Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced continued momentum of the state’s manufacturing sector as STOBER Drives Inc., a producer of gearbox and servo motors, will expand operations in Maysville with a $5 million investment that will create 35 full-time jobs.
“Kentucky has created an environment that supports businesses looking to expand their manufacturing operations, and once again, we’re reaping the benefits in investment and great jobs,” said Gov. Beshear. “STOBER Drives Inc. is great company producing high-quality products right here in the commonwealth for customers all over the world. I want to thank STOBER leadership for their continued belief in Kentucky and all it has to offer, and I look forward to the company’s continued success.”
The $5 million investment will allow the company double the acreage of its current facility in Maysville to 14 acres. The expansion will include the addition of equipment to help increase manufacturing operations, as well as conversion of a portion of the current office space to become an employee training facility. The project will create 35 quality jobs and will bring the company’s total Kentucky employment to 159 employees.
“At STOBER, we are extremely fortunate to have chosen Maysville, Kentucky, as our North American manufacturing location more than 30 years ago,” said Peter Feil, STOBER’s general manager. “We have benefitted from an awesome workforce here in Maysville, as well as great support from local and state government. Our proximity to Maysville Community and Technical College, as well as Morehead State University and Northern Kentucky University, has allowed us to provide great educational opportunities to our employees. These institutions have been instrumental in supporting our thriving apprenticeship program, for instance. We are very proud to call Maysville and Kentucky home, and we look forward to a bright future as we continue to expand here in Maysville.”
STOBER Drives is a world leader in the manufacture of gearboxes and servo motors. Founded in 1934, STOBER has focused on building the best mechatronic solutions for any application for over 85 years. In 1991, the company established a presence in Kentucky when it opened a subsidiary in Maysville. In 1993, STOBER succeeded as the first supplier in the world to directly marry high-precision planetary gear units with dynamic servo motors. Today, the company produces NEMA gear units, inline servo gear units, right angle gear units and rack and pinion drives to serve industries such as aerospace, automotive manufacturing, packaging, robotics and food processing.
STOBER Drives’ growth builds on Kentucky’s manufacturing prowess, which in 2021 saw companies announce 13,900 new jobs in the commonwealth behind $10.5 billion in new investments. Statewide, manufacturers operate nearly 5,000 facilities employing approximately 250,000 residents.
Mason County Judge/Executive Owen McNeill highlighted the company’s commitment to the region’s workforce and continued growth.
“I’m incredibly proud of our partners at STOBER and this upcoming expansion,” Judge McNeill stated.” This announcement underscores not only STOBER’s growth and momentum, but that they’re always focused on the future and a wholistic approach to growth. This expansion not only focuses on new production equipment, but STOBER’s commitment to continuous training and workforce development highlighted by their investment in state-of-the-art training and simulation equipment. We greatly appreciate the STOBER Family and organization, as well as Peter Feil, Chris Bauer and Chris Breeze for their commitment to Maysville and Mason County, Kentucky.”
Jodi Ashby, executive director of the Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority, is excited about the project and continued momentum it will bring to the area.
“STOBER Drives is truly an outstanding and forward-thinking company here in Maysville. STOBER’s success rests in their workforce practices. They can continue to grow and thrive at rates unprecedented due to their understanding of human motivation,” Ashby said. “They are very purposeful in people management for the greatest long-term return on investment for everyone. I am personally excited for this to be my first official expansion announcement since accepting the role of executive director of MMCIDA, and it is a proud moment for all of us. Working with the STOBER team continues to be a joy, and I look forward to their future expansions and innovations. This is just one of many milestones to come for STOBER and Maysville!”
STOBER Drives Inc.’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.
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. Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before benefits, a 9.4% increase over the previous year.
In the past year, the Beshear administration 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 of this year, 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.
The economic momentum has carried strongly into 2022, with both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings upgrading Kentucky’s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth’s surging economy.
And Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky at 6th in its annual Prosperity Cup rankings for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Kentucky has posted new record low unemployment rates for three consecutive months, falling from 3.9% in April to 3.8% in May and 3.7% in June.
In July, the Governor reported the highest annual growth rate in 31 years. And for the second year in a row, Kentucky’s General Fund budget surplus has exceeded $1 billion. Also in July, Gov. Beshear reported that the state’s Rainy Day fund is up to a record balance of $2.7 billion, significantly higher than the $129 million balance the fund had when the Governor took office.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in June preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $525,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $5 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 35 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $20.25 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, STOBER Drives 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.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments