Rural King, “America’s Farm and Home Store,” based in Mattoon, IL, is expanding its current operations in southern Ohio, in collaboration with JobsOhio, Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE), the Ohio Development Services Agency, and Pike County Economic & Community Development.

The family-owned business will invest more than $33 million to purchase and renovate the Jackson Building, a 1 million-square-foot warehouse located outside of Waverly in the Zahn’s Corner Industrial Park, along with the purchase of new machinery and equipment. This will add 200 new jobs to the area, with Rural King already employing over 500 non-retail employees.

            “We are appreciative of the strong support we have received from JobsOhio, Pike County, the City of Waverly, OhioSE, and SODI since establishing operations in the County in 2015”, said Blake Pierce, director of Real Estate for Rural King. “The continued support from State and Local authorities is meaningful for undertaking and operating the proposed project, but several other items must be addressed in the coming months for the project to move forward. We are confident this will be accomplished.”

            JobsOhio and OhioSE worked with Rural King on the expansion of operations in Waverly, providing an $800K Revitalization Grant. The JobsOhio Revitalization Program offers loans and grants to companies to redevelop underutilized properties and put them back into productive use. This funding lessens the financial risk and increases the speed at which sites are redeveloped. Waverly is located in Pike County, classified by the Appalachian Regional Commission as “distressed” with a June, 2021 unemployment rate of 7.4%.

Source: Ohio Business Magazine http://www.ohiobusinessmag.com/rural-king-invests-33-million-in-se-ohio/