FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 27, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced continued growth in Jefferson County with Congo LLC, an employee service company that works with brands like Alani Nu and Prime Hydration, set to expand the presence of its Louisville headquarters with an $8.25 million project that will create 500 high-wage, full-time jobs in the Louisville area.
“Congo LLC’s expanding presence and the accompanying creation of 500 high-wage jobs is a huge win for the commonwealth,” said Gov. Beshear. “Companies like Congo trust in the resources and the opportunities Kentucky provides, which shows that this state really is the best place to do business. I want to thank Congo for once again investing in the commonwealth and the Louisville community, and I’m excited to see them continue to thrive.”
The recent growth of Congo’s CPG brands Alani Nu, Prime Hydration and 3D Energy has given rise to the need for an expansion to the company’s headquarters. The company will relocate its Louisville headquarters to an existing 110,000-square-foot location at 13551 Triton Park Blvd., moving from its current 18,000-square-foot facility. Congo currently employs 95 people at the location and will create 500 additional high-wage, full-time jobs over the next 10 years.
This expansion adds to Kentucky’s thriving food and beverage sector, which administration-to-date has announced nearly 170 new-location and expansion projects within the industry that are expected to create more than 4,700 full-time jobs with over $4.7 billion in new investments.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg spoke on Congo’s international presence and the immense growth the company can bring to Louisville.
“The expansion of Congo Brands’ headquarters will bring hundreds more well-paying jobs to our city and continue to bolster our reputation as a hub for beverage development expertise,” said Mayor Greenberg. “Congo’s explosive international growth and strong product development and marketing have propelled them to international acclaim and the city of Louisville is proud to support this homegrown headquarters with this latest expansion. Congo Brands demonstrates Louisville’s unique value to all types of beverage companies looking to develop products, grow market share and ultimately transform the industry.”
Congo’s investment and job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced the creation of 46,000 full-time jobs and more than 850 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling $25.9 billion in announced investments.
The Governor has now secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth.
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.
That momentum continued strongly 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 and an 11.5% increase over the previous year.
Gov. Beshear 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 2022, 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.
Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky second nationwide and first in the South Central region for its annual Governor’s Cup ranking for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Gov. Beshear’s administration is projected to post the four highest years of budget surpluses in Kentucky history, and the state’s rainy-day fund has a record balance of $2.7 billion.
Gov. Beshear recently announced a new “Supply Kentucky” initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.
The Governor also recently announced that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. Over the past 15 months, the rate has been between 3.8%, the lowest rate ever recorded, and 4%, marking the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. Kentucky has now achieved a 3.8% unemployment rate during four months since the beginning of 2022.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) today preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $7.5 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $8.25 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 500 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $49.80 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, Congo 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 Congo Brands, visit CongoBrands.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.
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