More than 50 Japanese-owned companies make Northern Kentucky a model for international development

There are more than 160 companies with some international ownership now located in Northern Kentucky.  More than 50 of them claim Japanese ownership, making the three-county region a growing global marketplace. Over the last decade, more than 20 percent of the growth in primary jobs in that region has been driven by international companies, says the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp. No wonder Kentucky's new governor, Steve Beshear, is making an economic development to Japan to establish relationships with businesses considering new investments in Kentucky, and to strengthen relationships with firms that are already operating there.

Beshear and Economic Development Cabinet Secretary John Hindman left Sunday on the mission, their first economic development trip to the country.  Beshear says he wants to "take advantage of our ongoing successes while planting the seed for future growth of Japanese companies in Kentucky. The value of the Yen against the U.S. dollar means these companies are actively looking for expansion opportunities in the United States."

Some of the major Japanese employers in Northern Kentucky include Mazak Corp., the machine tool manufacturer. Yamazaki Mazak Corp. of Oguchi, Japan, was the first Japanese company to locate in Kentucky, opening its Northern Kentucky facility in Florence in 1968.  Today, the company employs about 550 people. Others include Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky in Georgetown and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. in Erlanger, which together employ about 9,000. Toyota Boshoku America recently announced an expansion of its North American home office in Erlanger. The project will result in 170 new jobs.

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Mandy Lambert, Office of the Kentucky Governor