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Kentucky

Rural Economic Development Loan Program

Outline of Need:
P.J. Murphy Forest Products Corporation is a family-owned and operated Company, established in 1940. The company produces: 1) SANI-CHIPS which are manufactured in NY, PA and WI for use as bedding for laboratory animals: and, 2) wood flour which is manufactured in Bowling Green, Kentucky and used as filler in the plastics industry. Due to the increased demand in the wood flour industry, the Company can no longer meet demand with their existing facilities. The existing Bowling Green facility is incapable of further expansions; therefore, a Wayne County location was selected. This location will not only help to meet the increasing demand, but will reduce the trucking of the raw material by 125 miles each way.

How Rural Development Helped:
The $250,000 funding will be used to purchase new equipment for the new facility. Wayne County is one of the designated Empowerment Zone counties. The proposed facility will create 8 new jobs in Wayne County which has an unemployment rate of 110% above the National rate and 106% above the State’s rate.

The starting wages for the jobs provided by the project will be 1.2%-1.8% above the current per capita income of the County. This further supports the Administration’s commitment to increase economic opportunities and improve the quality of life in rural communities by providing capital for economic development in some of the most isolated and rural areas of the country.

The Results:
Approximately 8 jobs will be created as a result of this project. An additional 7 jobs will be created through transportation of raw materials and product.