Material Handling Systems Inc., a Kentucky-based manufacturer of conveyor and automated sortation equipment headquartered in Mt. Washington, plans to create 200 full-time jobs with a $7.6 million investment in a new facility in Bowling Green.

The company's investment includes leasing a 181,000-square-foot facility in the Kentucky Transpark, renovation and build-out costs, as well as new equipment purchases. The new Warren County operation will provide steel structures for conveyor and sortation systems to be installed by the Mt. Washington-based company. Additionally, its manufacturing division markets extendable conveyor machines and other products to major logistics providers, such as UPS and FedEx Ground. The company sought the new location in response to significant growth in recent years and anticipated future growth.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) on Thursday preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $2.5 million in tax incentives based on the company's investment of $7.6 million and annual targets of:

• Creation and maintenance of 200 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
• Paying an average hourly wage of $22.50 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.

Read the full release here.