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Japanese company bringing 220 jobs to Franklin County

Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson said his city will use a $100,000 grant to study how to make a portion of U.S. 60 safer for pedestrians.
City of Frankfort
Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson calls Nitto's new plant a sign of the city's changing economic trajectory.

A Japanese company founded more than a century ago is bringing 220 jobs to the state’s capitol. According to a news release from Governor Beshear’s office, Nitto is a state-of-the-art developer of services and products for automotive, electronics, aerospace and other industries. Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson called the development another sign of the city’s changing economic trajectory.

“We're making better use of our industrial parks, and we're having more welcoming environment due to our location on I-64 corridor, which is where this will be, in between Lexington and Louisville.”

According to the governor’s office, Nitto’s Frankfort plant will open for full-scale production sometime this spring. Wilkerson says it’s an economic shot in the arm for the entire region – and city and county coffers.

“We have an agreement that we split occupational taxes any new development like this, so it will benefit both entities.”

Nitto was founded in 1918 and employs more than 27,000 worldwide.

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John McGary is a Lexington native and Navy veteran with three decades of radio, television and newspaper experience.
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