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Food service company to add 60 full-time jobs in Bourbon County with $6.7 million investment

Metal Werks Inc.

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced The Legacy Companies, a food service and consumer appliance company, will create 60 full-time jobs and invest nearly $6.7 million as it revitalizes a recently closed Bourbon County facility.

“Kentucky has an ever increasing presence in the food and beverage sector, and The Legacy Companies will be a tremendous addition to the industry in our state,” Gov. Bevin said. “The jobs created through this investment will positively impact individual families, the Bourbon County community, and the surrounding Bluegrass region. We look forward to celebrating Legacy’s continued growth and success in the commonwealth.”

Legacy will locate in the former Hearth & Home Technologies building, a 277,000-square-foot facility on Cleveland Drive in Paris. Hearth & Home laid off about 220 employees after announcing in February 2016 it would close the majority of its Bourbon County operations.

Legacy’s investment and job creation comes in response to organic growth and recent acquisitions. The privately owned Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company grew from 75 employees in 2009 to more than 500 today with sales in excess of $250 million. The Kentucky location will help the company better serve a large percentage of its customers while lowering logistics costs and decreasing its time to market. Legacy’s executives are working to buy the building and anticipate adding jobs immediately after the signing. They anticipate going operational within three months of purchase, primarily as a distribution facility with some manufacturing.

“This move will help expand our capabilities and also allow us to be more centrally located for our existing customer base,” said Neal Asbury, CEO of The Legacy Companies. “This distribution center is an impactful asset that provides added opportunity for us to offer and deliver better customer service than ever before. As we settle in, we will be adding more people the staff and we are excited about that too.”

The Legacy Companies designs, manufactures and markets food service and consumer products under brands such as Back-to-Basics®, Bevles®, Blakeslee®, ChefsChoice®, EdgeCraft®, Excalibur®, General®, Greenfield WorldTrade, Kold-Draft®, Maxximum®, Nautilus®, Omega®, WestBend®, Yonanas® and Zeroll®.

Products include a range of household and commercial appliances, including countertop mixers and juicers, ice machines and bins, kitchen utensils, food grinders and slicers, proofing cabinets, prep tables, racks and dollies, egg cookers, dishwashers, glasswashers and kettles.

Sen. Stephen West, of Paris, noted that the project reflects the potential of the local workforce.

“I would like to offer a warm welcome to The Legacy Companies as the company joins our community in Senate District 27,” Sen. West said. “This investment truly speaks volumes about the workforce climate in our region, and I know Paris and the surrounding communities looks forward to The Legacy Companies’ success in Bourbon County and beyond.”

Rep. Sannie Overly, of Paris, said the community has all the necessary tools to ensure the company’s success.

“I’m proud to welcome The Legacy Companies to our community and want to thank its leaders for investing here and creating these new jobs,” Rep. Overly said. “Having the company locate in an already-built structure makes this announcement even better, because that will make it easier to get its operations underway.  This news is also further proof that we offer everything a thriving business could want.”

Paris Mayor Mike Thornton said it was a team effort to make the project a reality.

“The City of Paris is excited to continue partnering with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Bourbon County Fiscal Court to announce another economic development opportunity for our community,” Mayor Thornton said. “It is a privilege to welcome The Legacy Companies to Paris, and Bourbon County, and our team at the City of Paris looks forward to helping them grow and build on their previous successes. The resources The Legacy Companies brings to our community not only creates much needed employment opportunities for our residents but offers an exciting new concept for Paris by provide warehousing, equipment and layout needs for the food service industry. I am excited for the future growth of The Legacy Companies and welcome them as our next community partner.”

Bourbon County Judge-Executive Mike Williams said the arrival of Legacy will greatly benefit the local economy.

“The Bourbon County Fiscal Court is very happy to welcome The Legacy Companies to our county as our newest corporate citizen. We look forward to partnering with them to help our community grow and prosper,” Judge-Executive Williams said. “Great jobs are essential in our plans to encourage an entire generation to work and live in Bourbon County. The Legacy Companies provides yet another inspiration for those residents and their families. We’re excited that they will bring their prominence and expertise to our industrial park to enhance the growing reputation that our county has for world class food service industry stalwarts. We welcome The Legacy Companies with open arms and look forward to helping their transition to Bourbon County be as smooth and trouble free as possible.”

Gordon Wilson, executive director of the Paris-Bourbon County Economic Development Authority, said the community stands ready to ensure the success of its latest business venture.

“The Paris-Bourbon County Economic Development Authority (PBCEDA) is excited that The Legacy Companies has chosen Paris and Bourbon County as home for an expansion of their successful operations,” Wilson said. “This project will boost our local economy and provide new career opportunities for our talented workforce. Through collaboration and hard work, the PBCEDA, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Bourbon County Fiscal Court and the Paris City Commission provided The Legacy Companies the location, resources and incentives needed to ensure the success of their expansion. The PBCEDA is dedicated to providing The Legacy Companies and all our industrial companies with an ally that will promote a strong business climate and dedicated service.”

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in April preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $600,000 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.

In addition, Legacy can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies can receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. In fiscal year 2017, the Kentucky Skills Network provided training for more than 120,000 Kentuckians and 5,700 companies from a variety of industry sectors.

(provided by Kentucky.gov)

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Paul Hitchcock earned his Masters in Communications from Morehead State University and Bachelors in Radio-TV/Psychology from Georgetown College. A veteran broadcaster for more than 40 years and an avid fan of blues, jazz and American roots music. Hitchcock has been with WMKY since 1986 and was named General Manager in 2003. He currently hosts "Muddy Bottom Blues" (Fri., 8pm-9pm), "Nothin' But The Blues" (Sat., 8pm-12am), "Sunday Night Jazz Showcase" and "Live From The Jazz Lounge" (Sun., 8pm-9pm) and "The Golden Age of Radio" (Sun., 2pm-3pm). He also serves as producer for "A Time For Tales" and "The Reader's Notebook."
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