R/S-Godwin Truck Body Co. has been building dump bodies in Floyd County for more than half a century, and the company that started as a small job shop for the coal industry is getting ready to grow again.
On Oct. 12, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that R/S-Godwin plans an estimated $17 million investment in Floyd County that will create 65 new full-time jobs. According to the state's announcement, the company is planning an expansion of land, buildings and machinery to boost production. It's also in the early stages of buying the adjacent 7-plus acres for future manufacturing growth.
From a coal job shop to a national name
R/S-Godwin got its start in 1968 as a small local shop serving the Eastern Kentucky coal industry, with a marketing range of only a couple hundred miles. It built mostly highway-use trucks, with some off-highway equipment when local demand called for it. In 1977, it branched out into other dump body markets.
The Godwin Group out of North Carolina, one of the nation's largest family-owned trucking equipment makers, bought the company in 2002. Demand got so high that R/S-Godwin dropped trailers to focus on dump bodies, and it recently expanded to 165,000 square feet to make room for a new powder coat paint and primer facility, the state said.
"The Godwin Group is proud to be partnered with the state of Kentucky, Floyd County and surrounding areas to help R/S-Godwin continue to grow," said Ryan Taylor, the company's CEO. "We are proud that this will also see those citizens of this area prosper as well."
The new jobs will call for skills in welding, fabrication, CNC plasma cutting, CNC press brakes and material handling, among others.
Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams thanked the company for sticking with the area. "Our county is a great place to grow a business, from mom-and-pop shops to manufacturing," he said. He also credited the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, One East Kentucky and Kentucky Power.
WYMT reported that the 7 acres the company is pursuing would extend onto the property now used by Luv Homes once that business relocates, and that Williams hopes the 65 jobs eventually turn into another 250 to 300.
"The $17 million investment is creating 65 great-paying jobs for the people of Floyd County and the surrounding area," said Eric Ratliff, executive director of the Big Sandy Area Development District.
The incentives
In April, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement under the Kentucky Business Investment program, according to the state. Based on a planned investment of about $17.28 million, the performance-based deal could give the company up to $2.1 million in tax incentives, tied to creating and keeping 65 full-time jobs for Kentucky residents over 15 years at an average hourly wage of $35.84, including benefits. KEDFA also approved up to $150,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which lets approved companies recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures and some equipment.
Those are performance-based, so the company has to hit its annual targets to collect. R/S-Godwin can also tap the state's workforce programs, including no-cost recruiting and job placement and reduced-cost customized training.
The state's announcement doesn't name a contractor or say when construction will begin, and no builder has been named publicly.
Why it matters for Contractors
Manufacturing expansions like this are good, steady work in the mountains, where big private construction projects don't come along often. An expansion of land, buildings and machinery means site prep on the new acreage, foundations and slabs that can handle heavy equipment, pre-engineered metal buildings or other industrial structures, plus electrical service for welders, CNC plasma tables and press brakes, compressed air, ventilation and material handling systems.
The KEIA piece is a hint that construction is part of the plan, since it's meant to give back sales tax paid on construction costs and building fixtures. If you're an Eastern Kentucky site, steel, concrete or industrial electrical contractor, it's worth reaching out to the company now, before the land deal closes and the work goes to bid. And if Williams is right about 250 to 300 more jobs down the road, there could be more phases after this one.