Gov. Matt Bevin joined company and Nelson County officials Friday as Takigawa Corp. America broke ground on its $46 million flexible packaging and high-performance films plant expected to create 180 jobs.
“Today represents an exciting moment for Takigawa, Nelson County and the commonwealth, as we continue to solidify our position as a prime location for investment in the food and beverage industry,” Gov. Bevin said. “This is another significant indication of our rapid progress toward creating the most favorable business climate in the country. We are grateful to Takigawa for their decision to locate in Kentucky and we know they will be a great asset to this wonderful community for many years to come.”
Takigawa announced in December it would build a 148,000-square-foot facility on an 18-acre greenfield site in Bardstown to keep pace with growing demand from its customers. Construction is expected to be complete in March 2019 with the plant opening in April 2019. The company’s first US operation will primarily provide packaging for national and international product brands.
Hiroyuki Takigawa
A June meeting at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington D.C. between Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Terry Gill, Executive Officer Vivek Sarin and led to conversations about Kentucky’s suitability as a site for an American facility. Gill and Sarin followed up during a visit with company executives during a December trade mission to Japan.
“Breaking ground on our first US facility is a significant step forward for Takigawa Corp. and one we are proud to take alongside the people of Kentucky and Bardstown,” said Hiroyuki Takigawa, president of Takigawa Corp. Japan. “We again want to thank those who worked hard to make this project possible. That kind of support makes us confident this will be a successful venture that benefits the people of Nelson and surrounding counties for many, many years to come.”
A family run company since 1907, Takigawa pioneered production of polyethylene tubes in 1953 and started manufacturing high-grade gravure printed bags back in 1967.
Industry leading research and development efforts earned the company a reputation for producing the highest quality laminations, films and proprietary color printing processes for cutting-edge flexible packaging. Takigawa’s wide range of bag formats and closure offerings established it as a top choice for an ever growing list of clients in large part because of their popularity with consumers. A few of the extensive list of innovative features include re-sealable and slide-lock packaging.
Takigawa built its first plant outside of Japan in 2011 with the construction of a facility in Vietnam. It also has sales offices in Canada, Europe, Singapore and California.
Bardstown Mayor Dick Heaton said Takigawa was an excellent addition for a number of reasons.
“We are excited to welcome Takigawa to our growing portfolio of manufacturers in Bardstown and Nelson County,” Mayor Heaton said. “This company has a great record for quality and their commitment to the environment. Their high-tech packaging products brings diversity to our manufacturing sector that is very positive in the growing global economy that we serve from our many other plants.”
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in December 2017 preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $2 million 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.
Takigawa also 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 2017, the Kentucky Skills Network provided training for more than 120,000 Kentuckians and 5,700 companies from a variety of industry sectors.
My question is when will this company be taking applications ?