Metal processing company Precision Strip Inc. continues to expand its presence in Warren County. The Minster, Ohio-based company announced Wednesday that it will expand the plant it built last year in Scotty’s Industrial Park off Louisville Road in the northern part of the county.

The company, which processes, stores and delivers steel and aluminum, will add 80,000 square feet to the plant – its second in the county. The $16.2 million expansion will double the size of the factory and is expected to add 16 jobs, bringing total employment at that location to 31.

Precision Strip opened a plant in Warren County’s Woodburn community in 1995. That plant has been expanded three times, bringing it to 308,000 square feet with more than 120 employees.

“After having been operational for only a year at our Bowling Green facility, it became clear that the southcentral Kentucky region was continuing to see healthy growth and investment in the markets we serve,” Joe Wolf, president of Precision Strip, said in a news release. “As a result, we feel the addition … will help us continue to best serve our customers who need metals processing.”

Those customers include manufacturers in the automotive, industrial products and beverage can industries. As those manufacturers have grown in recent years, Precision Strip has now reached 1,250 total employees across 13 locations in six states.

Locally, Precision Strip’s expansion is the latest example of the growing presence of metal processing in southcentral Kentucky for automotive and other manufacturers.

“Precision Strip’s presence in southcentral Kentucky will only continue to grow with the global success of the aluminum and steel industry,” Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ron Bunch said. “We are delighted to celebrate the growth of their operations in Bowling Green and look forward to their continued success in our community.”

Precision Strip, which opened its first plant in Ohio in 1977, is getting help from state tax incentives on this latest expansion.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in 2016 approved the company for tax incentives up to $300,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

Additionally, KEDFA approved Precision Strip for up to $100,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.

According to a news release, the Bowling Green chamber has announced 13 economic development projects totaling $94.3 million in capital investment and 410 new jobs in 2018.