The Denham-Blythe Tennessee office hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening reception to celebrate the completion of the new office building on August 17, 2018.

Family, friends, clients, and partners came out to tour the new space while enjoying drinks and refreshments. The office features a modern industrial aesthetic that includes exposed steel, polished concrete, and exterior aluminum panels.

As Denham-Blythe continues to grow, the new space will enable the company to further advance its service capabilities for current and future clients. This move marks a huge milestone for the company, and specifically for Denham-Blythe’s Tennessee Operations President, Vance Hohn, who spearheaded the founding of the Nashville office in 1999.

“It is such a blessing to have a nice building that we call our work place,” said Vance. “We are proud of our new home that is not only for us, but also for the future employees of Denham-Blythe.”

Thank you to all who came to out to celebrate the Goodlettsville office grand opening! Denham-Blythe is grateful for your support and looks forward to opportunities ahead as the Tennessee team begins a new chapter.

The Murray-Calloway Economic Development Corporation hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to welcome DAE-IL Corporation (DIC) to the community in Murray, Kentucky, the future home of their first U.S. production facility.

The $50 million facility is expected to create 120 new Kentucky jobs for production, engineering, technicians, and other skilled professionals. This is the largest startup investment ever in Murray, Kentucky.

DAE-IL Corporation is headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea with primary export markets in China, Germany, Japan, and the United States. DIC manufactures and sells powertrain parts for automotive, heavy equipment, and motorcycles. With clients including GM, Hyundai, Kia, and Tesla, the global demand for electric vehicle parts pushed DIC to build this new facility in the United States.

“Our company motto is to be the best powertrain maker in the world. It is our target and dream, and we will work hard to achieve this title,” said DIC President and CEO Johnny Kim during the groundbreaking ceremony. “I believe our goal will be fulfilled here in Murray, Kentucky.”

Denham-Blythe Company was selected to design and build the 270,000 square-foot plant that is being built in the Murray-West Industrial Park. The facility will include offices, a warehouse, and a forging and machining facility. Construction is expected to be complete in May 2019.

“Denham-Blythe Company is excited to be a part of this major investment in Kentucky,” said Bill Quenemoen, CEO of Denham-Blythe Company. “DAE-IL will have a huge positive impact on the region with so many great employment opportunities. We are looking forward to working with DAE-IL and the Murray-Calloway County Economic Development team on this project.”

Denham-Blythe Company is a design/build construction company with over 40 years of experience in the automotive, industrial, food/pharma, healthcare, office, and distribution sectors. Since 1976, Denham-Blythe has completed more than 10,000 projects across the U.S. and in Mexico for a diverse customer base that includes local start-ups and Fortune 500 companies.

By Jordan Ferguson

MURRAY — Mark Manning, president of the Murray-Calloway County Economic Development Corporation, said Tuesday that he and the rest of the EDC were excited to be welcoming DAE-IL Corporation’s new U.S. headquarters to the Murray-West Industrial Park with an official groundbreaking at 2 p.m. next Monday, July 23.

Manning told the Ledger that the new corporate entity from South Korea would be able to provide some 120 quality jobs to people within the Murray and Calloway County community.

“We have been working with this company for quite some time, and we are not just excited, we are really thrilled to have them join the community here,” Manning said. “In the recruiting process, we had help from a lot of different people.”

Manning said the new company is a very high tech company with a lot of automation.

“These are not low-skill jobs, and the fact that it is a U.S. headquarters will mean that they will be hiring not only hourly employees, but also engineers and technicians and higher wage jobs,” Manning said. “The products they make are quite sophisticated. They make gears and other components for, primarily, the automotive industry. My understanding is they do a lot of business with Hyundai and Kia already down in Alabama and Georgia. But also I think they will be doing quite a bit of business with Tesla, which I find interesting.”

Manning said they are looking at a very large building, some 300,000 square feet, which will come to a $50 million investment in building and equipment.

“It is about 120 jobs, but they are good jobs. And quite frankly, that is our target now,” Manning said. “We are not chasing that 500 and 1,000-employee plant because we need some diversification. When all you have are really big plants and one of them unfortunately closes, the impact on the community is really tough.”

Manning said the EDC is targeting a plant for about 100-250 employees, and he said they only recruit what they consider to be blue chip companies.

“What good would it do to recruit a company that comes in and makes a low-tech product with minimum wage jobs?” Manning said. “There is a place for that, but we are looking for those companies that are going to raise the bar instead of lower it. And if a company comes in and it doesn’t do something to raise per capita income, then you probably don’t need it. Murray is not a desperate community; we can afford to be choosey.”

Manning said there has been a move by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development to recruit more companies from South Korea, and he has hopes that having an international presence in Murray is a good flare for the community.

“Having a German company here, having a Korean company here — Saputo is a Canadian company — we like having that international flare, and we think that adds to the overall quality of life in the community,” he said.

Manning said that over time, he feels that DAE-IL will also be a good source for students leaving Murray State University. That could be through providing them with an internship opportunity, or a potential job after graduation.

“I think that over time there will be the opportunity to develop internships,” Manning said. “Murray State is really good at working with these companies and developing a pool of talent. When you have a headquarters company from overseas, it creates a lot of local opportunities that you might not otherwise get.”

By Kat Zeman, Senior Editor at Knighthouse Media

When it comes to design/build, Denham-Blythe Company is in its element. The Lexington, K.Y.-based design/builder specializes in industrial construction from the initial concept of a project through completion, taking on the role of both designer and constructor.

