Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (left) presented MVP Group International Inc. CEO Mary Propes with a gift from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.(seated) Fulton Mayor Elaine Forrester and Ms. Propes’ son, Troy | | | By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
Fulton has a new MVP.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear joined local and company officials Monday to announce that MVP Group International Inc. will establish a manufacturing operation in Fulton — creating 150 full-time jobs and investing over $5.2 million in the Commonwealth.
MVP Group International is the largest manufacturer of private label candles and home fragrance goods worldwide, with sales to national and international retailers. It is named for company CEO Mary VanDeVenter Propes and is a family operation which includes her sons — Troy Propes, president, and Travis Propes, chief manufacturing officer.
The company will occupy an existing 60,000-square-foot facility on Kentucky Avenue in Fulton’s industrial park, which is where Beshear and local officials announced the good news Monday afternoon.
“MVP, to me, means Most Valuable Player,” Beshear said. “And, I’ll tell you Mary (Propes), y’all have become the Most Valuable Player here in Fulton, Ky., and we just really appreciate your presence here.”
A large crowd from the Twin Cities, Fulton County, Ky., and the Purchase area was on hand to welcome MVP company officials and show their support for the new industry, which hopes to have Fulton operations running by May 1.
Eddie Crittendon, executive director of the Fulton County and Hickman County Economic Development Partnership, joked that he had been dreading Monday for quite some time because it was his 40th birthday — but that changed as progress was made on MVP locating in Fulton and March 4 was set as the announcement date.
“I thought, ‘Man, what a great birthday present,’” he told the crowd.
Beshear, who arrived by plane at Fulton’s airport for Monday’s announcement, said the Propes family chose to make a commitment in Fulton and Fulton County due to their belief in the community.
“You talk about a commitment and you talk about a belief in a community,” Beshear said. “Folks don’t just walk up and invest $5.2 million in a community. They do it because they see a success story here.”
He said MVP has a great facility planned and they have found “a highly-skilled, educated workforce” in western Kentucky.
“As excited as I am, I am more excited about another number associated with the investment. They are going to eventually employ 150 full-time right here in Fulton,” Beshear said.
The governor said MVP has an operation in nearby Mayfield, Ky., and has already been very successful in the Purchase area. He said it is always nice to recruit a new company but is especially important to recruit a company which is already “a Kentucky corporate citizen” willing to make a new investment.
“They chose west Kentucky for a second operation and that’s a sign of confidence,” he said.
Beshear said the 150 jobs to be created is not just a number, though.
“That’s 150 Kentucky families who are going to be able to lay their heads down on their pillows at night with a lot more confidence that they’re going to be able to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, send their kids to school and provide a great quality of life for their family and for the friends and neighbors around them,” he said.
According to Beshear, to encourage the investment and job creation in Fulton, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $2 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
Family affair
The Propes family ex-pressed appreciation to many key players involved in the Fulton project, including the Commonwealth of Kentucky, many city and county officials, the TVA and economic development leaders in the region, among them Crittendon.
Troy Propes said Monday was “a day of celebration” accomplished through a team effort, and he gave special credit to his mother for her vision in starting the company which bears her name. MVP is his mother’s initials.
Propes said his mother already knew many people in the room Monday, explaining they are thrilled to be back home in west Kentucky. He said he graduated from Graves County (Ky.) High School, while his brother Travis graduated from Mayfield High School, and both of them went to West Kentucky University. Fifteen years later, they are the largest private label candle manufacturer in the world.
“And it’s all because of my mom’s guts, grace, intelligence, fortitude and passion that we’re here today,” Propes said.
MVP — headquartered in Charleston, S.C. — now has almost 3,000 employees worldwide and will use the new Fulton operation for its contract manufacturing and premium candle manufacturing.
“We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to have a growing business in such a difficult time,” Propes said.
He said when MVP was in need of a building to expand operations, his brother Travis was excited when he found the Fulton building “because we do believe in Kentucky and we believe in the people who wear the ‘K’ on their hats.”
Travis Propes said when the Fulton operation gets to peak manufacturing, there will be 200,000 to 250,000 candles per day coming out of the facility for the premium independent market. He said they hope to have operations running by May 1 with the help of experienced company leaders and many hard-working people in the area.
“At the end of the day, it takes a team and it takes people, and our business was built from the hard-working people that work in our company every single day,” he said. “We all go back to the same values that were taught to us that actually come from my mom, and everyone here knows what those are. We get up everyday, we thank God for what we have and we work hard.”
After Monday’s an-nouncement, Ms. Propes told The Messenger she started her company “totally on a fluke.” She had purchased a building filled with baby food jars and didn’t know what to do with them. She said she turned them into candles “and it grew from there.”
She explained she was formerly in Mayfield, Ky., for about 25 years and relocated to the port city of Charleston to be around raw goods materials.
Community reaction
Fulton Mayor Elaine Forrester and Fulton County Judge-Executive David Gallagher both welcomed MVP to the community and pledged to assist in any way.
“On behalf of myself and the board of commissioners, I would personally like to thank MVP for choosing the City of Fulton for this new expansion,” Mrs. Forrester said. “We are proud to have them locating here and we are excited to be a part of their future growth. The City of Fulton is a very industry-friendly community and we are proud to have them as the newest member of our industrial family.
“On behalf of the City of Fulton, I would like to thank Governor Beshear, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Cabinet for Economic Development for working alongside our two-county economic development director, Eddie Crittendon, to help bring these much-needed jobs to Fulton.”
Gallagher added, “I would like to thank MVP for choosing to locate this new expansion in Fulton County. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship. I wish to thank Gov. Beshear, the Cabinet for Economic Development and Tennessee Valley Authority for putting together an incentive package to help make this project happen. I want to also commend our (economic development) director Eddie Crittendon for his hard work and dedication in bringing industry and jobs to our area. Most of all and foremost, we thank God for blessing Fulton County with much-needed jobs.”
Gallagher told the crowd at Monday’s announcement that Fulton County “has been a bridesmaid several times, but now we’re the bride” in seeing the company locate in Fulton.
The decision to locate in Fulton is also good news for Obion County — where MVP already has a connection. It was announced in October 2012 that Midwest-CBK had been purchased from MVP Group by Toronto-based gift company Ganz, with MVP Group to retain the Union City operation and several of the company’s brands. The Union City facility has been operating legally as MVP since June 2011, with Midwest-CBK as a product brand name only.
Art Sparks, chairman of the Obion County Joint Economic Development Council, said he believes neighboring Obion County will also benefit from MVP’s new Fulton operation through the creation of the 150 jobs and the hiring of local workers, as well as the prospect for revenue generated by those who shop in the area.
“I think it’s great for Obion County, too,” he said. Published in The Messenger 3.5.13 |
