FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Gov. Andy Beshear is heading to Asia to promote Kentucky as a destination that attracts international business.
“This is the hot place in Kentucky right now and we continue to grow,” Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ashli Watts told FOX 56 News.
And that’s what Beshear is pitching this week to companies in Japan and South Korea, whose operations currently employ about 50,000 Kentuckians in more than 200 facilities.
“We have a prime location. Two-thirds of the country’s population is within a day’s drive. We’re a logistics hub. We’re specialized in manufacturing. You look at Toyota, Ford, the Blue Oval, GM,” Watts said.
And many of these relationships are employment relationships with large companies: Toyota has been making cars in Georgetown since 1986, employing about 10,000 people.
Watts said Kentucky’s economy is very closely tied to Asia, and it’s something Governor Beshear is focusing on. Since he took office in 2019, 88 projects have begun with companies from across the Asian continent, and some parts of the state are hoping that investment will continue.
“I would love to see some activity in Northeast Kentucky. Personally, I would love to see some factories there. We have the best workforce in the country and the logistics are perfect,” Sen. Robin Webb (D-Grayson) said this week on FOX 56’s “Red, White & Bluegrass.”
And the launch of one project can open the door to others. As Watts points out, business investments made now can have ripple effects that last long after the initial opening ceremony.
“If you look back a few decades and see Toyota locating in Georgetown, and then years later look at all the suppliers that came to Kentucky because of Toyota, you can see that it really has an impact on the region,” Watts said.
