Locally grown IT firm expands and adds jobs

A Northern Kentucky company that refurbishes and resells computer equipment is planning a $1.9 million expansion that is expected to add 15 full-time jobs.

IT Supply Solutions has acquired two warehouses on Production Court in Independence, where the company previously operated as partial tenants.

The project will consolidate IT Supply Solutions’ operations, which currently include three facilities in Boone and Kenton counties that employ 32 people.

Founded in 2015 by Richard Dunaway and John Bays, IT Supply Solutions provides customers with like-new equipment at reduced costs to meet the growing need for computers and other electronics.

Demand for refurbished equipment increased this year as many organizations implemented work-from-home guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With demand increasing for computers and network hardware, we’re fortunate to be growing in a time of economic uncertainty,” Dunaway says.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in August preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $250,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $1.865 million and meeting annual targets of creating and maintaining 15 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years, and paying an average hourly wage of $28, including benefits, across those jobs.

The company is also eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, as well as reduced-cost custom training and job-training incentives from the Kentucky Skills Network.

“It’s encouraging to have a technology-focused company, cofounded by two Northern Kentucky residents, commit to growing and investing in the Cincinnati region,” says Lee Crume, president and CEO of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED.

Dunaway says the company operates with a philanthropic mindset, giving back to its communities by donating meals to frontline workers at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, providing care bags for the homeless in Covington, and donating computers to Beech Acres and local schools.