Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined local officials to break ground on a new Simpson County facility for Trader Joe’s East Inc., a leading retail distributor and supplier of food and beverage products, which will create 876 full-time jobs, including 91 direct roles behind a more than $259 million investment.
“Leading companies like Trader Joe’s are choosing Kentucky for our exceptional workforce,” said Gov. Beshear. “This new location is creating a significant number of new job opportunities for Kentuckians and will be a great addition to the Franklin community. I look forward to seeing Trader Joe’s continued success here in the commonwealth.”
The project, announced in September 2022, established a new, 1 million-square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution, warehousing and cold storage center in Simpson County’s Stone-Givens Industrial Park to serve growing customer demands. The over $259 million investment created 91 direct full-time jobs, but the full scope of the project includes 876 total jobs, with the balance being contracted positions.
The company’s new location also will benefit from funding recently approved for infrastructure upgrades at the Stone-Givens Industrial Park. In January, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) approved $2.4 million in funding from the Economic Development Fund to support the construction of an industrial access road and improvements at the site to encourage economic growth. The infrastructure project also is supported by a $300,000 grant from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Department of Highways.
Trader Joe’s is a subsidiary of TACT Holding Inc. and is a leading retail distributer and supplier of food and beverage products, including canned foods, dry goods, sweets, grocery, beer and wine, frozen foods and other refrigerated products. Trader Joe’s was founded in 1967 offering accessible, high-end products to consumers. The company has grown nationally to 50,000 employees in 537 stores across 44 states.