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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Envision Modular Invests $25.1 Million to Expand Operations in Hawesville, Kentucky

03/02/2020
Envision Modular, which manufactures prefabricated single and multi-story modular buildings, will invest $25.1 million to refurbish the 200,000-square-foot former Alcoa building in Hancock County Industrial Park and expand operations in Hawesville, Kentucky. The company plans to hire 85 full-time associates.

According to state officials, the site sits on more than 30 acres to accommodate potential future growth, and includes river and rail access allowing the company to quickly ship products to customers. The Permanent Modular Construction (PMC) operation would be the first of its kind in the commonwealth. Company leaders anticipate phase one of construction to begin in the next 30 to 90 days, with phase two to follow this summer.

“Various elements of our group have decades of construction, development and sales experience throughout the Midwest and Southeastern U.S. region, with heavy involvement in the development and construction of hotel and commercial buildings in the commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Ed Ray, COO and counsel to Envision Modular.

“The cost and time to build hotels, multi-family units, government housing, office buildings and other vertical projects using traditional methods has resulted in escalating costs and the building industry failing to keep up with marketplace demand for these projects. Envision Modular has the solution with Permanent Modular Construction and is thrilled to be opening its production facility in Hancock County, Kentucky,” he added.

“We greatly appreciate the partnership created between Envision Modular, the commonwealth of Kentucky, the Hancock County Fiscal Court and the Owensboro Community and Technical Collage, and look forward to becoming a member of the Hancock County/Hawesville community,” Ray added. “The Cabinet for Economic Development and the Hancock County Fiscal Court have truly embraced this endeavor and we cannot wait to get our team hired and start building.”

A startup headquartered in Owensboro, state officials said Envision Modular was formed to address disadvantages of traditional construction methods that have caused the building industry to fall behind demand for projects. PMC utilizes offsite, lean manufacturing techniques to prefabricate single or multi-story buildings in deliverable module sections. The modules can be used as standalone units or be integrated into site-built projects. Company leaders note that PMC uses the same materials and designs with the same standards as conventionally built structures, but with roughly half the time to construct.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) on Thursday preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $2 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $25.1 million and annual targets of creation and maintenance of 85 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years and paying an average hourly wage of $26 including benefits across those jobs.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments. In addition, Envision can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network.

“We at the state love to see job creation in every corner of the commonwealth, and we also love to see companies come in and breathe new life into our existing facilities,” Governor Andy Beshear said. “This project has the potential to be a difference maker for the Hawesville community, and we are proud Envision Modular chose Kentucky for this investment.”

Mike Baker, director of the Hancock County Industrial Foundation, said the arrival of Envision Modular will add diversity to the local business community. “Hancock County is very pleased to partner with Envision Modular on this new manufacturing project,” Baker said. “This greatly diversifies our already strong industrial base and we look forward to working with Envision Modular as this project evolves.”

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