Kentucky Governor Announces JAVAD GNSS Opens New Engineering Office in Fort Wright

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 18, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated JAVAD GNSS, a manufacturer of satellite navigation receivers, on its expansion in Kenton County. The additional U.S. facility will focus on research, development and engineering design for precision satellite navigation and will be a creative center for professional engineers in firmware development and electronic design. The Fort Wright office will create up to 20 well-paying engineering positions.

“Expanding the R&D and engineering presence throughout the state is going to better position Kentucky for a successful economy and workforce,” said Gov. Beshear. “The commonwealth has the resources, the location and the people to make this happen, and our momentum is only growing. I want to thank the leadership at JAVAD GNSS for their commitment to Kentucky and I’m excited to see their future success in Fort Wright.”

The new Fort Wright office will accelerate product development and R&D while tapping engineering graduates from the local universities to stimulate creativity and new technology adoption. The Kentucky center will further expand the company’s “Made in USA” strength, adding to its modern electronic manufacturing facility at its Silicon Valley headquarters. The decision to establish a new U.S. location was driven by the increased importance for domestic development, engineering and manufacturing for advanced applications in the geospatial, military, aerospace and marine industry segments.

“As JAVAD GNSS continues to grow both domestically and internationally, we are committed to high standards of design and innovation to provide robust and reliable satellite navigation products to the global market,” said Mitra Ashjaee, CEO of JAVAD GNSS. “This expansion of our engineering capabilities into Kentucky is a deliberate step in our growth and vision to produce first-class products in the USA. JAVAD is excited to work in Fort Wright and participate in the high-tech community for engineering innovations.”

JAVAD GNSS was founded in 2007, built on a legacy of decades of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) pioneering by Dr. Javad Ashjaee. An international satellite navigation company with headquarters and manufacturing in San Jose, California, JAVAD’s technology enables people, products and machines to globally locate themselves precisely and reliably.

The new Fort Wright office expands on Kentucky’s aerospace-related sectors, which includes more than 100 facilities in the state employing nearly 23,500 workers. The project also adds to the state’s R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciences industries, which employ around 2,500 Kentuckians across 360 establishments. In addition, the engineering services industry employs over 11,000 workers across more than 1,000 facilities in the state.

Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann was grateful JAVAD chose Fort Wright for its new U.S. office.

“I appreciate JAVAD choosing Kenton County to be the home of its new research and development center for satellite navigation applications,” said Judge Knochelmann. “Northern Kentucky has a lot to offer companies looking for an educated workforce and a hospitable environment for knowledge-based economic opportunities.”

Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter welcomed the new office JAVAD is opening in Northern Kentucky.

“As a technology professional with more than 30 years in the industry, I’m thrilled to welcome up to 20 new well-paying technology jobs to Fort Wright,” said Mayor Hatter. “With more than 6,000 engineering students graduating within 100 miles each year, our region offers JAVAD a large, talented workforce to draw upon as well as excellent amenities, low taxes, a family friendly environment and convenient access to the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan region and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Fort Wright is open for business and a great place to live, work and play. We are excited to welcome JAVAD to our community.”

BE NKY Growth Partnership President & CEO Lee Crume shared that JAVAD is an ideal company to locate in Northern Kentucky.

“Having a new R&D center for a Silicon Valley-based company in our growing electronics manufacturing subcluster is a big win for Northern Kentucky,” said Crume. “The talent in our region will contribute to JAVAD’s sophisticated high-tech products that are manufactured in the U.S.”

JAVAD’s investment and job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced the creation of 46,000 full-time jobs and more than 852 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling $28.89 billion in announced investments.

The Governor has now secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth.

In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years.

That momentum continued strongly into 2022 with 248 new-location and expansion announcements totaling 16,000 full-time jobs behind nearly $10.5 billion in new investment.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits, the second-highest mark since 2010 and an 11.5% increase over the previous year.

Gov. Beshear also announced the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. And in April 2022, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision AESC to announce a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. These announcements solidify Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.

Kentucky’s success has been noted by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, which have upgraded the state’s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth’s surging economy.

Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky second nationwide and first in the South Central region for its annual Governor’s Cup ranking for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.

Gov. Beshear’s administration is projected to post the four highest years of budget surpluses in Kentucky history, and the state’s rainy day fund has a record balance of $2.7 billion.

Gov. Beshear recently announced a new “Supply Kentucky” initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.

The Governor also recently announced that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. Over the past 15 months, the rate has been between 3.8%, the lowest rate ever recorded, and 4%, marking the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.

For more information on JAVAD GNSS, visit javad.com.

A detailed community profile for Kenton County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.

Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

###