MAMMOTH MARINE TO CONSTRUCT BARGES AT OWENSBORO SITE

Mammoth Marine, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an exclusive option-to-purchase agreement with Owensboro Riverport Properties, LLC for the Coleman Terminal site to construct a new, state-of-the-art facility to manufacture river barges. Mammoth Marine is currently conducting due diligence activities in support of finalizing negotiations with the Owensboro Riverport for acquisition of the 94 acre site.

When construction is complete, Mammoth Marine will have the only such facility in the U. S. with all activities under one roof: material storage and preparation, component fabrication, assembly, and paint. It will employ 150 people, the majority of whom will be skilled welders for steel fabrication and operators for large material handling equipment.

“The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development have been instrumental in making the Owensboro location very attractive compared to other regional locations. They are working to identify and make available a variety of economic incentives. Our business initiative is being welcomed and that sends a very positive message to our investors,” reported Debbie Dewey, President of Mammoth Marine, Inc.

Mammoth Marine will apply for low interest loans from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. A local incentive package is also being assembled for the project.

“This is a great opportunity for our region,” said EDC President Nick Brake. “With the movement toward energy independence, river transportation is a cost effective way to move goods. This strategic location on the river will position Mammoth Marine and Owensboro to enter this market at a very exciting time.”

“This is particularly gratifying to me having spent the first 20 years of my career at the old Green River Steel plant, now Coleman Terminal,” said Ed Riney, President of the Owensboro Riverport Authority. “Having shown the property to several companies, I believe Mammoth Marine is the best fit for that property and the community.”

Mammoth Marine Inc., headquartered in Louisville, KY is owned by a consortium of private investors that have experience and success investing in the energy and infrastructure industries. The consortium has plans for other energy-related ventures on the site that may generate additional jobs in the future.

INTRUCEPT BIOMEDICINE RELOCATES TO OWENSBORO

The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation (GO-EDC) and Kentucky Bioprocessing, LLC (KBP) today announced the relocation of Intrucept Biomedicine, LLC from Vacaville, CA to Owensboro, KY.

Intrucept Biomedicine is a product-focused enterprise whose mission is to discover and develop novel antiviral biotherapeutics.

In 2006, Intrucept Biomedicine obtained a commercial license from the National Institutes of Health to a plant-derived, broad-spectrum antiviral protein that is one of the most potent antivirals known and can be readily produced using plant-based biomanufacturing at Kentucky Bioprocessing.

Intrucept is the first Owensboro-based company to qualify for state funding through Emerging Ventures, the new Owensboro Office of the Central Region Innovation and Commercialization Center. The funds will qualify them for the new Emerging Ventures Fund, created by the Owensboro City Commission as a seed capital fund to entice technology-based companies like Intrucept to locate in Owensboro.

"We looked literally all over the world and Kentucky Bioprocessing in Owensboro is the most cost effective and best technology for the drugs we are producing," said Dr. Daniel Tusé the managing director for corporate development at Intrucept.

"Owensboro can succeed in creating a cluster of companies focusing on the utilization of our strengths, plant pharmaceuticals and plant-based natural products," said EDC President Nick Brake. "In these areas between KBP, the Owensboro Cancer Research Program and the partnership with the University of Louisville, and our regional agriculture community, we have a competitive advantage not found anywhere else."

“We are not looking to just recruit a company, we are trying to create an entire industry in plant natural products around the asset of Kentucky Bioprocessing,” said Hugh Haydon, Chairman of Kentucky Bioprocessing.

Intrucept is the second California-based plant pharmaceutical company to announce a location in Owensboro in the past six months. In October, San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical relocated part of its operation to the KBP campus.

Quality Retail is Essential to the Attraction of Talent

Tis the season for retail sales! Retail development and the tax increment financing district proposed with the Gateway Commons development was a center piece of discussion in the Greater Owensboro region in 2007. The key element of the proposed development was the expansion of retail in Owensboro.

