BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FALMOUTH -- Medialog, a manufacturer of print and electronic materials and polyester covers for booksellers, has announced it will move its Alexandria-based business to Pendleton County.
Construction will begin this summer on a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on 3 acres on the northeast corner of U.S. 27 and Menzie Road.
The company's 25 employees and seven contractors will keep their jobs.
The initial investment in the new facility will be about $400,000. Long-range plans call for 15 new jobs and a 15,000-square-foot expansion to the facility.
Barbara Bell, president of Medialog, said she hopes to move by July 1999.
"We just outgrew the space that we had. We looked at several pieces of land before we decided on the one we got," she said.
Medialog, a family-owned business, is on Main Street in Alexandria. The company also occupies the rear section of the old Camco Building. Last year, Medialog produced one million catalog card kits, 25,000 data diskettes and more than one million polyester covers. Jack Wright, Pendleton County economic development director, said, "It's excellent news to Pendleton County to have someone like Medialog move into our community."
He said he hopes Medialog's relocation to Pendleton County helps improve the county's industrial base.
About one year ago, the Pendleton County Industrial Development Authority purchased 76 acres one mile south of Falmouth on U.S. 27 for an industrial park.
The park, named the Paul Patton Commerce Center, presently houses temporary shelters for flood victims, who will be relocated by October.
"We are working with three clients at this time that have shown interest (for the industrial park), but nothing has been confirmed at this time," Mr. Wright said.
Mr. Wright declined to say which businesses are considering moving to the industrial park, but said the type of work they do involves plastic, packaging and woodcrafts.
The Pendleton County chapter of the University of Kentucky Extension Services has purchased 2.8 acres in the Commerce Center to construct 6,000 square feet of general offices and a community facility. Construction is expected to begin in late fall.
The facility will contain 2,500 square feet of office, reception area and conference room space.
It also will include about 3,500 square feet of general purpose meeting, banquet and demonstration space, with seating for about 325 people.
To encourage growth, the Pendleton County Industrial Development Authority has created a direct loan fund program to assist businesses in obtaining long-term financing.
In addition, the Pendleton Economic Development Financial Assistance Direct Loan Fund offers a mortgage loan program to work in conjunction with private financing.
The maximum loan amount is $25,000 and the minimum loan amount is $5,000.
Interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan and are determined by the length of the loan.
