ENTREPRENEUR GIVES BOLLINGER COUNTY BOOST

MARBLE HILL -- Entrepreneur Loyd Ivey has returned home to Bollinger County where he hopes to share his wealth in the form of new businesses.

Ivey grew up dirt poor in Bollinger County. He left home at 16 and made a fortune in high-tech electronics.

He had been living in the Phoenix, Ariz., area.

He returned to Bollinger County several weeks ago. He bought a home near Marble Hill.

He has opened a high-tech electronics manufacturing business at the city's industrial park, adjacent to the Twin City Municipal Airport.

Ivey has opened a home center and will soon open the doors to a new restaurant and a car wash.

His goal is to create opportunities for young people and make the county a first-rate place to live and work.

"We've always been looked at as second-class citizens," Ivey said. "We have been at the bottom of the food chain."

Ivey is developing a 40,000- to 60,000-square-foot MTX electronics plant at the industrial park.

He founded MTX in 1979 and made it a multimillion dollar business. Headquartered in Phoenix, the company has more than 17 factories and warehouses from Arizona to Wisconsin.

MTX manufactures everything from speakers and amplifiers to CD players. The company has a branch in Marble Hill that showcases some of the products.

The new factory could employ as many as 200 workers.

That is good news to David Jackson, city administrator.

Jackson had hoped to secure government funds totaling $2 million to help advance the project. That would have included $900,000 for airport improvements.

The airport has a grass runway. City officials want to construct a paved, 3,000-foot runway, which would aid businesses such as MTX.

But government funding fell through because Ivey wouldn't agree to terms that required him to guarantee creation of a certain number of jobs.

That hasn't stopped Ivey from moving ahead with his business ventures.

He has a seven-year contract with the city to build the plant.

"We are very happy. He has pumped in a tremendous amount of money," Jackson said.

Ivey said he didn't return to his native county just to set up a factory.

He purchased a restaurant adjacent to the Twin city Park. He is renovating it.

When completed in about three months, it will seat 120 people.

It will have a balcony overlooking the park. A pedestrian bridge will link the restaurant to the park.

Ivey said his Thunder Valley Home Center will serve the region.

"Time is money," he said. "Why travel out of the county if the merchandise is located here?"

He plans to offer construction-related classes at the home center.

Ivey also has purchased 80 acres of ground to develop a subdivision. Situated on Highway 51 South, it will be called Deer Path Estates.