Two years’ worth of Caldwell County economic development efforts have paid off.
Hydro-Gear, a company involved in the design and manufacture of products for the commercial and consumer lawn and garden industries, plans to locate in the Caldwell County Industrial Park spec building, a move that involves the creation of 150 new jobs and the investment of $3 million in state incentives to support the industry, as well as the local economy.
Caldwell-Lyon Partnership CEO Jim Moore broke the news outside the spec building Friday afternoon, to a crowd of city, county and state officials who supported the project.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Gene Strong, secretary of the state’s Cabinet for Economic Development, made the formal announcement.
“The company will transfer a portion of its transaxle production for the consumer lawn and garden markets from their current facility in Sullivan, Ill.,” according to the governor’s statement. “The Princeton facility is expected to be operational by November 2005.” Company officials said that operation date may, in fact, come sooner.
Those officials were not on hand for the announcement. Moore said Hydro-Gear CEO Ray Hauser was in Chicago meeting with potential customers.
Mike Todd, the company’s vice president of operations, was part of a team headed to China to set up new customer relations there, Moore said.
Both, however, joined in the governor’s announcement, expressing excitement about the local plant’s potential.
“Hydro-Gear chose Princeton for its strategic location and the community’s strong work ethics,” Hauser said. “We believe that the workforce in the Princeton area has the desire to rise to today’s manufacturing challenges by efficiently producing transaxle products for our demanding customers.”
“We have a very aggressive startup schedule,” Todd said, “but it is the first of many important milestones in making the Princeton operation a long-term success.”
Local and state officials, for their part, credited the teamwork of all parties involved for the success of the company’s relocation here.
“This was a complete team effort,” said Eddie Spraggs, regional representative for the Governor’s Office of Local Development. “All of these groups came together.”
Moore thanked the governor’s office and the economic development cabinet for their work.
Caldwell County Judge/Executive Van Knight also credited the members of the county industrial development authority for their efforts.
He and other officials visited Hydro-Gear’s plant in Sullivan about two weeks ago and were amazed at the company’s facility and workforce.
Hydro-Gear officials considered locating in 40 cities in seven states before settling on Princeton, and the judge/executive said he was excited to see them come here, to the spec building, which had been included in the county’s budget for several years.
Princeton Mayor Vickie Hughes highlighted the work of Moore and the two-county partnership to recruit the company and thanked the city council for its support.
Local officials marketed the city and county as an aggressive community, she said, to match the company’s aggressive nature.
“They’re ready to go, and they’re going to get stuff done,” she said. “I think we can look forward to a long-term relationship with Hydro-Gear.
The mayor told the crowd she had worn out two pairs of shoes showing the spec building to potential industries, and industrial officials were glad to see it sold, to a company that will benefit the community, both directly and indirectly.
“It’s going to mean more groceries. More gas. More people in our schools,” she said. “It’ll be a boost for everybody.”
Moore said company officials were also discussing the possibility of some of their suppliers moving into the area as well.
The company’s decision to relocate here was aided by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority’s preliminary approval of up to $3 million in tax benefits for the company, under the Kentucky Industrial Development Act’s incentive program.
The company will occupy 30 acres in the city-county industrial park, and company officials anticipate adding to the square footage at the Caldwell County facility next year.
