Area Development
Archer Daniels Midland Company, a global food-processing and commodities-trading company, opened its information technology and support center in Erlanger, Kentucky. The company plans to invest more than $8.3 million in the project and create 200 high-paying jobs.

The facility, located on the campus of ADM WILD Flavors at 1260 Pacific Ave., will help the company run its global operations more efficiently. Also, the center will support the drafting and implementation of the company’s new enterprise resource planning system, 1ADM.

“As our company continues to grow, our global IT capabilities and infrastructure have to expand at the same time to support that growth,” said ADM CEO Juan Luciano. “This new technology center enables us to attract new IT talent to our organization as we expand our company and our technical capabilities. Co-locating the facility on the WILD campus in Erlanger gives us access to a strong local talent pool of IT professionals in northern Kentucky and the entire Greater Cincinnati area, and we look forward to growing our presence here in Erlanger.”

Hiring for the new center is already underway, with a goal of 200 new information technology professionals added throughout the next three to four years. Positions include analysts, application architects, project managers, developers, coders and administration staff.

“The new ADM information technology and support center is a terrific addition to northern Kentucky’s thriving high-tech sector,” said Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore, Chair of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED. “The College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University is preparing a highly technical workforce that the new ADM IT center can leverage – helping us retain our homegrown talent with high-paying jobs in northern Kentucky.”

As an incentive to encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $5 million 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.

Additionally, ADM was preliminarily approved by KEDFA for $200,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act. KEIA 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. ADM can also receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network.

“ADM’s decision to expand operations in Kentucky and add 200 jobs speaks volumes about the opportunities our Commonwealth offers,” said Governor Steve Beshear. “Since January 2014, the food and beverage industry in northern Kentucky announced 46 new or expanding projects and $423 million invested. With the industry adding 3,100 new jobs over that time, it’s great to welcome ADM as a contributor to that growth.”

In Kentucky, ADM employs nearly 500 people among its WILD operations, five grain elevators and a feed business. The company’s global assets include more than 460 crop procurement locations, 300 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 40 innovation centers and a crop transportation network.

“Kentucky has a long history as a leader in agriculture and is making concerted efforts to become a global leader in feeding the world and grow our ag economy,” said Rep. Adam Koenig, of Erlanger. “That’s why today’s news that ADM will expand the WILD operations to include support for its own world agricultural efforts is another step toward helping the Commonwealth’s farmers compete both nationally and internationally.”