Opportunity Kentucky grant assists with site prep for Washington Penn facility.
A community that recently got an assist from LG&E and KU Energy’s Opportunity Kentucky Grant Program and the Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) is celebrating a $104 million investment by Washington Penn.
Last year, the Winchester-Clark County Industrial Development Authority received a $100,000 Opportunity Kentucky grant, along with KPD support, to assist with grading a sloped, 70-acre site that has railway access. Improvements to the site helped attract Washington Penn to build its new 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on the property, which will add 88 full-time jobs.
Washington Penn is a leading provider of polypropylene and polyethylene compounds and operates more than 40 plastic compounding facilities across North America, Asia and Europe, including a production facility in Frankfort, Kentucky. The company serves the automotive, construction, consumer, packaging and industrial markets. The new Winchester facility, which is expected to be completed in 2025, will produce the compounds in pellet form to be shipped to customers worldwide
“This is outstanding for our community from a jobs and investment standpoint, but also because Washington Penn has such a rich history in the plastics industry and an outstanding reputation for quality and community. We are thrilled that they have chosen Winchester for their next facility,” said Winchester Mayor JoEllen Reed.
“Washington Penn’s growth and new location in Winchester is a perfect combination of planning, collaboration and success,” said John Bevington, senior director Business and Economic Development for LG&E and KU. “The planning and development of this site by the Winchester-Clark County Industrial Development Authority; the collaborative investment in site readiness by the KPDI program; the community and KU’s Opportunity Kentucky grant; and Washington Penn’s growth and success in Kentucky are a near perfect economic development picture. Congratulations and thanks to all involved.”