In 2008 the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation will begin an aggressive strategy to recruit talent to the community. To do this, we have created OwensboroWorks.com as a unique tool to identify people interested in finding employment in the region. We have created an infrastructure to support entrepreneurs and high tech startups that will surely draw talent. We are partnering with the Daviess County Fiscal Court on the expansion of public higher education as a way to attract and retain talented young people. And we will play a key role in the downtown redevelopment activities of the coming year. All are important steps, but ultimately we will succeed only if Owensboro is recognized as a place that people want to live.

In the 21st century economy, the most precious resource is human capital. Traditionally, college graduates moved to the city where they could find work. Now, over two thirds of young adults are more likely to choose the city in which they want to live and THEN find a job. The implication is that Owensboro must be an attractive city, not for the jobs we already have, but for the quality of life it offers.

Enhancing retail is a vital step toward making Owensboro an attractive place to live for the talent we seek to attract. Many people simply will not locate to a town with minimal retail opportunities.

Retail opportunities, like downtown redevelopment, are essential to talent recruitment in Owensboro. It is a critical factor in the successful attraction of doctors, researchers, and entrepreneurs—all key target groups in our economic growth over the next several years.

This work will guide the EDC agenda for 2008. Happy holidays!

by Nick Brake & Madison Silvert

Stay the Course with Higher Education Reform

The Postsecondary Education Reform Act of 1997 is the most important economic development legislation this state enacted in the last decade. Therefore, we support and applaud the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for their recent report, which encourages the Governor and General Assembly to forge ahead with the objectives of higher education reform.

The central theme of the reform was to use Kentucky’s higher education system to transform the state economy, with the overarching goal to achieve a per capita income that meets or exceed the national average by 2020. To accomplish this, the Council on Postsecondary Education created the “Double the Numbers” campaign to increase the number of Kentuckians with bachelor’s degrees by 2020.

While Kentucky has made progress, other states have also improved. Kentucky’s position relative to the national average has changed little over the past decade, the state’s per capita income as a percent of the national average remains about 82 percent.

Significant changes have taken place in the local higher education arena over the last decade, positioning Owensboro for a potential transformation of the regional economy. The reform has had a significant impact in the following three ways:

Double the Numbers Mandate- A decade ago colleges in Owensboro barely enrolled 3,000 students. A plan existed to build an advanced technology center and expand public higher education by relocating the local Western Kentucky University campus to the community college. In 2007 nearly 8,000 are enrolled in Owensboro-based colleges and universities and thanks to the leadership of the Daviess County Fiscal Court a new campus is planned for the expansion of WKU-O. And, as a result of the strong leadership of the presidents, all local colleges are doing their part to “Double the Numbers.” They recognize the role each institution plays in creating a vibrant and growing college environment where a rising tide lifts all boats. But we have a long way to go. Bachelor attainment rates are stagnant. Today only 22% of our working-aged adults have an associate’s, bachelor’s or graduate degree—compared with 35% nationally. The aim is to match the national percentage in 13 years—this will require 10,000 new college degree holders by 2020, including 4,500 at the bachelor degree level.

Creation of Owensboro Community and Technical College- One of the greatest achievements of the reform has been the consolidation of the community colleges and technical schools through the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Since 1997, enrollments in KCTCS colleges have increased 106 percent. The enrollment in Owensboro has jumped to over 5,000 students. There is no better tool to improve the workforce and economic development of a community than a strong community college—and we have one of the best. From the enrollment of high school students through the Discover College program to the customized business and industry training delivered to area businesses, OCTC demonstrates why a strong comprehensive community college and programs such as the Advanced Technology Center is a top priority.

Bucks for Brains- The program to attract the highest possible level of talent to perform life changing research at Kentucky’s two research universities has been an overwhelming success. Bucks for Brains has pumped millions of dollars in research funding into the state’s economy and provided the impetus for economic development while changing the lives of people all around the world. This hits home here in Owensboro, where researchers from the University of Louisville are working on cutting edge cancer research using tobacco to provide vaccines in lesser developed countries to fight cervical cancer and HIV. The synergy between the Owensboro Cancer Research Program at OMHS, Kentucky Bioprocessing, and the University of Louisville is a great example of how university research and talent are the drivers in the 21st century economy.

