1,000 to be employed during construction; 550 to work at facility after completion

WURTLAND, KENTUCKY — Greenup County is getting another new industrial facility.

On Thursday, Kentucky Gov. Gov. Matt Bevin announced that Wright-Mix Material Solutions LLC would invest $8.5 million in a production facility at the river port in Wurtland, creating 130 full-time jobs.

“By expanding into a new location in Greenup County, Wright-Mix will grow its parent company’s home-state economic impact and employment while reaching new customers across Kentucky’s borders,” Bevin said. “This project showcases many of the advantages the commonwealth offers to manufacturers – a central location, outstanding shipping and logistics infrastructure and the availability of raw materials and talent. I congratulate Wright-Mix and look forward to their success.”

Work is scheduled to begin in August and the facility could start operations by January.

Wurtland was chosen for its access to the Ohio River and to the railroad system as well as a nearby quarry.

“We feel the location fits our distribution needs and the 50-acre size of this property will allow us to grow our multiple companies going forward,”  Shannon Wright, president and CEO, said.

The company is going to renovate an existing building at the Greenup/Boyd Riverport at Wurtland. It will increase the plant’s size to 80,000 square feet and prepare it for fully automated toll blending and bagging operations. The company also will build storage facilities to house raw materials and finished products.

Wright-Mix uses state-of-the-art blending equipment and robotics to provide customers with a variety of products including liquid based chemicals, non-shrink grouts, thin-skin liners, gunite, shotcrete and cement-based products in addition to a multitude of others.

The company packages its products in bags, super sacks, buckets and a variety of other options specific to customers’ needs. Wright-Mix currently ships throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Australia and South Africa. Its products are used in construction, mining, tunneling, drilling and other industries.

Greenup County Judge-Executive Robert Carpenter said Wright-Mix would be a good fit for the community’s workforce.

“Wright-Mix will be a great company in Greenup County. This project is the beginning of a partnership with Wright and the people of Greenup County. We are proud to welcome them to their new home,” Judge-Executive Carpenter said.

Sen. Robin Webb, of Grayson, said the arrival of Wright-Mix is the latest sign of the region’s progress.

“We welcome Wright-Mix Material Solutions to Northeast Kentucky, and see this as another positive economic indicator for our region,” Webb said. “Our highly skilled and dedicated workforce is a great fit to the industry and I applaud the combined efforts of all who assisted and enabled this success story.”

Wurtland Mayor Donna Hayes said welcomed the company.

“The City of Wurtland is extremely excited that Wright-Mix has made the choice of Wurtland for its home,” she said. “Every job announced in the region is important to us all.”

In June, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Wright-Mix for tax incentives up to $1.5 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.

Brothers Shannon and Kendall Wright founded Wright Concrete & Construction Inc. in 1998 in Pikeville and grew their portfolio of more than 20 companies. They established Wright-Mix in 2011.

In April, Bevin announced that Braidy Industries was going to build a new, $1.3 billion plant will be located in South Shore, on 370 acres adjacent to the Ohio River, and will produce milled aluminum for use in the automotive, airline, and defense industries.

The company will employee around 1,000 people during the construction of the plant and around 550 full-time employees after completion, with an average salary of around $75,000 per year.