International airline food producers MarfoFMA will move into the old Covington White Castle distribution plant on Rolling Hills Drive and is expected to bring 78 full-time jobs to the region.
Although no official announcements have been made yet, public records indicate that developers and officials have been coordinating to move the food company into the old distribution center, bringing an expected 98 full-time jobs, 78 of which are slated to be physically located in Covington and Kenton County (and will thus be subject to income tax). The 78 local jobs are expected to pay at least $34.61 per hour in wages, according to state records.
Covington Mayor Ron Washington first intimated the development last month at his state of the city address, during which he said, “soon, we’ll be sharing exciting news about an international company opening its first U.S.-based production facility right here.”
The Kenton County Fiscal Court approved a PILOT agreement with the company Tuesday night, and briefly discussed the project. Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann described it as a “good project.”
Located at 2009 Rolling Hills Drive in Covington, White Castle first purchased the building in 1991, according to Kenton County property records, and operated it until its closure in 2024. 58 jobs at the building were eliminated following White Castle’s departure.
MarfoFMA’s North American HQ is based in Quebec. They also have offices in the Netherlands. Minutes from The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority state the company “is considering launching a new specialized product manufacturing facility that will produce high-quality frozen meals specifically designed for airline clients.”
“It’s basically the higher-end meals that you see in planes up front there,” Knochelmann said on Tuesday. “That’s what they’re going to be making here in Kenton County.”
A representative from MarfoFMA confirmed this and provided more information to LINK nky. The company hopes to begin recruiting for the jobs, which include cooks, line workers, lift drivers and other staff, later this year and open the plant sometime in the second quarter of 2027.
The project is “still in its definition phase,” the representative said, but the company plans to release more information as the development progresses.
“We are pleased to establish ourselves in the region,” the company wrote to LINK nky in an email.
Economic incentives for the development have either already been approved or are in the process of being approved, as evidenced by public records.
Documents submitted to the fiscal court indicate the county, the city and Covington Independent Public Schools have offered to give the company a 50% property tax waiver for 10 years in exchange for bringing jobs to the region. Neither the school district nor the city have voted on their own PILOTs yet.
MarfoFMA bought the property on Jan. 12 for $5.3 million, according to county records, and state records indicate they plan to spend just over $37 million on the project. County records corroborate this: a $37 million bonding package will soon be up for a vote before the Covington Board of Commissioners.
The Kentucky Cabinet of Economic Development, on the other hand, has already approved $200,000 in aid for construction costs and is in the process of approving $1.5 million in state tax incentives. The governor’s office and the city are expected to make official announcements in the near future.