selfless generosity is greatly appreciated.”
Paducah Mayor George Bray noted the critical role the company plays in the local economy: “Marquette Transportation is a leader in the river industry that is critically important to the Paducah community. Marquette’s investment in a new training facility and the additional jobs is affirmation that Paducah continues to be the epicenter of the inland waterways corridor. We look forward to supporting Marquette as they continue their growth and leadership in this industry.”
Greater Paducah Economic Development President and CEO Bruce Wilcox looks forward to the company continuing to grow in Paducah: “Marquette is one of the nation’s largest marine transportation companies and one of our region’s largest employers. This additional investment and their commitment to grow in our community strengthens even more Paducah’s presence in the maritime industry. We are very excited and grateful for their decision to expand their operations here in Paducah.”
Marquette’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 60,000 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.
Last March, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky third nationally and first in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2023 Governor’s Cup rankings. In 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 announced a 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 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) today preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with Marquette under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $800,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of over $5 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 55 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $41, 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, Marquette 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 Marquette Transportation Company, visit marquettetrans.com.
A detailed community profile for McCracken 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.