Manufacturing Sector Salutes New Investors Electrolux, City Brewing LLC

By Amalia Otet, Associate Editor

Several new development and expansion projects have been announced for the Mid-South, allowing the manufacturing industry in the area to have a chance at recovery after a three-year dark period, from April 2008 to April 2011, when 7,200 jobs were lost, according to the Memphis Business Journal.

Local authorities welcomed the initiatives of big companies such as Electrolux or City Brewing Co. to expand their businesses into the area and offered their full support, provided they achieve their target of creating new jobs needed to help stabilize the city’s economy.

The Swedish company Electrolux, a global leader in home and professional appliances, started working on a project that will bring about 1,240 jobs to Memphis at its new 700,000 sq. ft. manufacturing center in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial park. The investment is estimated to climb to $190 million, part of which will be supported by the state, city and county governments through grants and incentives. Electrolux has already signed a 14,000 sq. ft. lease to be used as office space in downtown Memphis at One Commerce Square.

The Industrial Development Board has hired an engineering company called Allen and Hoshall to oversee the construction of the new facility, making sure that the public money is spent according to plan. The Commercial Appeal mentions the companies that will help kick off construction by obtaining the required permits, dealing with design issues and soil testing: The Albert Kahn Family of Companies of Detroit, Pickering Firm Inc. of Memphis, Geotechnology Inc. of Memphis, Tioga Environmental Consultants Inc. of Memphis, EnSafe of Memphis.

Another company that plays an important part in the current revitalization of the Memphis manufacturing industry is City Brewing LLC—a major producer of brewed products—which completed the acquisition of the Hardy Bottling Company on Raines Road, a 40-year-old local beer brewery. The outfit will produce beer, flavored malt beverages, teas and energy drinks in the newly purchased facility. The project cost rises up to $41 million, and it shall permit the creation of about 500 high-paid new jobs over a three- to five-year period.