Gov. Beshear: L2 Aviation To Establish $12.2 Million Manufacturing Operation in Boone County, Creating 250 Kentucky Jobs

New location will allow company to grow and meet increased industry demand

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 12, 2024) - Today, Gov. Andy Beshear reported continued momentum within the state's aviation and aerospace industry as L2 Aviation announced its first Kentucky location with a new facility in Boone County, a $12.2 million investment creating 250 Kentucky jobs.

"The continued expansion and versatility of Kentucky's key industries is among our state's greatest economic strengths," said Gov. Beshear. "Our aviation and aerospace sector has seen tremendous growth in recent years, and this investment from L2 Aviation will not only add to that but, more important, it will bring hundreds of job opportunities to the Northern Kentucky region. I want to thank the company's leadership for their commitment to Kentucky and welcome them to their New Kentucky Home."

L2 Aviation is a comprehensive avionics design, consulting, manufacturing and engineering company. To facilitate growth and increased industry demand, the company will locate in an existing office and production facility as well as a hangar at CVG Airport in Boone County. The two facilities will allow the company to increase production, storage and overall operating efficiency. The new location is expected to reach full operation by the end of 2025.

"On behalf of all of L2 Aviation, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and commendation to the state of Kentucky, the CVG Airport Authority and BE-NKY for their incredible support in helping us realize our vision of establishing a footprint at CVG airport," said L2 Aviation Chief Operating Officer Tony Bailey. "Their unwavering commitment to fostering growth and creating a welcoming business environment has made this milestone possible. We are thrilled to join this thriving community and look forward to contributing to its continued success while advancing our mission to deliver unparalleled aviation solutions. Thank you for making this journey possible."

L2 Aviation, established in 1997 by founder Mark Lebovitz, began with the mission to simplify avionics modifications for the aviation industry. Lebovitz initially operated the business from his garage in Austin, Texas, and relocated its headquarters in 2001 to Dripping Springs, Texas, a suburb of Austin. Since then, L2 Aviation has expanded its services to include comprehensive avionics design, consulting, engineering, manufacturing and installation. The company supports a wide range of aviation modification and certification projects globally and develops FAA Supplemental Type Certificates for commercial aviation, avionics original equipment manufacturers, business aviation, air cargo and military applications.

Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore congratulated L2 Aviation's leaders on their decision to expand the company's presence in the Cincinnati region with a $12.2 million investment: "We welcome L2's growth at CVG and the high-paying manufacturing, engineering, installation and business career opportunities the company is bringing to our community. CVG's growth is having an exponential economic impact on Northern Kentucky."

Candace McGraw, CEO of CVG, is thrilled to add the company to the airport's growing operation: "As we continue our mission to build the aviation ecosystem at CVG, we are very pleased to welcome L2 Aviation to our airport campus. L2 Aviation's expertise in avionics, manufacturing and engineering will be an asset to ensuring that current and future airline operators can have their aircraft service needs met at CVG."

BE-NKY Growth Partnership CEO Lee Crume noted that aviation maintenance and aerospace are two strong industry sectors in Northern Kentucky due to the growth of cargo and passenger operations at CVG: "We actively collaborate with the CVG team to bring maintenance and repair operations, manufacturing and aviation support projects to the Cincinnati region. With CVG's successful expansion of passenger and cargo service, there is tremendous opportunity to bring new companies and high-potential careers to Northern Kentucky."

L2 Aviation's investment and job creation build on the best four-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,000 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling nearly $35 billion in announced investments, creating roughly 58,000 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth's history and $13.5 billion more than the next highest total.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 and 2023 topped $26 in consecutive years for the first time.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On's transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC's $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota's $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing's $712 million investment, creating 1,572 jobs in Shelby County; and INFAC North America's $53 million investment in Taylor County, among others.

The Governor's administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history. Last year, Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.

Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.

In March, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky third nationally and first in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2023 Governor's Cup rankings. In April, Site Selection placed Kentucky second in the South Central region and in the top 10 nationally in its 2024 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.

Gov. Beshear announced a Supply Kentucky initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies. And last month, the Governor announced a new initiative, called New Kentucky Home, to increase economic investment, attain and attract talent, and increase tourism across the state.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) on Thursday preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $3.5 million in tax incentives based on the company's investment of at least $6.6 million and annual job and wage targets.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

In addition, L2 can receive resources from Kentucky's workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.

For more information on L2 Aviation, visit l2aviation.com.

A detailed community profile for Boone County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky's economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.

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