State and county officials and business leaders gathered today for a groundbreaking for a new C&S Machine & Manufacturing Corporation facility, to be located on Commerce Parkway.
Co-founded in 1969 by Bob Steele, a proud Oldham County resident since 1979, C&S Machine & Manufacturing has been recognized as an industry leader in production, CNC machining, full-service metal fabrication, assembly, laser welding, robotic Cerakote application and metal fabrication. With decades of experience, the company serves a diverse range of sectors, including material handling, suppressor, firearms, agriculture, aerospace, defense, recycling and commercial vehicle.
The company is now owned by Steele’s grandson Ryan and his wife Megan, who also live in Oldham County.
Speaking at the groundbreaking, Ryan, thanked his family first including his partner and wife, Megan, as well as his two, soon to be three, little girls. He went on to thank his customers, his team, suppliers, business partners, officials, friends and family including his grandpa and cofounder of his company.
“Had you not had the confidence, grit and probably a little crazy to start C&S, none of us would be sitting in this field today. Your vision was a spark that started it all,” Ryan told his grandpa from the podium.
“Today we gather here not just to break ground on this new facility but to celebrate a pivotal moment in our company’s transformation. A moment that symbolizes growth, innovation, grittiness and the bright future that lies ahead for our organization. As we stand on this site, I’m filled with excitement, gratitude, humility- and I’d be lying if there wasn’t a lot of ‘how the hell did we make it here?’ That’s in a good way, of course,” shared Ryan.
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman was one of many public officials at the groundbreaking. She congratulated C&S and Oldham County, and talked about Kentucky’s continued strong business growth, “making Kentucky ranked No. 2 nationally in economic development, No. 3 nationally in rural job creation and most importantly, it means our kids don’t have to leave home to find opportunities.”
Speaker of the House and Oldham County state Rep. David Osborne also spoke at the event and welcomed everyone to Oldham County. “Ryan, I know that Indiana made a compelling case about why you should cross that bridge. We have spent the last eight years trying to make Kentucky more competitive and we’ve closed the gap. We haven’t gotten all the way there yet but we are closing the gap.”
“Politicians love to show up at these things, and cut ribbons, and put on like they actually had something to do with any of this but what we found the last eight years is that the best way to create jobs and create wealth is to get government out of the way,” said Osborne.
“By repelling overregulation, enacting right to work laws, repelling minimum wage, reforming our workers comp and unemployment insurance we’ve made Kentucky more competitive and we’ve gotten out of the way of people who want to invest in Kentucky and we are reaping the benefits.
The $1.5 million building that will be located at 2750 Commerce Parkway is being constructed by another business with longtime roots in Oldham County, East & Westbrook Construction. East & Westbrook CEO Jonathan Westbrook said this was a very special project for them, “We think this [Oldham County] is a great place to work and live. We are really excited when other people join us and are going to be our neighbors. Beyond that, we have projects going in eight states right now so are really excited when we get to do one in our own backyard.”
Oldham County Judge-Executive David Voegele shared that today started with a Facebook message in 2020 from Ryan Steele asking the judge to come learn about his business. The visit that followed started a process that got Ryan here today.
“The guy most proud here today though is Bob Steele because this is his grandson. He planted that seed a long time ago for success and Ryan has picked it up and ran so hard, so fast and done so well for his family, himself and we are just really proud of everything he’s done. The Fiscal Court is proud to stand behind you on this,” said Voegele.
David Bizianes, director of the Oldham County Chamber of Commerce, welcomed home the business that started here but has been located in Shively. Bizianes previously told the Era that the facility will employ 49 people when it opens next summer and plans are for about 50 more to be hired, with the average salary about $75,000 a year.
The company received $1.5 million in state incentives, as well as county and municipal incentives for the facility.
Fiscal court approved an incentive program for C&S’s new facility in Oldham County at their Oct. 15 meeting, offering a rebate on the property tax and occupational tax for 10 years.
Officials say the construction should be in full swing on the facility by winter and it should be “up and running” next year.