Companies Manufacture a Variety of Goods in Clark County
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Businesses build in Clark County, and for good reason. Winchester’s central location and prime access to a network of interstates provide business owners a convenient, family-friendly place to set up shop – all within a short drive from Lexington.
And while a diverse sector of industries is popping up throughout the area, Clark County’s low cost of living and thriving workforce have given Winchester a significantly strong foothold in the nation’s manufacturing industry.
From quality veneers to bottle labels, Clark County makes it all.
Osram Sylvania, the international lighting manufacturer, has operated a Winchester plant for more than 40 years, while Kentucky’s popular Ale-8-One Bottling Company. has been a Winchester mainstay since 1926. Clark County also is home to forged steel bearing manufacturer Advanced Green Components.
In 1991, Winchester added The Walle Corporation to its quickly growing list of successful manufacturers. Headquartered in Louisiana, the 100-year-old company provides labels and label services to national packaged-goods companies, including Ocean Spray, Welch’s, Publix and The Campbell’s Soup Company.
“This area has provided quality employees to allow us to grow and prosper,” says Jim Combs, general manager of the Winchester plant, which employs more than 100. “We pride ourselves on being big enough to serve but small enough to do it with personal service.”
Winchester also is home to McCammish Manufacturing Inc., which has been building architectural casework for public buildings and furniture for nursing homes and hotels since 1948.
“This is a fantastic community to work and live in,” says Mary Davis, controller at McCammish and third-generation Clark County resident. “Winchester’s location, low utility rates and hard-working people have made it possible for us to compete in the architectural casework business.”
Another company that has witnessed Clark County’s exponential growth is The Freeman Corporation, founded by George E. Tomlinson in 1914. Today, the successful veneer manufacturer is owned by Tomlinson’s great-grandsons, George and Reid Freeman, who employ 250 at their Winchester plant. Freeman’s quality veneers – sold throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia – are used to make furniture, doors, flooring and much more.
CEO George Freeman says Winchester’s central location enables the company to provide same- or next-day service to customers in High Point, NC., and Grand Rapids, MI., and gives the company access to some of the region’s best Appalachian hardwood logs and one-day shipment of logs from the forests of Pennsylvania.
“Our production quality and customer service is considered the best in the industry,” Freeman says.
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Story by Melanie Hill
Photo by Todd Bennett
