Latest / Kentucky Business News / 10.23.25

Transcript

10.23.25 · Kentucky Business News

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Speaker 1: Hello. Today, I'll be reading from business sources in Lexington
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and Louisville, including The Lane Report and others from around
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the Commonwealth. Your reader today is Julia Shane. As a reminder,
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or who have other disabilities that make it difficult
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to read printed material. Our first article comes from the
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October twenty first, twenty twenty five edition of The Lane
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Report and is titled Process Machinery breaks ground on eleven
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point five million dollars Shelby County expansion to create thirty jobs.
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Conveyor system maker Process Machinery Incorporated PMI broke ground Monday
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on the company's nearly eleven point five million dollar expansion
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in Shelbyville, a project that's creating thirty new, well paying
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jobs for Kentuckians. PMI leadership were joined by local officials
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and Rocky Atkins, Senior Adviser to Governor Andy Bisheer, for
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the event, which will accommodate the tremendous growth and increased
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demand the company has seen over the last ten years.
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This expansion from Process Machinery Incorporated is more proof that
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Kentucky is a leader in the manufacturing industry, said Atkins
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strong companies are choosing Kentucky and reinvesting here in its
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creating job opportunities for families across the state. I want
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to offer my congratulations to pmi's leaders on this new
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expansion in Shelbyville. Announced in April. The company plans to
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add over twenty eight thousand square feet to its current facility.
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The project will take place over three phases, with completion
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expected by the end of twenty twenty six. The expansion
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will include site development, the construction of a new paint facility,
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expansion of existing manufacturing space, office space, and additional equipment.
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PMI was founded in nineteen seventy nine by David Miles
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and his father, William I. PMI designs and manufactures conveyor
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systems and state of the art construction aggregate plants from
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its current facility in Shelbyville. The plants are engineered to
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streamline the transportation of sand stone and gravel in quarries,
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ensuring efficient operations. The family owned and operated company currently
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employees ninety Kentuckians. Kentucky's thriving manufacturing sector relies on trusted
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industry leaders like process machinery Incorporated, continuing to grow and
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invest here, said Governor Andy Basheer. PMI has invested in
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the Shelbyville community for several years and has created quality
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jobs for Kentuckians in the process. I want to thank
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company leadership for their years of commitment to the Commonwealth
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and congratulate them on this great milestone. Today's groundbreaking is
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an exciting milestone in pmi's journey, said Jennifer Miles Raderman,
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executive vice president at PMI. This expansion will allow us
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to create more jobs, strengthen our operations, and continue supporting
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the vibrant community of Shelby County. I'm incredibly proud of
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our team and grateful to everyone who helped make this
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vision a reality. Shelby County Judge Executive Dan Eison showed
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his support for the project. We are proud to see
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Process Machinery Incorporated continue to invest and expand its operations
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in Shelby County. The significant project underscores the strength of
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our local workforce, the competitiveness of our business climate, and
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the confidence that industry leaders like PMI placed in our community.
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Shelby County is honored to support pmi's expansion, and we
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look forward to the ongoing success. Shelbyville Mayor Troy Effington
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spoke on the long term benefits of the expansion. This
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expansion is a great example of the continued growth and
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investment happening right here in our community. When local companies
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expand and reinvest, it strengthens our economy, creates good jobs,
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and reinforces the partnerships that keep Shelbyville in Shelby County
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moving forward. Process machinery success reflects the dedication and innovation
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of its people. We're proud to celebrate this milestone and
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look forward to the continued progress it brings to our community.
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The next article from the Lant report is titled LG
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and E and KU would get two hundred and thirty
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five million dollar rate increase under agreement with stakeholders. Pays
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for better weather reliability. Proposal to PSC include special rates
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for the data centers and similar customers. Moisvill Gas and
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Electric and Kentucky Utilities reached an agreement with the majority
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of the intervening parties to their Kentucky Public Service Commission
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requests to increase base rates that support necessary ongoing system
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enhancements and hardening projects to defend against the impacts of
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more frequent and severe storms, implement new technologies, meet increased
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energy needs, and improve customer service. Under the agreement, LG
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and E would receive a fifty eight million dollar increase
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for electric service and forty five million dollar increase for
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natural gas service. KU would receive a one hundred thirty
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two million dollar increase for electric service. Based on customers
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average usage, KU residential electric customers would see an increase
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of nine dollars in their total monthly bill. LG and
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E residents electric customers would see an increase of five
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dollars in four cents, and residential gas customers would see
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an increase of eight dollars and ten cents in their
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total monthly bill. Over the last five years, as inflation
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increase nearly twenty percent in labor and materials costs escalated,
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LG and E and KU worked hard to hold down costs.
