Another Northern Kentucky manufacturing facility is expanding.
Balluff Inc., an international supplier and manufacturer of sensing devices, just broke ground on a new headquarters in Independence. It's the company's third expansion in 30 years.
The German-owned Balluff currently employes 150 people in Northern Kentucky, and expects to add 24 new jobs and invest $6 million as part of the expansion. Balluff specializes in products for industrial sensing, networking and identification devices.
Balluff's customers are manufacturers who are working to increase efficiencies through automating processes. Many are automakers, with increasing demand from emerging industries in renewable energy like solar and wind. The steadily improving strength of U.S. manufacturing is driving company growth, says Balluff President Kent Howard.
The company has been hiring on a regular basis, around 15 people per year. Balluff expanded previously in 1994 and 2001.
"Manufacturing in this country is coming back strong, and the manufacturers that are successful are the ones that are using automation to improve productivity," Howard says.
The Independence facility in
Northern Kentucky Industrial Park is the final assembly, distribution and training site for Balluff in the U.S.
Balluff’s new 48,000-square-foot building is set to be finished next spring. It will include customer support, training and a sales and marketing center. The facility will include “green concepts” and worker-friendly features, such as 100 percent employee access to daylight from workspaces. Bluff’s current 60,000-square-foot space will accommodate more space for manufacturing.
By Feoshia H. Davis
Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.