Third-party logistics firm Lighthouse Transportation Services LLC plans to create 64 well-paying jobs for Kentuckians across the coming years thanks to the company’s strong growth in Covington.
Having outgrown its current office space in Kenton County, Lighthouse leaders will relocate to a larger facility, at 722 E. Scott St. The move comes amid an overhaul to center Lighthouse’s services on technology, a change prompting increases in both efficiency and customer demand.
“We are excited to continue our tremendous growth in the city of Covington and we appreciate how amazing they have been in this process,” said Lighthouse CEO Nick Lanham. “Our collective investment will allow us to scale and continue investing in people and technology.”
Jeff Dangelo (Photo from NKY Tri-Ed)
The $400,000 investment to lease and upgrade the new facility positions Lighthouse for future growth and will allow the company to gradually expand its workforce across the next decade.
This year, Lighthouse leaders revamped their strategy with an eye toward digitally transforming the business. Toward that end, the company hired Silicon Valley tech founder and executive Jeff Dangelo to reimagine the supply chain experience through technology and transparency.
“Lighthouse is truly a Northern Kentucky entrepreneurship success story,” said Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann. “The founders have achieved steady growth, adding to their team and incorporating technology to fuel their success. Congratulations to the Lighthouse team on their new corporate headquarters and the 64 new full-time jobs they are creating in Kenton County.”
Lighthouse also invested in Turvo, a supply chain network software designed to help shippers, logistics providers and carriers collaborate and operate more efficiently. The technology automates more than 75% of the company’s manual tasks and gives its customers a world-class experience. The impact has been tremendous, helping Lighthouse more than double revenues from last year and land several full-outsource shipper customers already this year.
Complementing the company’s new strategies, Lighthouse in June announced its acquisition of Florence-based freight transportation company NTL Trucking, bolstering Lighthouse’s growth and allowing it to increase its service offerings.
An artists rendering of the new Lighthouse location at 722 E. Scott Street in Covington (Image from NKY Tri-Ed)
Founded in 1987, Lighthouse provides logistics services to Fortune 500 companies as well as fully outsourced supply chain technology and managed services to small and mid-sized shippers.
“Lighthouse is a shining example of an innovative company that is leveraging technology to grow their business and add employees in the Cincinnati region,” said Northern Kentucky Tri-ED CEO Lee Crume. “With our base of manufacturers and two global cargo hubs at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), logistics and transportation companies play a critical role in growing our region’s tech economy.”
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in August preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $350,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $400,000 and annual targets of:
• Creation and maintenance of 64 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
• Paying an average hourly wage of $27 including benefits across those jobs.
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, Lighthouse 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.
For more information on Lighthouse Transportation Services, visit golighthouse.ai
Governor’s Office