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The current requests remain well below the rate of inflation,
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underscoring this commitment to providing safe, reliable, and affordable service.
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Residential electric rates would remain more than twenty four percent
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below the national average. The agreement was filed Monday with
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the KPSC for approval lg and E and KU, part
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of PPL Corporation, are regulated utilities that serve more than
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one point three million customers and rank well for customer
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service in the United States. Lg and E serves three
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hundred thirty five thousand natural gas and four hundred thirty
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six thousand electric customers in Louisville and sixteen surrounding counties.
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KU serves five hundred forty five thousand customers in seventy
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seven Kentucky counties and twenty eight thousand and five counties
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in Virginia. Lg and E and KU filed their request
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on May thirtieth with the kPa SC for adjustments to
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their total revenues. This is the first time the utilities
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have filed requests of this kind since twenty twenty. New
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rates are expected to take effect no earlier than January first,
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twenty twenty six. System hardening and infrastructure upgrades. The utilities
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are using a robust data driven strategy and revised system
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design criteria to withstand more ice accumulation and up to
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one hundred mile per hour wind gusts. They're installing stronger
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wires and poles for system hardening, replacing wooden poles on
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the transmission system for steel poles, and investing in real
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time monitoring and automated technologies. As a result, in recent years,
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the frequency of power outages has reduced by forty percent
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and the duration of time customers are without power has
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reduced by thirty percent. While LG and E and KU
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continuously invest in their elector transmission and distribution systems, some
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equipment on the system still dates to the nineteen twenties
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and is reaching the end of its life, posing a
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significant risk to system reliability. Currently, fifty five percent of
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the utilities wooden transmission polls are more than sixty years
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old and in need of replacement with steel structures. Equipment
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upgrades also are necessary in the utilities aging substations, some
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of which are nearly one hundred years old. LG and
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E also is investing in its natural gas system, including
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upgrades that enhance safety and reliability in major construction projects
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like the Bullet County Pipeline, which will strengthen service and
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support future growth across the region. Kentucky has a very
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open and transparent regulatory process that allows for customer input
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and representation, and this process enables thoughtful discussion and extensive
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reviews among the party involved, said John R. Crockett, the
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third lg and E and KU president. We understand any
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increase to customers bills is impactful and not a decision
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we take lightly. Our employees, who are also our customers,
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work hard to operate and maintain our systems to be
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among the best in the nation. This agreement would allow
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us to continue making necessary system enhancements, upgrade aging equipment,
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and enhance service for our customers. Technology enhancements customer options.
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The utilities are making significant technology improvements, including new advanced
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meter technology and upgrading information technology systems to further improve
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customer billing and add even more protection against cyber related threats.
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As part of the utilities requests, lg and E and
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KU have proposed new services to help lessen the impact
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for customers and allow for more fre flexibility. They've asked
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for more approval to waive the current one dollar ninety
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five cent transaction fee required for cash payments at third
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party locations, and to help customers better manage their energy
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usage and budget. They are requesting a prepay program for
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residential customers with advanced meters. In addition, the utilities proposed
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a new rate called extremely High Load Factor Service. It
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applies to customers who need the largest amount of power
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and who use it at a steady high level. These
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customers would sign a fifteen year contract and commit to
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paying for at least eighty percent of the power they reserve.
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This further insures large users with unique energy needs like
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data centers, are paying for their fair share of the
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utility system and rates that reflect the scale and consistency
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of their energy use without shifting costs to other customers.
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Meeting needs and reasonable lease cost manner. LG and E
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and KU have programs and services available to help customers
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manage their bills, including the largest portfolio of energy efficiency
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programs in the company's history, an online Advanced meter portal
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for personalized energy information, budget payment plans, and at twenty
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four to seven self serve options to establish payment arrangements.
