Project broke ground in May 2021 and is creating 80 full-time jobs

LOUISVILLE, Ky – On Jan 12th, Governor Andy Beshear joined local officials and representatives from PACCAR Parts, a distributor of aftermarket parts for heavy- and medium-duty trucks, trailers, buses and engines, for the ribbon cutting of the company’s $45 million, state-of-the-art parts distribution center in Louisville, which is creating 80 full-time jobs in the region.

“World-class companies are choosing Kentucky because of our world-class workforce,” Gov. Beshear said. “PACCAR Parts will be a great addition to South Louisville, providing new job opportunities for Kentucky families. I am excited to be here on Jan 12th, to cut the ribbon on this new facility, and I look forward to PACCAR having many years of success here in the commonwealth.”

The new facility, located at Louisville Riverport Authority’s Phase 5 development, consists of a 260,000-square-foot facility for motor-vehicle-related parts distribution, including original equipment and replacement parts. The new location is the company’s 18^th parts distribution center, increasing the company’s global footprint to more than 3.4 million square feet of warehouse space.

The Louisville location will allow the company to increase parts availability for dealers and customers in the central, mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the United States and provide parts capacity to support new truck and engine models.

“The strategic location of the Louisville parts distribution center expands PACCAR Parts’ reach and reinforces our commitment to world-class service in aftermarket parts distribution,” said Laura Bloch, PACCAR Parts general manager and PACCAR Inc. vice president. “We are proud to be a part of the Louisville community and look forward to providing our customers and dealerships in the region with maximum product availability, excellent value and an exceptional customer experience.”

PACCAR Parts is a division of PACCAR Inc., a Bellevue, Washington-based manufacturer of light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates founded in 1905. The company distributes products to customers globally through an extensive dealer network that includes 2,300 locations worldwide. Additional services include the design and manufacture of advanced powertrains, financial services, information technology and parts distribution related to its truck production.

PACCAR Parts’ growth adds to Kentucky’s growing distribution and logistics presence. Since the start of the Beshear administration, companies within the sector announced more than 7,300 full-time, Kentucky-resident jobs across 115 facility expansion and new-location projects with $2.1 billion in private-sector investment in the commonwealth.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he looks forward to working with a quality company in PACCAR and appreciates the opportunities they will bring to the community.

“Congratulations and thank you to PACCAR for its investment in our city!” Mayor Greenberg said. “Logistics is a key sector for economic development in Louisville, one that is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Our economic development team is helping businesses like PACCAR establish, grow and thrive here, creating new opportunities for residents to access the type of quality jobs that grow our economy and make our city a great place to live and work.”

PACCAR Parts’ investment and planned job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.

In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before benefits.

That momentum continued into 2022 with 248 new-location and expansion announcements totaling 16,000 full-time jobs behind nearly $10.5 billion in new investment.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits, the second-highest mark since 2010.

Gov. Beshear has now secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth. The Governor has announced over 42,600 full-time jobs and more than 800 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling $24 billion in announced investments during his administration.

The Governor has also announced the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. And in April of this year, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision AESC to announce a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. These announcements solidify Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.

Kentucky’s success has been noted by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, which have upgraded the state’s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth’s surging economy. In addition, Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky at 6th in its annual Prosperity Cup rankings for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.

In July, the Governor reported the highest annual growth rate in 31 years. And for the second year in a row, Kentucky’s General Fund budget surplus has exceeded $1 billion. Also in July, Gov. Beshear reported that the state’s rainy day fund is up to a record balance of $2.7 billion, significantly higher than the $129 million balance the fund had when the Governor took office.

Kentucky reported August 2022 General Fund receipts hit an unprecedented high for any August on record, marking 21 straight months of growing revenues for the state.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Kentucky led the entire nation in job growth for the month of August and tied with New Hampshire for the largest jump in employment growth for September.

In September, Kentucky reported August 2022 General Fund receipts hit an unprecedented high for any August on record, marking 21 straight months of growing revenues for the state. September was also the third highest revenue month on record, with more than $1.4 billion reported, marking the seventh month this year with collections topping $1 billion.

And from September 2021 to September 2022, Kentucky added 81,700 new jobs. Except for a four-month recovery period after the initial COVID-19 shock, this is the largest number of new jobs added in 20 years.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in March 2019 preliminarily approved an incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide tax incentives based on the company’s investment and annual job and wage targets.

Additionally, KEDFA approved PACCAR for 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.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

In addition, PACCAR Parts can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.

For more information on PACCAR Parts, visit PACCARParts.com.

A detailed community profile for Jefferson County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.

Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.