The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. continues to play an active role in promoting and integrating the alignment of higher education with local economic development strategy, our work with the memorandum of agreement with WKU is but one example. Such alignment will position Owensboro to be on the cutting edge of the transformation of the state economy and increase the per capita income levels of our citizens as envisioned by the reform.

To Governor Beshear and members of the General Assembly, stay the course to improve access, provide financial assistance, and promote the alignment of schools, colleges, universities, and economic development agencies for the betterment of the Commonwealth. A tall order, but I cannot think of any more important to the future of Kentucky.

Northwest Kentucky: A Center of "Green" Innovation

The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation (GO-EDC) and Northwest Kentucky Forward, the regional economic development organization based in Henderson, will announce a new partnership aiming to brand Northwest Kentucky as a center of “green” innovation.

Entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors are finding the area around the Green River including Greater Owensboro, Henderson, and the entire Northwest Kentucky region ripe with assets for innovation in “green” technologies such as plant biotechnology and alternative energy.

The Northwest Kentucky region is poised to lead state and national efforts in “green” innovation. Owensboro is becoming a world center of plant-made pharmaceutical and plant biotechnology through its unique collaborations in bioprocessing, cancer research, and agricultural production. Kentucky is uniquely situated to lead the nation’s synthetic fuels industry. Northwest Kentucky, with its abundance of coal, rich agriculture, and significant infrastructure assets, is positioned to spearhead the Commonwealth’s alternative energy efforts.

The partnership between Northwest Kentucky Forward and the GO-EDC will create the Green Region Innovation Network bringing together higher education, research and development entities, and workforce training facilities to ensure that conditions are right for growth in “green” technologies in Northwest Kentucky. The work of the Network will help diversify the regional economy through support of innovative developments in alternative energy and plant biotechnology.

EDC's Mountjoy Named to Governor-Elect Beshear's Cabinet

FRANKFORT, KY (November 28, 2007) - Governor-elect Steve Beshear today named EDC Executive Vice President Helen W. Mountjoy of Utica as the new Education Cabinet Secretary.

"Helen has a wealth of knowledge and experience in our state education system," said Gov.-Elect Beshear at the announcement earleir today. "Her commitment to making Kentucky a better place dates back to her service with me on the Kentucky Tomorrow Commission when I was Lieutenant Governor. Her drive, ambition and institutional knowledge make her a welcome addition to the Beshear/Mongiardo Administration."

As EDC Executive Vice President, Mountjoy directed EDC’s efforts in workforce development. She served as the director of the Regional Alliance for Education, the region’s business/ education roundtable. She is the current chair of the Owensboro Advisory Board for BB&T. She serves on various boards, including the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. Prior to coming to EDC, Mountjoy served as Chair of the Kentucky Board of Education through the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act.

Daily Flights to Cincinnati Connects Greater Owensboro to Global Marketplace

Commercial air service returns to Owensboro today with daily flights to the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport. Cincinnati is a great gateway for flights to all corners of the United States and a large selection of international flights as well.

As airport manager Tim Bradshaw said, quality air connections are critical to any community that wants to achieve in the global marketplace. Delta Connection flights to and from Cincinnati offer those connections for the Greater Owensboro region.

The connection is critical for many of the Owensboro-based office headquarters and professional service operations, such as Southern Star, Texas Gas, and U.S. Bank, which do business regularly with operations in other U.S. cities.

We hope that Big Sky Airlines will pledge to provide the most convenient times as possible for connections to maximize the efficiency of business travelers out of Owensboro. This added convenience will make the Cincinnati Delta connection a significant advantage for the region in serving the needs of existing employers and at the same time making it very attractive to back office headquarters, professional service companies, and entrepreneurs alike looking to make Owensboro the home to their business.

The airport is also preparing to open its runway extension. Once the extension is complete Owensboro’s 8,000 foot runway will be the third longest in Kentucky, behind Louisville and Cincinnati.