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The utilities support financial assistance for their most vulnerable customers
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through programs like Winter Help and Winter Care that are
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administered by third party partners and work year round with
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local community partners who offer additional assistance. The settlement agreement
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was reached with the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of
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Kentucky Lexington Fayett Urban County Government, Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government,
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Sierra Club, Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers Incorporated, United States Department
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of Defense and Federal executive Agencies, the Kroger Company in
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Walmart Incorporated. Under the agreement, LG and E and KU
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commit to not increase base rates again until at least
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August first of twenty twenty eight. The agreement also includes
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a new mechanism, the Generation Cost Recovery Adjustment Clause, which
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provides the recovery of costs and a return on investment
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associated with new generation, as well as a sharing Mechanism
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adjustment clause that would take effect during the last thirteen
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months of this stay out period. Any revenue deficiency or
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surplus tracked through the mechanism during that time would be
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collected from or return to customers over a thirteen month
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period beginning in November of twenty twenty eight. Parties to
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the case who did not join the agreement have the
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same opportunities as normal to continue participating in the regulatory process.
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The next article from the Lane Report is titled Kentucky
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Well Positioned for Continued Economic growth. Magazine reports Commonwealth ranks
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eighth in Site Selections twenty twenty five Global Groundwork Index. Today,
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Governor Andy Basheer highlighted yet another strong national recognition for
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the Commonwealth's economic growth and future preparedness, as Kentucky placed
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eighth in Site Selection magazine's twenty twenty five Global Groundwork Index,
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which is based on capital investment and job announcements paired
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with infrastructure funding data. Through hard work, we've seen incredible
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success these past few years, attracting great companies to our commonwealth,
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creating more quality jobs for Kentuckians. Governor Andy Basheer said,
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what this national ranking shows is that we are also
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taking the necessary steps to prepare for future opportunities. The
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infrastructure is in place, the workforce is ready to meet
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any challenge in Kentucky is ready for the businesses of tomorrow.
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The placement represents the fourth consecutive year the Commonwealth has
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placed in the top ten of the ranking. Kentucky also
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was recognized with a B minus grade for energy infrastructure,
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behind only two other states. Site Selection noted Kentucky is
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among the top regional hotspots for potential investment. Kentucky communities
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placed strongly in the top Metros ranking as well. The
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Cincinnati Northern Kentucky region placed third in the country, up
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one spot from twenty twenty four, while Louisville also represented
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in the seventh place. Earlier this year, Site Selection magazine
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ranked Kentucky in the top five nationally and second in
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the South Central region for economic development projects per capita
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in its twenty twenty four Governor's Cup rankings. Site Selection
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also placed Kentucky second in the South Central Region and
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sixth national in its twenty twenty five Prosperity Cup ranking,
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which recognizes state level economic development agencies for their success
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in landing capital investment projects. Kentucky's latest strong national rankings
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built on the best five year period for economic growth
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in state history. Since the beginning of his administration, Governor
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Basher has announced more than twelve hundred private sector new
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location and expansion projects, totaling over forty three billion dollars
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in announced investments, creating more than sixty three thoy two
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hundred jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during
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the tenure of any governor in the Commonwealth's history, and
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twenty billion dollars more than the next highest total. The
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next article comes from the October eighteenth, twenty twenty five
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edition of here Lexington And is titled Kentucky faces economic
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blow from tariffs and trade policies. Kentucky's progrative hardwood, lumber,
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and bourbon industries are currently grappling with significant challenges due
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to tariffs and trade policies implemented under the Trump administration.
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These measures have resulted in a drastic decline in exports,
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jeopardizing the economic stability of these key sectors. Ray White,
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a fourth generation lumberman, reported that his family owned mill
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in Rowan County, has seen a substantial decline in business
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since the onset of Trump's first trade war in twenty eighteen. Specifically,
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the mill, which has operated for fifty seven years and
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supplies hardwood to international markets, has experienced a drop in
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exports from approximately thirty five percent to less than five
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percent for Southeast Asia. Before the tariffs, China accounted for
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nearly half of the United States hardwood lumber exports, but
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the introduction of a twenty five percent retaliatory tariff on
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Chinese goods has severely hindered trade. White characterized the tariffs
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as counterproductive, indicating their detrimental impact on the hardwood industry.
