Cooper Standard to expand in Kentucky

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Mt Sterling, Kentucky - Cooper Standard is to expand its Montgomery County, Kentucky, operations resulting in 120 new jobs, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

Cooper Standard will invest an additional $3 million in its Mt Sterling facility and will consolidate operations from an out-of-state facility to the plant. The US automotive OEM supplier is a global company, with 50 percent of its sales occurring outside North America, according to the 27 June statement from the Cabinet of Economic Development.

The growth was made possible by House Bill 287, which was passed during 2010. The legislation, which impacts companies previously approved for tax incentives through the former Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act (KREDA), provides the state the ability to extend the term of a company's tax incentive agreement for up to 10 years.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved Cooper Standard (formerly Cooper Tire and Rubber) for tax incentives through KREDA in 1996. Its tax credits, which were set to expire in 2011, were extended for an additional 10 years as a result of HB 287. The company will add 120 new jobs in addition to its existing 310 employees.

“Due to the cooperation from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and local officials, we were able to engage in meaningful and frequent dialogue, which led to a solution that has helped Cooper Standard retain and create new business for our manufacturing facility in Mount Sterling,” said Larry Johnson, Cooper Standard vice president, North American Operations.

“We were very impressed with the team work of the state and local governments as they worked together to provide the necessary incentives to help Cooper Standard's Mt Sterling facility remain competitive in the global automotive market,” he added.

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Press release from Kentucky Cabinet of Economic Development