MRCOOL Cuts Ribbon on $5.35 Million Expansion in Graves County, Creating 40 Full-Time Jobs

Announced in August 2023, expansion is company's second in Kentucky

HICKORY, Ky. (Nov. 4, 2025) - Today, Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated leaders from MRCOOL as they cut the ribbon on the company's newly expanded facility in Graves County, a $5.35 million investment that is creating 40 new full-time jobs.

"Kentucky's economy is thriving, and the proof is in the companies that continue to invest in and grow in our state," said Gov. Beshear. "HVAC Distributing has been a part of the commonwealth's logistics and distribution industry for over 10 years, and I'm excited to see them branch out with this addition of the MRCOOL brand. I'm excited to see them continue to find success in Kentucky and I want to congratulate them on this significant step toward that."

For this expansion, announced in August 2023, the MRCOOL team built out 22,000 square feet of office space at the Remington Way location in the Hickory Industrial Park (HIP). The expansion brings the facility's total to 120,750 square feet and complements the 100,000-square-foot distribution site up the hill as part of the HIP campus. The expanded operation includes two floors of office space; a large showroom; a video graphics area for marketing; a technical, customer service and warranty teams call center; and a training facility for employees, dealers and franchisees. The company currently employees 279 workers, with 276 of those being Kentuckians. The company is also currently looking to fill nine open positions.

"This expansion represents more than just growth for MRCOOL - it's a testament to the innovation, hard work and commitment of our Kentucky-based team," said Jason O. Ingram, co-founding managing member of HVAC Distributing and MRCOOL. "From the beginning, we've believed that big ideas can come from small towns, and this milestone shows what's possible when people take pride in what they build together."

Doug Ingram, co-founding managing member of HVAC Distributing and MRCOOL, added, "Our goal has always been to make advanced, energy-efficient comfort technology accessible to everyone. This expansion strengthens our ability to deliver on that promise while continuing to invest in our community, our workforce and the future of innovation right here in Kentucky."

Founded in Hickory in 2013, HVAC Distributing is a national wholesale distributor of heating and air conditioning equipment. The next year, the MRCOOL brand came to life and MRCOOL LLC was established.

In August 2020, Gov. Beshear announced the company's plans to open a second operation in the Hickory Industrial Park, a $7 million investment that created 175 jobs.

Their most recent development, MRCOOL Franchising LLC, launched in 2023 to foster growth throughout the U.S. and Canada with the promise to deliver quality HVAC products faster and establish MRCOOL as a household name. The family-owned business provides logistics support to MRCOOL, its vast product line including DIY mini splits, GEOCOOL and a long list of contractor grade products, all backed by MRCOOL's technical and warranty support in Hickory.

Graves County Judge/Executive Jesse Perry spoke on the long term impact of the project: "We're proud to see a locally founded company like MRCOOL continuing to invest in our community. Their success reflects the talent and dedication of our people, and this expansion will have a lasting positive impact on families across Graves County."

Mayfield Mayor Kathy O'Nan mentioned the economic success the county is seeing: "It is evident that the economy in Graves County is thriving along with that of Kentucky, and this expansion by MRCOOL is such an outstanding example of that. We are proud of their contributions to our community and congratulate this home-grown enterprise on this growth to their business."

Graves County Economic Development President Jason Lemle congratulated the company on the expansion: "As a locally grown business, it is encouraging to see their continued growth and success here in Graves County. Seeing MRCOOL thrive is a testament to the Ingrams family's commitment to their employees, their community and their customers. Congratulations to the Ingram's family and their team for this tremendous improvement to their existing business operations here in Graves County."

MRCOOL's investment and job creation build on the best five-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,200 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $43 billion in announced investments, creating more than 63,600 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth's history and $20 billion more than the next highest total.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. Since 2022, the average incentivized hourly wage has topped $26 in three consecutive years for the first time.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On's transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC's $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota's $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; Ford Motor Co.'s $2 billion, 2,200-job commitment in Louisville; and Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing's $712 million investment, creating 1,572 jobs in Shelby County, among others.

The Governor's administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund. In 2023, Kentucky recorded over 2 million jobs filled for the first time ever and has stayed above that number ever since.

Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.

Earlier this year, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky in the top five nationally and second in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2024 Governor's Cup rankings. Site Selection also placed Kentucky second in the South Central region and No. 6 nationally in its 2025 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.

Gov. Beshear also announced a new initiative, called New Kentucky Home, to increase economic investment, attain and attract talent, and increase tourism across the state.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in August 2023 preliminarily approved an incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide tax incentives based on the company's investment and annual job targets.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

In addition, MRCOOL can receive resources from Kentucky's workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.

For more information on MRCOOL, visit MRCOOL.com.

A detailed community profile for Graves County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky's economic development efforts and programs is available at NewKentuckyHome.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.

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