New Online Products Available on ThinkKentucky.com
The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development continues working to improve the competitiveness of the Commonwealth. To keep our state on the cutting edge of a global economy, the Cabinet has introduced a series of online enhancements to its Web site, www.ThinkKentucky.com, to provide more customized information for site selection consultants, businesses, economic developers, and researchers.
The first of these new products is a searchable database of Kentucky Business & Industry www.thinkkentucky.com/KBIIS. Although the Cabinet has provided Kentucky business and industry information on its Web site for years, the new search tool allows customers to obtain specific information to fit their needs. The online service is a free and easy-to-use reference tool to find information about manufacturing and supportive service firms in Kentucky. Searches may be conducted in a variety of ways including: 1) facility name; 2) product/service keyword; 3) NAICS code; 4) employment; or 5) location. For example, clients may search for facilities in a particular county or various counties that are associated with North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sub-sector 325, which is chemical manufacturing. Once a list is generated, details of each business can be viewed by clicking on the facility name. The search results may also be sorted by location or employment size.
A second valuable enhancement is the addition of an online training provider directory. Developed for the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC), the directory offers listings of educational institutions, as well as individuals certified by the State Board of Proprietary Education and educational consultants who offer training services in Kentucky. Business and industry can now search for the services they need at www.thinkkentucky.com/BSSC by selecting “Training Providers and Services” from the right hand navigation. Searches can be categorized by provider, skill area, training specialty or for a specific course. Users may also search by region or by the county in which they are located. This tool will be especially useful for new companies locating in Kentucky who may not be familiar with the provider network available to them. Training providers wishing to be added to the directory may also do so at this site.
Two features within the Buildings and Sites category on the Web site have been added, including a sold or leased building database, and a listing of available secondary sites. The sold or leased building application, www.thinkkentucky.com/EDIS/Bldg/BldgSoldLeasedSrch.aspx, contains a searchable file, which can be sorted for all the sold or leased properties from the Cabinet’s thirty year archive. The information may be organized based on building name, square footage, community or date. This resource assists clients in identifying previous sales of similar-sized facilities within a geographic area. One can also make other determinations such as the length of time facilities were on the market. The archived information is very valuable to appraisers, economic developers and individuals who are researching sales and/or lease prices for a newly available building.
The listing of secondary sites, www.thinkkentucky.com/edis/Sites/SecSiteList.aspx, can be found by using the site search function. Secondary sites are sites that meet most of the criteria to be marketed by the Cabinet as “shovel-ready”, but lack just one or two components. The secondary site table is not searchable but can be sorted by the site name, community name or acreage. The secondary site list contains links to the site data and maps.
Finally, a map gallery component, www.thinkkentucky.com/EDIS/edis_maps.aspx, has been added to allow users to view all the available maps contained on the Cabinet’s Web site in one convenient place. Additional maps not found elsewhere on the Web site are also included as part of the map gallery. Included are over thirty maps on topics such as education and training, environment, incentives and transportation infrastructure.
Further enhancements that will make gathering economic development information easier are in the works as well. The Cabinet strives to put as much information in the hands of decision makers by making it available 24 hours a day via its www.ThinkKentucky.com Web site. For questions about any of the applications mentioned above, please contact the Office of Research and Information Technology at 502-564-4886. |
