News Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2007

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher today announced that a $50,000 Business Development Grant has been awarded to the Village of Versailles (Darke County) to aid in the construction of a sanitary sewer extension that will support a new manufacturing facility for King's Command Foods, Inc. (King's Command). The $4.45 million project is expected to create 100 jobs.

"These funds are important in upgrading the infrastructure of a production facility that will bring new business to Versailles and create jobs for the region's workforce," said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. "I'm pleased that the State of Ohio can assist in this endeavor and that King Command recognizes that Ohio has the tools, infrastructure and talent necessary to grow its food production operation in the Midwest."

King's Command has been one of the largest meat processors in the U.S. Pacific Coast region since the 1950s. The company's restaurant-quality products include items such as country fried steak, meatloaf, breaded veal parmesan and chicken breast strips. King's Command proposes to prepare portion-controlled meat products at a newly purchased 69,000 square-foot facility in Versailles, which was previously owned by Whiteford Food Products, Inc. The facility has been shuttered since August 2005.

The Village of Versailles will construct a new sanitary sewer connection from the main sanitary sewer line to the building, which currently receives its sanitary sewer service from an adjacent property owned by Codino's Italian Foods, Inc. The $265,000 in infrastructure improvements involve constructing approximately 1,125 lineal feet of sanitary sewer line for King's Command's building, separating its service lines from the Codino's building.

The grant was approved today by the State Controlling Board. The Business Development Account (412) grant program assists companies and communities that are creating or retaining jobs in Ohio.

Ohio is in competition with Washington and several other Midwestern states for the project.

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