Braidy Industries to move aluminum plant to East Park

　　Braidy Industries is in the process of moving its $1.4 billion aluminum plant from South Shore, but it will stay in the Tri-State and locate adjacent to Ashland Community and Technical College's Technology Drive Campus at East Park west of Ashland, according to local officials.

The company had some engineering issues at the Greenup County site near the Ohio River that would have caused undue delays, said Tim Gibbs, executive director of the Ashland Alliance, the chamber group representing Boyd and Greenup counties.

"They have machinery that weighs some 100 tons," Gibbs said Tuesday. "They have presold the capacity of the mill. They also want to stay in this area. We were able to find a suitable site."

East Park, an industrial park off Interstate 64, has land in Carter, Greenup and Boyd counties. The property transfer should take place within weeks, Gibbs said. The site will be located in Boyd and Greenup counties.

"I am happy they're staying here," Gibbs said. "We still have a regional anchor."

Remaining in the Tri-State will allow construction to begin next spring, according to Gibbs. The project will mean some 1,000 construction jobs and some 550 permanent jobs, he said.

"I'm glad they're staying in our area," said Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter. "They're still working on a 27-month construction timeframe. We had a back-up plan. It allows them to stay on track."

Much of the site for the plan is located in Boyd County, according to Judge-Executive Steve Towler.

"We have always looked at this as a regional project," Towler said. "We worked together with Greenup County on this from day one."

"We are extremely excited," Towler said. "They seem to be very community minded."

Braidy Industries also has taken offices on the third floor of the Community Trust bank building in downtown Ashland, according to Mayor Steve Gilmore.

The 330 acre site includes a spec building owned by East Park, he said.

"Nothing has been signed yet, but it's on the way," Towler said. "There will be some tax incentives involved."

The aluminum plant is the first of many that could locate in the area, Towler said. The plant could generate up to 200 trucks per day, he said.

The site under consideration is located near the Technology Drive campus at Ashland Community and Technical College, according to Kay Adkins, college president.

"We have been working with them the last three months, meeting weekly" on possible classes the college could offer to Braidy employees, Adkins said. "It's coming along well."

"We're super excited they're going to be our neighbor," she said. "We believe it will strengthen our partnership."

The classes to be specifically designated for Braidy should start in the fall of next year, Adkins said.

"They're a manufacturing company," she said. "There are other programs they could use including welding, electricity, applied process technology, machinery and industrial maintenance."