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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

South Korea’s DAE-IL Corp Builds Auto Parts Manufacturing Plant in Murray, Kentucky

07/24/2018
South Korea’s DAE-IL Corp. started construction on a $50 million, 120-job automotive parts plant in Murray, Kentucky. Company leaders expect the 295,000 square-foot plant, being built in the Murray-West Industrial Park, to open in May 2019. Employees at the new facility will manufacture automotive transmission gears.

“We are very happy and excited to be in Murray. We would like to thank everyone that has played a part in this,” said DAE-IL President & CEO Johnny Kim. “They have made us feel very welcomed here. We look forward to a long, successful partnership with the community.”

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea, DAE-IL Corp. manufactures and sells powertrain parts for automotive, heavy equipment and motorcycles. Its products include gears, car transmission and engine parts, heavy equipment products, such as transaxles, drive axles and transmission and excavator products, and motorcycle transmission and engine products. The company’s primary export markets include the US, China, Europe and Japan.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in December 2017 preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $3 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

Additionally, KEDFA approved DAE-IL for up to $500,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). 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. In addition, DAE-IL can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network.

“We are grateful for DAE-IL’s decision to build its first United Sates manufacturing facility here in the commonwealth, and we congratulate them on starting construction in Murray,” Governor Matt Bevin said. “Kentucky has a proven track record of successfully attracting and integrating businesses into our economy, and our relationship with another South Korean company set the stage for this opportunity. DAE-IL’s significant investment will create great jobs for citizens of Calloway County and West Kentucky, and we are confident that they will thrive and grow in the commonwealth.”

DAE-IL joins four other South Korean owned companies in Kentucky, which already employ about 400 people. The state’s automotive industry includes 522 facilities employing more than 100,000 people. Kentucky’s gateway position between the automotive hotbeds of the US Midwest and South make it a top location for parts production, component manufacturing and vehicle assembly.

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