“We are very thankful for the support we have received from Kentucky”, said Diageo North America president Larry Schwartz, as the company broke ground on a full-scale bourbon facility in Kentucky. “We look forward to a long and fruitful working relationship”.

This is the kind of reaction Kentucky hears when working with international companies.

Kentucky has long been a leading US state for international investment. Today, nearly 450 international facilities from 31 nations call Kentucky home. Those companies, including 33 United Kingdom-owned, employ over 85,000 people across the state. In fact, almost a third of new jobs and nearly 40 per cent of new investment announced in the state came from internationally owned companies last year.

KENTUCKY AND UK CONNECTION
The bond between Kentucky and the UK is strong and continues to grow. Britain is one of Kentucky’s business partners as bilateral trade between the two reached nearly $3 billion last year. Products being shared include aerospace parts, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery and plastics.

UK-owned companies continue to make significant investments in the Commonwealth. In the past two years, half a dozen British companies have invested more than $140 million in Kentucky. Diageo’s 1.8 million gallon distillery – which will open in 2016 – will produce a number of current and future Diageo bourbon and whiskey brands. Other companies to announce recent investments include Serco, Vesuvius, Welding Alloys and Intertek Testing Services.

To encourage even more trade and business between Kentucky and the United Kingdom, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear led the state’s first ever trade mission to the UK. Consisting of economic officials and dozens of local business owners, the delegation forged relationships with many in the British business community. These partnerships are expected to produce more international trade in the coming years.

KENTUCKY: A CENTRE FOR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
Kentucky is widely known for its great bourbon and award-winning horses, but the Bluegrass State also is at the heart of some of the world’s most prominent advanced manufacturing industries.

Many are surprised to learn Kentucky’s largest export industry is, in fact, aerospace. Last year, the Commonwealth exported more than $5.6 billion in aerospace products and parts – more than 20 per cent of the state’s total exports. Pumping billions of dollars into Kentucky’s economy and providing thousands of jobs, the aerospace/aviation footprint is expanding in almost every sector, from parts manufacturing to supply, from air freight service to education and workforce development.

Some of the most cutting-edge aerospace technology is being developed in the Commonwealth. Morehead State University, for example, specialises in designing and building micro and nano-satellites, extremely small satellites ranging in size from toasters to dish washers, that orbit Earth in formations. These satellites perform intricate tasks like scanning warehouse inventory from outer space and surveying natural disasters in real time. Developers even have plans to send a satellite to the moon to search for water.

Kentucky also is one of the nation’s leaders in automotive manufacturing. The Commonwealth is the third-largest US producer of light cars and trucks and number one on a per capita basis. Kentucky’s nearly 460 motor vehicle-related establishments, which include four major auto assembly plants, employ nearly 82,000 people.

Like aerospace, there is no shortage of success stories resonating from Kentucky’s automotive industry. Toyota is preparing its Kentucky plant to produce the Lexus ES 350 model, the top-selling Lexus sedan in the world. Ford is producing the all-new 2015 Lincoln MKC model at one of its Kentucky plants while also investing $80 million to boost production capacity at its truck plant, also located in the state. Kentucky’s General Motors plant exclusively produces the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, which was named the 2014 North American Car of the Year.

The rise in auto production is attracting more parts suppliers to the state. Hendrickson USA recently announced plans to open a 100,000-square-foot, highly automated facility in Elizabethtown to manufacture suspension systems. Dr. Schneider Automotive Systems, a German company, cut the ribbon on its new operation in Kentucky. The plant will manufacture parts for Ford, BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

These Kentucky-made vehicles are found on streets around the world. In 2013, the state’s motor vehicle exports exceeded $5.5 billion, more than double the previous state record set in 2012. Kentucky’s motor vehicle exports grew third-fastest among major motor vehicle-producing states. Cars and trucks are being shipped throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Kentucky’s success in auto manufacturing is causing a tremendous boon in another industry: aluminium. Tighter fuel efficiency requirements are causing vehicle manufacturers to expand their use of lightweight aluminium to include hoods, door panels and boots. In fact, experts say the use of aluminium sheet for vehicle bodies is projected to increase to 4 billion lb in 2025, from 200 million lb in 2012.

The Commonwealth is reaping the benefits of aluminium’s growing popularity. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Kentucky has the greatest capacity of any state to produce aluminium. In the past year, six companies have announced aluminium-related projects in the state, resulting in more than a half billion dollars in new investment. The aluminium industry accounted for $2 billion in Kentucky gross domestic product and employed nearly 20,000 people in 2013.

Many local aluminium companies are expanding, but international suppliers from Europe and Asia also are establishing operations in Kentucky. In 2014 a joint venture between Europe-based Constellium N.V. and UACJ Corporation, of Japan, announced plans to open a $150 million aluminium facility in Kentucky. Other international projects also are in the works.

Manufacturers looking for plenty of room to grow can select from Kentucky’s two certified megasites, prime locations for large-scale manufacturing facilities, or choose from hundreds of additional shovel-ready sites and available buildings to fit most industry needs.

KENTUCKY PROVIDES EASY SHIPPING
Many factors draw businesses to Kentucky. At the centre of a 34-state area in the eastern US, Kentucky facilitates the distribution of goods and materials to a massive industrial and consumer market. The state’s borders are within a day’s drive of more than 65 per cent of the nation’s population, personal income and manufacturing establishments.

Two global air cargo hubs (UPS and DHL), located at Kentucky’s two international airports, also give Kentucky a logistics boost, and is a main reason why the state ranks among the top places worldwide in total air cargo shipments. DHL ships to more than 60 countries and works with more companies than any other logistics specialist. UPS delivered more than 4.3 billion packages last year and ships worldwide, including to every address in Europe and North America.

Add that to Kentucky’s extensive highway, air, rail and waterway transportation systems, and it is easy to see how Kentucky businesses can successfully compete in the global marketplace.

HEADQUARTERS CENTRAL
Kentucky is also home to an impressive variety of corporate headquarters, including such internationally known names as YUM! Brands (KFC and Pizza Hut), Papa Johns, Lexmark, Alltech, Humana, Tempur-Pedic and Brown-Forman. While some of these companies have grown up in Kentucky, others have been lured to the state by its favourable business climate, low energy costs, progressive incentive programmes, significant logistical and geographic advantages, superior quality of life and an exceptional labour climate.

GREAT INCENTIVE TO DO BUSINESS
Many of Kentucky’s most recent economic development successes have been made possible by the state’s Incentives for a New Kentucky (INK) programme, which offers several innovative tax incentives to businesses locating, expanding or reinvesting in the state.

It also does not hurt that Kentucky’s cost of living was named the lowest in the country by CNBC, and the state’s utility costs are the lowest in the eastern half of the US. Additionally, a top business publication ranked Kentucky in the top 10 for lowest cost of labour.

The bottom line is – Kentucky is a great place for international companies to grow their businesses. Whether a company is looking for a competitive tax climate, skilled workforce and training programmes, an ideal location or an unsurpassed quality of life, Kentucky offers the “can-do” business climate to help companies of all shapes and sizes succeed in the global market.