On Tuesday, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced that Mid-South Sales is about to launch a new operation in Uniontown that would create 30 full-time jobs and would involve an investment of $640,000. The start-up company would be producing a new line of salad and party trays to be sold across the country. Gov. Beshear said, “It’s encouraging to see new businesses start operations, and the Commonwealth welcomes Mid-South Sales and the 30 jobs it will create … We’re excited to partner with Mid-South Sales and know the owners have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the food industry.”

The owners of the company, Linda and James Baird have been in the food industry since 1987 and are well known for their salads which are sold under the name of Jim David Meats. Co-owner of the company, Linda Baird said, “Jimmy and I are thankful for the state, local, and community support, and are very excited to see these products become available nationally … The chicken salad and pimiento cheese were developed from family recipes passed down from my grandmother and are local customer favorites.”

Kentucky is famous for its food and beverage industry with about 267 facilities that employ more than 42,000 people. Only during Gov. Beshear’s administration, at least 124 new expansions or industry locations have been announced in the industry resulting in 2,700 new jobs and more than $768 million in investments.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority through the Kentucky Business Investment program is offering the company a tax incentive. The incentive is performance based and would allow a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.