Area Development
Canadian-based Thunder Tool & Manufacturing Ltd. purchased a 30,000-square-foot facility in Richmond, Kentucky, south of Lexington, with plans to invest $2.2 million in establishing a metal stamping manufacturing center at Richmond Industrial Park South II off Duncannon Lane.

Forty-seven years ago, Thunder Tool began as a small tool and die shop and has grown into one of the leading metal stamping companies in Canada. "Thunder Tool is a tremendous success story out of Canada, and we're thrilled it chose Kentucky as the place to begin its growth in the United States," said Gov. Steve Beshear. "We're proud to partner with Thunder Tool and welcome 45 new jobs and a multi-million dollar investment in the Commonwealth."

"When the opportunity arose for us to put our facility in the United States and expand our presence in North America, we were excited that Richmond, Kentucky had everything we were looking for," said President and CEO of Thunder Manufacturing USA Inc. Singh Hansra. "Richmond has a strategic location, sound workforce and business-friendly local government."

As an incentive to encourage the investment and job creation in Richmond, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $650,000 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.

"Madison County is thrilled that Thunder Tool will be locating in Richmond Industrial Park South II," said Madison County Judge-Executive Kent Clark. "I know that our citizens will be excited about the various opportunities that 45 new jobs will bring to our community. Madison County is also appreciative of all the efforts put forth by the city of Richmond and the Commonwealth of Kentucky that helped to make this project a reality for the benefit of our region."