Hansens Aluminum's aluminium plant in Henderson comes to a halt due to failed deadlines for incentives

A new aluminium plant by Hansens Aluminum, which was supposed to start operations from 2019 and create 50 new jobs in Henderson is put on hold. The 75,000 square-foot automotive aluminium plant within the Henderson County Riverport Industrial Park was supposed to connect this area to a global automotive industry.

The Henderson County Judge-executive Brad Schneider has said that Hansen’s Aluminum wasn’t going to meet key deadlines to get nearly a million dollars in Kentucky incentive money. Media was told that the company can reapply for the incentives. They can reapply for the incentives and the plant could come in the future.

Hansens Aluminum a South African company established in Port Elizabeth in 1956, announced this project in November 2016. "The facility was supposed to house extrusion presses, as well as CNC machine centers.

Schneider says the plant has not even broken ground yet. The company has taken itself out of consideration for nearly US$1 million in Kentucky incentive money because of their inability to meet key deadlines.

"I think they had until next June to meet the guidelines of the grant, which would include buying X amount of equipment and hiring X amount of people," Schneider said.

"And obviously they hadn't even broken ground, so they weren't going to be able to meet that. I don't think the project is dead. I just think it's delayed again," he added.

In January 2018, Henderson Fiscal Court took the first step in approving an industrial revenue bond in the amount of $21.2 million to help fund the project. The money is currently on hold.

"The project is still in the works, however currently not with the priority it previously enjoyed," confirmed Erik Hansen, the owner of Hansens Aluminum confirmed in an e-mail.

"The major issue that has resulted in the delay of the project is that our investment partner decided to exit the project in the most unprofessional manner, leaving Hansens in the lurch and saddling us with substantial costs and fees that we had already incurred,” he said.

The plant had the benefits of possible local and state incentives, easy access to North American plants of their existing customers, low interest rates, low-cost gas and a stable power market.