Maureen Carpenter, president & CEO of Barren Inc., presents the award for Industry of the Year to Rodrigo Diaz, Kentucky plant manager for Nemak USA, at Thursday’s Industry Impact Awards Banquet at the Cave City Convention Center. Melinda J. Overstreet / Glasgow News 1
By Melinda J. Overstreet / Glasgow News 1
Phillip Neal, president and CEO of Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College, said celebrating our local industries is one of the things he loves about his job, along with celebrating the students SKYCTC prepares to go to work for them.
He got to do a little of both Thursday evening at the inaugural Industry Impact Awards Banquet, organized by Barren Inc., the Barren County Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by SKYCTC, at the Cave City Convention Center.
The event was created to recognize local industries for their contributions and investments in Barren County. The event was attended by more than 160 members, community leaders and business executives. While 2022 was the inaugural year for the banquet, the awards presented reflected projects, expansions, investments and new industries that have occurred since 2020, as similar events during the COVID-19 pandemic had been canceled, and Maureen Carpenter, president & CEO of Barren Inc., said they wanted to bring things back with a bang.
Neal had the honor of presenting the finale recognition, Industry of the Year Award, for the industry that had the greatest economic impact here in the last year.
“This year’s recipient has been a mover and shaker in Barren County for a while now,” Neal said. “They consistently go above and beyond in the operations and investments, creating new jobs and opportunities within the county.”
He said this company’s economic impact stood out above the crowd when the tough choice had to be made in selecting just one, so it went to Nemak USA Inc., accepted by Rodrigo Diaz, the Kentucky plant manager for the company.
As Diaz was approaching the stage, Neal continued about the company that came to Glasgow in 2012 and has repeatedly committed to growth here.
“They are a manufacturer of innovative, lightweight products for powertrain, e-mobility and structural applications and has been growing at a record pace to meet rapidly increasing customer demand,” he said of Nemak.
Diaz said the Kentucky team was overwhelmed with gratitude for receiving the award.
“Globally, we employ more than 21,000 people, with almost 300 of them right here in Glasgow,” he said, adding that one of products made here is the electrical housing for the Ford F-150 pickup truck. “So when you see an electric F-150 on the road, be proud with us that there’s a piece of Kentucky in that vehicle.”
He said the company has always believed that its growth is only achievable through its people.
“It is our our community that is the main pillar of our operations. We are very aware of the importance of having the right talent working in a place that they love,” Diaz said. “Our latest investments have been in technologies that will improve our competitiveness as well as our working conditions.”
He also spoke of a commitment to safety in the workplace and community involvement.
Just prior to the award to Nemak, Barren County Judge-Executive Micheal Hale presented the Community Impact Award for SpanTech to its chief operating officer, Tiffany Somerville, who is also the daughter of company founder Bud Layne. This award recognizes a local industry that has made a positive impact on Barren County through volunteering, donating and community engagement.
With the announcement of SpanTech as an Expansion Award recipient, David Peterson, chairman of the Barren County Economic Authority, noted that the company announced in 2020 that it would be moving its current conveyor-system manufacturing facility along Cleveland Avenue to Hilltopper Way, where it is renovating a 42,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by Sitel, and constructing an additional 100,000-square-foot facility that will increase its manufacturing, warehouse and assembly areas so it can grow to meet customers’ demands.
Hale said the Community Impact Award, though, is meant for companies that have not only financially invested but civically invested as well.
He said SpanTech has been a staple in the county and a champion for it. It was founded in Glasgow in 1981 as a supplier, but the ability to design plastic-chain conveyors and industry-leading innovation in material handling it provided, it quickly became well-known name.
“Not only are they known for their world-class products and services, but SpanTech is also known for their support of the community,” Hale said, rattling off a list of organizations in which the staff members are involved.
“Personal story: Last December when the tornadoes came through, this company showed up. Herbert Turner Road is where we had the most damage. And what did we see Day 2? We saw two groups of SpanTech employees get out of their trucks with chainsaws, gloves and they were ready to go to work. That’s why they are receiving the Community Impact Award,” the judge-executive said.
In accepting the award, Somerville said her parents built the company, but what makes it great is her team, as she pointed out and named a few that were present in the audience.
“This is for them; they did this,” she said.
Hale also congratulated all the industries that were recognized.
“Your investments and hard work in our county do not go unnoticed,” he said.
Internationally recognized leader in the electric-vehicle battery field, Bob Galyen, was the keynote speaker before the awards were presented, offering insights into some of the challenges of producing EV batteries but also benefits of electrically powered vehicles.
The first recognitions were Expansion Awards. They were presented to representatives of existing Barren County entities that have recently expanded their operations in the community with a significant investment and new job creation.
The expanded companies are 3A Composites, AtCorr Packaging Products, Bluegrass Ingredients Inc., Dickerson Lumber Co., Green Mechanical Construction Inc., Innovative Manufacturing Services Inc., Lynx Labeling Inc., SpanTech LLC and TENNECO.
New Business Awards were provided for three new industries that have located and invested in Barren County: CATK, C and M Equipment & Contracting Inc., and IWS Pro Services.
Before the event concluded, Neal also presented two SKYCTC one-year to Chris Edwards, second-semester student of the registered nurse program, and Connor Spann, an industrial maintenance student who works as a maintenance apprentice at Nemak.
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