BE NKY, Northern Kentucky’s primary economic development organization, said it had surpassed several of its goals in 2024.
As an organization, BE NKY describes itself as focusing on driving economic growth in the region by recruiting companies for relocation, creating and analyzing datasets and advocating for pro-growth policies. On Jan. 24, it released its annual report, highlighting its accomplishments over the past year.
“The year started on an uneven footing,” BE NKY CEO Lee Crume told LINK nky. “The year really ended on, in my mind, a much more positive note than where it started.”
Last year, BE NKY won 18 development projects, creating 1,467 new jobs and $499 million in capital investment, according to the report. The organization exceeded its target goal in all three categories, including beating its project goal by 20%. The jobs created from those projects pay an average wage of $66,000.
Leading the way for BE NKY were projects in advanced manufacturing, accounting for 67% of Northern Kentucky’s new projects, 46% of jobs created and 45% of capital investments.
“The advanced manufacturing sector continues to dominate in Northern Kentucky, leading the way in project wins, job announcements, and capital investment in 2024,” BE NKY VP of Economic Development Kimberly Rossetti said in a press release. “We are proud to bring five new companies to Northern Kentucky and celebrate 13 existing companies expanding their operations in our region.”
Some of the most notable advanced manufacturing projects announced over the past year were Camco Chemical’s $3 million investment to upgrade a 586,000-square-foot facility on the border of southern Kenton and Boone County. Camco, a custom manufacturer of products for the industrial, commercial and consumer goods industries, wants to expand production capacity to keep pace with industry demand.
Another key advanced manufacturing project was Mubea, a supplier of lightweight products for automotive chassis, bodies, and powertrains. Mubea announced it would invest $24.3 million in expanding its Boone County facility, which is projected to create 102 jobs.
Besides advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution are other key industry sectors in Northern Kentucky’s economy. One of the region’s most high-profile logistics sector announcements was Chick-fil-A Supply’s decision to invest $100 million in a new distribution center in the Kenton County city of Elsmere. The 270,000-square-foot facility will support about 150 Chick-fil-A restaurants in Greater Cincinnati.
While 2025 offers a fresh opportunity, Crume said BE NKY is monitoring potential tariffs from the Trump administration. He noted that tariffs could have upsides and downsides, but for now, the organization is gearing up to adapt and respond.
“Right now, everybody’s kind of guessing,” Crume said. “I can tell you internally, what we’re talking about is being nimble. We’re just trying to listen to what’s going on out there and be nimble. If a policy or a program gets launched that has an effect on this sector, or this geography, how quickly can we pivot to message to them, to work with them?”
BE NKY has not released its goals and targets for 2025. Crume said BE NKY will continue to focus on its core mission of supporting economic development in Northern Kentucky, as its annual forum is coming up on February 6.
“We want to focus on doing the job that we are assigned, and that is grow the economy by bringing good quality jobs here, work on the strategy of the community so that we can continue that and mitigate risk, and then be a really good partner on some key initiatives,” Crume said.