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In response to economic pressures, he and his brother have
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exhibited caution, reducing their workforce by twenty percent, deferring equipment upgrades,
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and even having their own salaries. In light of the
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ongoing crisis, over two dozen Kentucky businesses in the hardwood
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sector have sent a letter to the government officials requesting
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teriff relief, citing fears that further retaliatory tariffs could cause
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irreparable damage to the industry. In addition to the hardwood industry,
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Kentucky's bourbon makers are also fueling the strain. Governor Andy
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Basheer has warned that tariffs are adversely affecting both agricultural
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and industrial sectors in the state. In a consequential move,
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the European Union announced fifty percent tariffs on American whiskey, beef, peanut, butter,
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and other products in retaliation for u S tariffs on
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aluminium and steel, a policy affecting twenty eight billion dollars
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in US goods. Kentucky stands as the largest beef producing
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state east of the Mississippi and plays an important role
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in the production of soybean, corn, and wheat. The implementation
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of higher tariffs is poised to impact exports and inflate
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costs for these agricultural goods. Concerns about the impact of
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trade wars on agricultural export abound, with US Agricultural Secretary
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hinting at possible market payments to assist affected farmers, though
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no guarantees have been established, as the reauthorization of the
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last farm bill past in twenty eighteen, is still pending.
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The bourbon industry specifically has not escaped unscathed, as evidenced
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by a notable drop in bourbon stocks on Wall Street
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linked to tariff announcements. From twenty eighteen to twenty twenty one,
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exports of American whiskey to the European Union fell twenty percent,
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which considerably harmed the bourbon market. Local representatives Morgan McGarvey
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has criticized the Trump administration's policies, suggesting that the tariffs
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have inflated costs without delivering economic benefits. Governor Andy Bashier
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has expressed concern that continued tariffs could plunge Kentucky into
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an economic recession, directly relating the hardship to the Trump
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Administration's approach. Even criticisms have emerged from Republican Senators Mitch
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McConnell and Ran Paul, who have also voiced discontent over
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the tariff strategy. The stock price of J. M. Smucker,
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producer of Jeff peanut butter, has additionally suffered due to
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impending tariffs. In twenty twenty four Kentucky achieved record goods
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exports valued at forty seven po point eight billion dollars,
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a seventy two percent increase since twenty fourteen, positioning the
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state as the thirteenth largest exporting state in the nation. However,
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the recent tariffs and trade policies have placed this thriving
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export market at significant risk. Our next article comes from
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the October twenty first, twenty twenty five edition of Louisville
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Business First and is titled Louisville founder launches buy Dot
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video platform for monetizing content, written by Stephen Schmidt. A
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Louisville based founder who helped blaze a trail in the
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world of streaming videos is now hoping to do the
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same when it comes to providing a simple way to
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monetize exclusive video content. That's because Nick Mattingly, the founder
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and CEO of Louisville based Switcher, formerly known as Switcher
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Studio is one of four founders of buy dot Video.
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Officially launched on septem number twenty fourth, Buy dot Video
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is a digital platform where content creators can upload their video,
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determine how to charge to view it, and then cash
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out fourteen days later after the video link expires. On
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the viewer side. There are no ads to deal with
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before or during the videos. This is a new solution
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that's meant to make it incredibly easy to sell access
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to videos and make sure content limited and exclusive. Maddingly
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told business First, and when I look at other solutions
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in the market, so many of them end up being
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the kind of bloated all in one offerings. We wanted
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to do something that was like Venmo type easy, where
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you upload a video, you set a price, and you
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get a link that you can share. When a video
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is uploaded to the buy dot video site, it will
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get its own URL that the creator can share. It's
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its own bubble, and you can promote it to your
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own audience. It's almost like a paid Snapchat or pop
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up Netflix. We're seeing people talk about it in ways
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that are surprising to us. Mattingly said videos can be
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as long as three hours. Creators can charge from three
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dollars to five hundred dollars per viewing, and can set
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how many people are allowed to view the video. Although
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the video link will expire after fourteen days, videos can
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be uploaded again. The platform accepts a wide variety of videos,
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from full length films to educational to behind the scenes access.
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There is though a zero tolerance policy on any video
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that would be deemed to fall under adult explicit content.
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There is no charge to use the site or any
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monthly or annual subscription. The creator keeps eighty percent of
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the money generated, with buy dot Video taking the other
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twenty percent. To this date, there have been hundreds of uploads.
