In the past few months, hundreds of new jobs have been announced in Mississippi as new and existing companies plan to build and expand. This is great news amid a pandemic that has taken a toll on the country as a whole.

Recently, Governor Tate Reeves said, “Because of the fact that we are seeing companies all around the world want to invest in Mississippi, we are seeing unbelievable economic growth in our state, and that’s leading to revenue growth. ”

Reeves said, “If you look at November, we were up $103.8 million above the sine die estimate.  That’s after having been almost $200 million up in the first four months of the fiscal year.  We’re almost $300 above the sine die estimate.”

Here is an overview of economic development announcements from August through December which represents the growth referenced by Governor Reeves.

August 2020

• Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. is expanding operations at its facilities in Verona and Saltillo. The expansions represent a combined corporate investment of $22 million and will create a total of 130 jobs across the two facilities.
• Steel components manufacturer and supplier Samuel Roll Form Group, a division of Samuel, Son & Co. (USA) Inc., is expanding operations in Iuka. The company is investing $6.9 million in the project and will create 30 new jobs, increasing employment at its facility to approximately 160.
• Armored vehicle manufacturing company CITE Armored is increasing its presence in Mississippi by locating van production operations in Batesville. The project is a $2.3 million corporate investment and is creating 30 jobs.

September 2020

• High-performance marine composites manufacturer Seemann Composites, Inc. is expanding in Gulfport to fulfill a new contract with the U.S. Navy. The project is a $2.1 million corporate investment and will create 35 jobs.
• General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is increasing its manufacturing capacity in Shannon to accommodate the addition of three national security components/technologies manufacturing projects for the U.S. Dept. of Defense. The project is a $39.5 million corporate investment and will create 125 jobs.
• Military vehicle manufacturer Navistar Defense, LLC is increasing employment in West Point by adding 500 new jobs. The company also is investing $8 million to upgrade its facility.
• Southern Yellow Pine manufacturer Vicksburg Forest Products, LLC is expanding its lumber mill operations in Vicksburg. The project is a $40 million corporate investment and will create 60 jobs.
• Loss Prevention Services, an industry-leading auto portfolio servicing company for financial lenders, is locating its corporate headquarters in Natchez. The project is a $2.97 million corporate investment and will create 200 additional jobs as a result of organic and potential acquisitional growth.
• Solid rocket fuel innovator Adranos, Inc. is locating its rocket motor research and development operations in McHenry in Stone County. As a part of its relocation to Mississippi, Adranos will make a $525,000 corporate investment and plans to create 20 jobs.
• Mission Forest Products, a subsidiary of Timberland Investment Resources, LLC, is locating a sawmill in Corinth. The project is a $160 million corporate investment and will directly create approximately 130 jobs and indirectly provide additional economic and employment opportunities for forest products firms and workers based in North Mississippi.

October 2020

• United Parcel Services, Inc. (UPS) announced the company’s plan to build a new package distribution facility in Ridgeland, Miss. The $28.6 million corporate investment will bring 161 jobs with an average annual wage of $57,000 to Madison County.

November 2020

• Hankins Lumber is expanding its presence in Grenada County by locating new sawmill operations, Hankins Timbers, at the former Louisiana Pacific site. The project is a $12.5 million corporate investment and will create 43 jobs.
• Ardagh Group, a global supplier of metal and glass packaging, is expanding operations at its Olive Branch beverage can manufacturing facility. The expansion includes the addition of two new production lines to accommodate an increasing demand for infinitely recyclable beverage cans and is part of a multi-year $1.8 billion investment plan by Ardagh. The investment includes the addition of 80 new jobs at the plant, bringing the number of employees at Ardagh Olive Branch to more than 200.
• Amazon will launch a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Madison County, creating more than 1,000 new, full-time jobs, with industry-leading pay and comprehensive benefits. This fulfillment center will be the first facility in the state to feature Amazon’s innovative robotics technology.
• Theater seating manufacturer VIP Luxury Seating is restarting operations in New Albany, creating 100 new jobs. The project is a $180,000 corporate investment at the site of the former VIP Cinema seating.

December 2020

• Kimberly-Clark has approved a significant investment in its Corinth manufacturing facility, the second major investment in the past 12 months, to further expand capacity and bring industry-leading nonwovens capability in support of Kimberly-Clark’s continued growth in North America.
• Lumber producer Idaho Forest Group is locating sawmill operations in Lumberton in Lamar County. The project is a $120 million corporate investment and will create up to 135 jobs.