If you've ever eaten a Hot Pocket or Lean Pocket, you already have some experience with products produced in Mt. Sterling.

Nestle Prepared Foods Company makes millions of the frozen meals at its plant in Mt. Sterling before shipping them nationwide. The operation employs more than 1,200 people — about one in ten workers in Montgomery County. But it's not the only international company with a major footprint. Japan-based Kyosan Denso Manufacturing employs 320 at its plant in Mt. Sterling, where it makes components for automotive fuel systems.

Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce executive director Sandy Romenesko says the companies' investments are proof of the confidence manufacturers have in the community.

Attracting more manufacturing is a focus of the chamber's efforts because "we believe that a good-paying manufacturing job will lead to spillover jobs in service and retail," she says.

Continued Success

Manufacturers employ about a third of Montgomery County's workforce. The local industry weathered the recession pretty well, Romenesko says.

"Nestle picked up because more people were eating in. We have food, we have automotives, we have cabinetry, we have foam (manufacturing). I think the diversity has helped us."

There are new signs of growth. Cooper Standard Automotive invested $4 million in an expansion, adding 120 jobs to its Mt. Sterling facility in February. Cleveland, Ohio-based Olympic Steel chose Mt. Sterling as the location for a metal fabrication center, buying a 100,000-square-foot warehouse for $1.4 million, with plans to invest a total of $11.2 million. The facility, which employs 20 people, opened in late 2010 and started shipping products in January.

Low Costs, Great Location

Dan Hawk, Olympic Steel's regional comptroller for Chicago and Cleveland, says price and location were two big factors in selecting Mt. Sterling.

"(The) cost of real estate is less than in major cities, yet it is still in close proximity to Cincinnati and Lexington," he says. "We also have found the pool of employees to be honest, hard-working, and very welcoming to us in locating there."

The low cost of living keeps operating costs down, too. Average wages in Montgomery County in 2009 were 32 percent below the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. But the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors put the median home price at $96,250, compared to $173,200 nationwide at the end of 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Workforce Development Advantages

The chamber of commerce and the Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Industrial Authority work with businesses to make sure that strong job candidates find their way to companies. Morehead State University and the University of Kentucky, both nearby, ensure a stream of college graduates. The workforce is almost completely non-union.

Romenesko invites companies considering Mt. Sterling to send their human resources managers to talk to other HR professionals in the area.

Mary Grider, the human resources manager for Kyosan Denso Manufacturing Kentucky, says that the chamber and the industrial authority have been helpful in delivering manpower.

"The business climate here is good, and there is support for companies coming in," Grider says.

The city is eager to help.

"We'll help make sure the trash gets picked up; we'll help get training funds and incentives," says Romenesko, who has been in her position for 12 years. "Everybody knows they can call me for anything. In a small community, it's easier to get things done, because we all know each other. You don't have to go through a lot of bureaucracy."