Westpack, a bottle decorating and packaging company based in Russia, plans to establish manufacturing operations in Covington, Kentucky.
The $4.9 million investment will create 63 new, full-time jobs.
“Westpack is in the business of grabbing attention, and they certainly are turning heads here, choosing northern Kentucky over anywhere in the world,” said Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson. “This is a tremendous day for this area and the Commonwealth as a whole, showing Kentucky makes a perfect home for major companies from across the globe.”
Kentucky’s foreign direct investment continues to grow, with approximately 420 internationally based companies from 30 nations employing nearly 80,000 people.
Westpack is a new expansion of UniPack Group, a full service glass container decorating and packaging company serving the alcohol beverage industry since 1995. In addition to bottle decorating and packaging, the facility will be sufficiently machined and equipped to provide short-run decorations for special events and promotions.
“With decoration plants in Russia and Europe, expanding into the U.S. market was a natural next step,” said Westpack managing director Simon Mnoyan. “And selecting the right state for our production was a function of customer logistics, business operating costs and quality of life. The Commonwealth of Kentucky provided and met all three requirements for our expansion. “
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved the company for tax incentives up to $1.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
