Maliah Gentry, coordinator for economic development at Barren County Economic Authority, works in the BCEA office. Gage Wilson/ GlasgowNews1
By GAGE WILSON
Glasgow News 1
The Barren County Economic Authority announced on June 9 that two speculative buildings would be constructed at South Cooper Industrial Park.
“It’s all about time, risk and money,” said Maureen Carpenter, president and CEO of Barren Inc. ”So, if you can reduce the amount of time it takes to get the project done, if you can reduce the risk by doing the due diligence, and if you can reduce the amount of money companies will have to spend, then that’s how we stand out.”
The buildings serve as incentives for industries looking to operate in the area. A spec building cuts down on operation start-up time by eliminating the need for constructing a new building.
With some stagnation in the first two quarters, business is picking up for BCEA, Carpenter said.
“Right now we have about 20 project leads that are currently in the pipeline,” she said. “This year we’ve had three site-visits so we continue to do outreach with lead generators like the Cabinet for Economic Development and the Tennessee Valley Authority. We do a lot of that outreach to stay at the forefront of industry leaders’ minds.”
While Barren County’s main industries are almost exclusive in the automotive sector, Carpenter wants a diverse roster of companies.
“We are seeing a lot activity in the EV market with the project to the north and south of us, that helps bring suppliers to look at our area, but we really have a diverse mix,” she said. “We’ve seen some food projects, as well as a project that we’ll talk about probably in the next couple of months that isn’t automotive related.”
Carpenter said she and her staff work closely with local businesses and governments to make growth possible in Barren County.
“Everything that we do is backed up with history, knowledge, keeping up with the trends and backed up with data, so that we know that we’re making a good decision. … That transparency helps when you have so many moving pieces,” she said. “Everyone is like ‘how can we help’ from our utility partners, local officials, to our volunteers. We all want Barren County to flourish.”
Comments