News Release


Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative
320 Walnut Street, Lawrenceburg

Crown Car and Coach and Crown Charter
Relocate to Lawrenceburg in Dearborn County

Lawrenceburg, Ind., February 12, 2009 -- Crown Car and Coach and Crown Charter are Dearborn County’s two newest businesses.

The car, coach and charter motor coach businesses relocated their offices and operations base to Lawrenceburg, Ind. in January.  The company was established in March of 2004 and previously operated from a location in Covington, Ky.  The two Crown businesses have 15 fulltime and 20 part-time employees.  They are in the process of hiring an additional fulltime employee.

The companies are owned by brothers Mike and Jack Berberich, who also own a real estate development and commercial construction business in Northern Kentucky.

“Our Crown business is growing and we had outgrown our location in Covington,” said Mike Berberich.  “We didn’t want to leave Northern Kentucky, but the more we looked, the more attractive this new location in Lawrenceburg became.”

Berberich knew Lawrenceburg City Manager Tom Steidel from the latter’s days as assistant city manager of Covington.  They crossed paths several times over the last few years, and when Steidel learned Crown was considering relocation he encouraged Berberich to look at Lawrenceburg.

“We were very pleasantly surprised,” said Berberich, “I don’t know why we didn’t think of Dearborn County sooner.  The location just off the I-275 beltway is very convenient for our kind of operation.  It’s close to the airport and that’s a major part of our business, and it’s only 25 minutes to downtown Cincinnati.  The move actually puts us closer to some of our regular customers.”

“Once we connected with Crown, this happened quickly because we had a building and a site available,” said Steidel.  “The other advantages to locating here became very apparent.  Crown will be a great addition to our community.”

“Crown’s move is a great reminder that we need to do more to get out the word about what a great location Dearborn County is for business,” said Michael Rozow, President of the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative.  “Equally important is readily available sites and commercial and industrial space.”    

Berberich said Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County and State of Indiana officials were very welcoming.  “This is the most business friendly environment I’ve ever encountered,” he said.  “I can’t say enough good things about the people and their positive attitude towards us.  Even though we are a small business, they really made us feel that we were important to them.”

Indiana’s favorable tax structure was another factor in the location decision, according to Berberich.  “Moving is a big task, and moving to another state for a business like ours with licensing issues is even more complex.  But at a certain point, it becomes worth the effort for the long haul.”

Berberich said he will see a decrease of over 50% in worker’s compensation premiums in 2009 as a result of Indiana’s lower rates.   Additional tax savings will result from a substantially lower equipment/property tax for buses in Dearborn County and the fact that Indiana does not have a personal property tax on for-hire buses and some other taxes that the company paid in Kentucky.

“Our employees’ payroll tax contributions were over three percent per employee in Covington and Kenton County collectively,” he said.  “There is no payroll tax in Lawrenceburg and only a very small payroll tax in Dearborn County.  The net effect for our employees is a three-plus percent increase in take home pay.  With the increased pressures of competition and the current state of the U.S. and local economies, small businesses and their workforce need all the help they can get just to survive.”

The City of Lawrenceburg made some improvements to the three-acre site at 225 Charles A. Liddle Drive off Industrial Drive.  Crown plans to enlarge the outside parking apron at the location.  The 15,000-square foot building, which was formerly occupied by Presidential Development Co., is well suited to accommodate Crown’s vehicles.  The fleet includes five luxury sedans, one SUV, three limousines, three vans, four mid-size coaches and eight full-size motorcoaches.

The 56-passenger motorcoaches feature flat-screen televisions with satellite television reception, internet access, 120 volt electrical outlets, restrooms and several other passenger comforts.  The typical new motorcoach costs approximately $450,000.   Crown’s client base has become increasingly commercial and includes the Cincinnati Bengals’ and visiting teams, University and College athletic teams and other university organizations at Miami, Cincinnati State, Cedarville, Central State and Union College (Ky.).  Crown also provides service to the U.S. Government, Indiana casinos and numerous other corporate customers.

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For additional information, contact:
Tom Steidel, City Manager, City of Lawrenceburg (Ind.) – 812-532-3553
Michael Rozow, President of the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative – 812-537-0814
Mike Berberich, General Manager, Crown Car & Coach and Crown Charter – 812-537-5500


Click below to read the Cincinnati Business Courier's news article on Crown's move ...