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One creator that stands out to matting Life is Cheryl Dunn,
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a New York City based documentary filmmaker who has done
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films that have been featured in the Sundance Film Festival.
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She found interviews she had done nearly a decade ago.
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Mattingley said she thought they were lost and inviting these
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conversations with people some are bigger than her now, and
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she posted a series of interviews over a period of
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three weeks and earned a couple thousand dollars using some
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things she had already had Switcher expands from video creation offering.
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Among the other four co founders is Matt Hurst, who
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is a board member of Switcher. He has also served
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as head of Music at Red Bull and worked as
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a global head of Brand Experience at Google. Hurst is
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also the managing partner at San Francisco based West Global.
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Other founders include Jeremy Lynde and Carl evans By. Doot
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Video is the first subsidiary of Switcher, which has more
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than ten million videos made using the platform since the
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company's founding in twenty fourteen. The company has a headcount
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of twenty five, about half of whom live in the
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Louisville metro area. In twenty sixteen, it served as the
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only app that was endorsed by Facebook for the launch
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of its Facebook Live platform. The company has had partnerships
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with other large companies such as NASCAR, the Golf Channel, WWE, Cisco,
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and SAP. Addingly said still a majority of those who
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use the platform are either individuals or small organizations. The
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next article from Louisville Business First is titled Retired couple
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opens the Bay Cigar Lounge, fulfilling long held dream, written
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by Olivia Estreit Julius Wilkerson Junior, knew he wanted to
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retire by the age of fifty five, but that didn't
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mean he was going to sit still. Wilkerson and his
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w wife, Sandra Wilkerson, instead opted to embark on a
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new venture, opening a cigar lounge. Now I'm fifty five
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years old, and it seems as if my prayers are
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coming to fruition, Julius Wilkerson told Louisville Business First, I'm
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now able to retire, and what I've always wanted to
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do is be able to treat a few people excellently.
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The Bay's Cigar Lounge, located at nine zero one Eastern
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Boulevard in Clarksville, Indiana, opened on October third. The couple
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renovated the five thousand square foot former auto shop into
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a lounge and bar, investing and estimated two hundred and
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fifty thousand dollars into the space. Renovation took nearly two years.
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Julius Wilkerson is the CEO and founder of the lounge,
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and Sondra Wilkerson is the administrative director. The Wilkerson's goal
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was to create a classy, comfortable, and cozy environment for members.
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I've been planning this for a long time, Julius Wilkerson said.
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The main lounge, which can be accessed by all members,
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includes a warm color palette of oranges, browns, and whites.
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Julius Wilkerson said the orange represents the burning embers, the
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brown represents the tobacco, and the white represents the smoke.
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It's a warm, warm hug, he said. The lounge includes
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leather and vinyl furniture, a bar, and a floor that's
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textured to look like it's been cigar wrapped. During the
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warmer days and nights, the Wilkersons open up the bay doors.
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When the bay doors open, it transports you, Sondra Wilkerson said,
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noting that the doors inspired the lounge's name. Like am
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I still in Clarksville. This isn't their first time as
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business partners. As former owners of Big City Styles, a
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barber shop and salon in Louisville, the Wilkersons have worked
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together for over two decades. Louisville Business First Last interviewed
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the couple in twenty fourteen when Big City Styles was
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located on West Main Street in downtown Louisville. Sondra Wilkerson said,
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while owning a business wasn't new for them, the hospitality
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industry is new. The couple learned the nuances of how
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the permit process works and how to run a bar.
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The Bay's Cigar Lounge employs thirteen individuals in total, ten
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part time staff members for the bar and three working
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in management, including the couple. Memberships to the Bay Cigar
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Lounge range from two thousand dollars to five thousand dollars
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per year. If you are not sure about the membership
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but would like to experience the Base Cigar Lounge, they
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offer a daily access pass of fifty dollars that can
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be purchased at the door and is fifty dollars per
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person per visit. Each daily access pass consists of two tickets.
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Each ticket may be redeemed for a cigar or a drink.
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This concludes the reading of the most recent business news
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in Lexington, Louisville, and around the state. Your reader to
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day has been Julia Shane. If you have any questions
28:10
or comments about this program, please give our Lexington Studios
28:13
a call at eight five nine four two two six
28:17
three nine zero. Thanks for listening, and now please stay
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tuned for readings from the Kentucky series here, on radio,
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