Area Development
Balluff Inc. began construction on a $6 million expansion to its U.S. headquarters in Independence, Kentucky, with plans to add 24 new employees. Its new 48,000-square-foot building, a state-of-the art customer support, training, and sales and marketing center, is scheduled to be completed next March.

The company specializes in automation products for industrial sensing, networking and identification devices. Balluff is the U.S. subsidiary of Balluff GmbH, based in Neuhausen, Germany. The company’s U.S. headquarters currently employs more than 150 people and has been located in Independence since 1983, with expansions in 1994 and 2001. The facility is the final assembly, distribution and training site for Balluff in the United States.

“Balluff is working hard to help keep jobs in America by offering our customers technology and expertise to increase their productivity, improve their quality and reduce their total cost of ownership, helping to make U.S. manufacturing the most productive in the world!” said Kent Howard, president of Balluff, Inc.

“Balluff has found a successful home in northern Kentucky, with steady growth here over the past 30 years,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “We’re proud to have the company’s U.S. headquarters in Kentucky and especially happy to see the company continue to expand, adding 24 new jobs and investing $6 million in the Commonwealth.”

As an incentive to encourage the investment and job growth in northern Kentucky, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $300,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

KEDFA also approved Balluff for tax benefits up to $150,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing equipment.

“Balluff's continued expansion in Independence is an exciting sign of growth for the company, city and northern Kentucky,” said Independence Mayor Chris Moriconi. “We are thrilled to serve as this company’s partner in growth and look forward to surrounding it with a supportive business environment of success.”