For Immediate Release
October 29, 1998
Contact: Melissa Forsythe or Mark Pfeiffer (502)564-2611

Governor Makes AVLIS Project State’s Top Economic Development Effort

Paducah, Ky. - Governor Paul Patton is pulling out all the stops to lead the effort to land a huge technologically advanced industrial project that will mean hundreds of new jobs for Paducah and the Western Kentucky region.

In a news briefing at Paducah’s Information Age Park today, Governor Patton introduced top administration officials, the Kentucky AVLIS Project Team, that will spearhead the pursuit of the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) Project.

"We believe this project is so important and so complex that we’ve made it a top priority in our economic development efforts," Patton said. "We’ve put together a leadership team from our administration, who have the expertise, experience and resources to pursue this project."

The Kentucky AVLIS Project Team includes Crit Luallen, Secretary of the Cabinet in the Governor’s Office; Gene Strong, Secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development; Hugh Haydon, Commissioner of the Department of Community Development and Gordon Davies, Chairman of the Council on Postsecondary Education.

Governor Patton said, "Crit Luallen, Gene Strong and Hugh Haydon bring with them the experience of marketing the state to large companies and projects. Most recently, they lead the efforts in securing the expansion projects for UPS in Louisville and Toyota in Northern Kentucky. Gordon Davies will lead the education, training and workforce aspects of our effort, very critical factors in today’s pursuit of technologically advanced economic development opportunities that AVLIS represents."

Davies said, "This is the reason we reformed postsecondary education. We can now pull together the research resources of all the universities, the community colleges and technical schools to provide a trained workforce for this facility."

The team, lead by the governor, will work with local and regional representatives to put together a proposal and make a pitch to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) as the company evaluates sites to locate the project. Paducah is one of several sites under consideration for the $2-billion project that will bring 1900 construction jobs and employ 1300 full time workers. USEC is expected to make a final decision on a site in the spring of 1999.

"We believe with the state’s commitment, the community support and our workforce, this AVLIS Project team will have a very competitive story to tell between now and next spring," Governor Patton added.

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