Metals Innovation Initiative

10/16/2026

10/16/2026

That's a wrap on KYIC 2026! Thank you to everyone that helped make it happen.

Central Bank Center was full of metals manufacturers, suppliers, educators and partners from across the Commonwealth! Thank you to our speakers and panelists for sharing what’s working on your shop floors and in your communities. Thank you to our sponsors and exhibitors for making the event possible. Thank you to our InnoSearch participants for bringing new solutions to the table. And thank you to our co-hosts, the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers and the Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership, for building this with us.

We will share more photos soon! We're looking forward to 2027.

10/14/2026

Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman is now on stage to close out “Conversation with the Candidates."

As Kentucky's lieutenant governor since 2019 and former secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, Jacqueline Coleman has worked at the intersection of workforce readiness and economic development, and as she campaigns for governor, she's chatting about how she plans to build a skilled workforce and keep the state's industrial growth moving.

10/14/2026

Happening soon! Rocky Adkins, Former Senior Advisor to Gov. Andy Beshear, will speak at the 2026 Kentucky Industry Conference during "Conversation with the Candidates." Rocky Adkins brings firsthand economic development experience, and as he campaigns for governor, Kentucky manufacturers will want to hear how he plans to support the industry's growth.

See you for this session soon! www.bit.ly/KYIC2026

10/12/2026

KYIC 2026 kicks off tomorrow, and we’re grateful to the sponsors helping make it happen.

A special thank you to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the founding partner, for investing in the future of Kentucky’s metals industry.

Thank you to our 2026 KYIC sponsors:
Gold Sponsor:
Keynote Breakfast Sponsor: Stryker Logistics
Keynote Lunch Sponsor: CBT Company
Recycling Sponsor: Tri-Arrows Aluminum, Inc.
Name Badge Sponsor: Toyotetsu North America
Swag Bag Sponsor: Tungco
WiFi Sponsor: Urban Dynamics
Aluminum Cups and Bottles: Novelis
Hospitality Sponsor: Port Of Louisville
Bourbon Tasting Sponsor: Cornerstone Strategies

Alongside our co-hosts at the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers and KY MEP, we can’t wait to see everyone at the Central Bank Center in Lexington this week!

Register at the link in the comments.

10/01/2026

Our first full day of kicks off with Joe Quinn, Executive Director, SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Materials, and Century Aluminum CEO Jesse Gary.

Energy, manufacturing, and national security are now inseparable. Joe and Jesse will discuss why affordable power and domestic metals production are key to America's defense and industrial future, and how Kentucky can retain and build upon its centrality to that future.

This takes place October 14, 9:15 to 10:00 a.m. in the ballroom at Central Bank Center.

Register today at the link in the comments.

09/30/2026

KYIC 2026 is just two weeks away! Join MI2, Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, and Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership, October 13–15 in Lexington for sessions on workforce, energy, and supply chain resilience, a Metals Supply Chain executive session with leaders from across the industry, and InnoSearch, where Kentucky manufacturers and solution providers come together around real production challenges.

If you work in/with the Kentucky manufacturing industry, this is the room to be in. Register today: www.bit.ly/KYIC2026

Video: Passage Creative

09/28/2026

09/17/2026

MI2 is one of 47 projects awarded funding through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER Initiative.

The grant, KY-WORCS Planning Grant: Matching Rural Talent to Metals Industry Demand, is part of a $45.5 million award package supporting economic opportunity in Appalachian coal communities. The project will help connect rural Kentucky talent with the workforce needs of the state's metals manufacturing industry.

08/12/2026

MI2 presented to the Warren County Fiscal Court on July 9 to launch a new aluminum recycling partnership with Warren County Parks and Recreation.

Kentucky recycles only 15% of aluminum cans, well below the 43% national average. MI2 applied for and received an $11,000 grant through the Kentucky Pride Fund to fund new recycling infrastructure: 10 aluminum recycling bins and a trailer that will rotate through county parks. Proceeds benefit Friends of Warren County Parks.

MI2 member AKFA Group of Companies is sponsoring the first bin and providing the matching funds for the grant. More recovered aluminum staying in Kentucky means more scrap for our manufacturers and less reliance on imported material.

Watch the Fiscal Court meeting at the link in the comments.