“That gives us a significant competitive edge,” CEO Bill Quenemoen says. ”We have architects, engineers, designers and construction managers all under one umbrella. Frequently, many companies will call themselves design/build but in reality they are a design firm or contractor that has to partner with other companies to be able to provide a complete design/build package.”

Denham-Blythe has a number of projects under construction in Tennessee and Kentucky, its main operating market. However, the company has worked on projects in other states as well. “We started as a Kentucky-based company but our customers have taken us all over the country. I consider us to be a regional design/builder but with a national capacity.”

Growing Need

Denham-Blythe has enjoyed healthy growth over the past few years. To accommodate the growth, it is constructing a new office building in Nashville. The company has had a presence in Nashville for almost two decades through a small satellite office it has been leasing, but it has outgrown it.

“This new building is necessary for us to sustain our growth in Nashville and the southern design/build markets,” Quenemoen says. “We are really booming in that whole southeastern market.”

The new two-story, 13,800-square-foot building broke ground in fall 2017. Roughly 50 employees are expected to move into the building’s top floor by the end of June. “We plan to lease out the lower level to others initially but will expand into that space down the line as we continue to grow,” Quenemoen says.

Bread And Butter

Since it specializes in industrial construction, Denham-Blythe tackles many projects for manufacturers that need custom-built facilities and warehouses. “Industrial design/build is our bread and butter, accounting for more than 80 percent of our business,” Quenemoen says. “But we do some light commercial and office buildings as well.”

The company has a unique project under construction in Ironton, Ohio. It is building a $140 million recycling facility that will take recycling to a new level.

“They will be using waste polypropylene plastics and recycling them into a high-quality reusable plastic material,” Quenemoen says. “It’s the first of its kind, especially in our region. So it’s a big deal for the overall market. It will change the recycling market here.”

At more than 100,000 square feet, the project broke ground in December and is targeted for completion in 2020. Another high-profile project, completed in October 2017, is a $85 million, 350,000-square-foot aluminum casting facility in Russellville, Ky.

“They recycle cans, shred and melt them and turn them into aluminum coils that are turned back into cans,” Quenemoen says. “One of the challenging things about this project was that they wanted to supply their own aluminum for the siding and the facility was being built on a sinkhole site. So we had to remediate a number of sinkholes below the building.”

Doing It In-House

Denham-Blythe has been providing architectural, engineering, construction management, general contracting and start-up services since 1976. Its clients include healthcare, education, religious institutions, Fortune 500 manufacturers, multinationals and a number of large private companies. The design/build contractor has offices in Nashville, Lexington, Ky., and Greenville, S.C.

Design/build is an alternative to the traditional design/bid/build project delivery method. Under the latter approach, design and construction services are split into separate entities, separate contracts and separate work.

Denham-Blythe credits its success in the design/build construction industry to its staff. Its in-house design team of registered architects and engineers focuses on creating functional, flexible and cost-effective solutions.

“Our people are our greatest asset,” Quenemoen says. “We have the best in-house personnel across the board. This includes carpenters and project managers as well as architects and engineers.”

The company’s in-house engineers prepare preliminary design analysis, design calculations and project documents. The team can make quick adjustments in design, scope and methods that affect scheduling. “We can control the design and schedule and expedite projects to keep them on schedule and within budget,” Quenemoen says.

The Denham-Blythe construction management method focuses on components that allow the customer to remain involved with the design team and construction crew throughout the process. “At the end of the day, we live and die by our customer services,” Quenemoen says. “More than 90 percent of our business is repeat clients. If we did not treat every project as the most important one, we would not have that kind of return customer statistic.”

By Ben Kleppinger

Renovations of the old Caterpillar factory are underway and the company planning to use the facility, Adkev Inc., received approval this week to build an addition.

Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning commissioners held a public hearing Wednesday and approved a site plan for a new 5,200-square-foot building on the former Caterpillar property.

The building will serve as a dye storage area, allowing all of the original building to be used for processing, said Milton Hammons, a representative for Denham-Blythe, the general contractor working for Adkev.

According to the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership, Denham-Blythe has already begun renovation of the original Caterpillar facility.

Adkev is a plastic injection molding from Indiana that announced plans in June 2017 to invest $15.7 million in the recently closed Caterpillar plant and create 70 jobs there in a first phase. There are “plans to grow to 150” employees in the future, according to previous statements from EDP President Jody Lassiter.

Adkev has said it expects to be in operation in 2019. It plans to hire at least 25 people with a total payroll of around $972,000 in its first year, according to local payroll tax incentive agreements with Danville City Commission and the Boyle County Fiscal Court. That’s expected to grow to 40 employees with a $1.4-million payroll in year two and to 70 employees with a $2.56-million payroll in year five, according to the agreements.

Danville and Boyle County plan to give Adkev almost $350,000 in payroll tax breaks if the employment targets are met.

P&Z Director Steve Hunter said Wednesday’s site plan approval by the P&Z Commission was needed because the local zoning ordinance requires approval for any building that exceeds 3,000 square feet. The building represents an expansion of only about 2.7 percent of the existing “188,000-plus-square-foot” building, he said.

Adkev has been around since 1987 and currently operates two facilities — a corporate office in Woodland, Indiana and another facility in Monticello, Indiana.

Caterpillar first announced plans to close its Danville facility in 2015; the plant was shuttered in 2017.