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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

ZF Rubber & Plastics Invests $17.9 Million in Northern Kentucky Plant Expansion

07/13/2012
ZF Rubber & Plastics Hebron, an automotive parts supplier, will invest $17.9 million on expansion of its Northern Kentucky manufacturing operation, adding more than 60 new jobs to its current full-time workforce of 206.

The company's investment will increase the existing Hebron, Kentucky facility by 52,000 square feet and allow for the purchase of new equipment to manufacture bushings, engine mounts, anti-vibration products and plastics components for the automotive industry.

"We're pleased to see growth here in Northern Kentucky, especially from a company that has been such an important part of this community for nearly two decades," Gov. Steve Beshear said. "The Commonwealth is proud to partner with ZF, and we will continue to support and welcome the creation of new jobs and millions of dollars in investment for Northern Kentucky."

"We recently acquired new business that created capacity constraints, which is good news for our company and the community," said Sam Sato, managing director, ZF Rubber & Plastics Hebron LLC. "The business and government collaboration on this project has been outstanding and contributes to our ability to meet the aggressive timeline for the expansion; construction began in late June and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2012."

To encourage the investment and job growth in Northern Kentucky, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved ZF for tax incentives up to $500,000 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.

"Manufacturing is the heartbeat of industry," said Sen. John Schickel, of Union. "It's always good when a company finds such success with their workforce that expansion of that workforce becomes part of the business plan. I congratulate ZF and Hebron."

"Today's announcement is great news for the economy of Northern Kentucky as it offers new job opportunities for our talented workforce," said Rep. Sal Santoro, of Florence. "It is also representative of the great corporate partnership our Commonwealth enjoys with the automotive manufacturing and component industries."

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