Grenada, Miss. (WCBI) – GRENADA, Miss. (WCBI) – Thursday was the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Milwaukee Tool facility being built in Grenada.

Mississippi Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and several other state officials were in attendance to celebrate the plant and the 800-plus jobs it is expected to bring.

While the ceremonial shovels went in the dirt Thursday morning, construction on the new Milwaukee Tool production plant has been underway for about a month.

“We’re really excited to continue to grow in Mississippi,” says Scott Griswold, President of Power Tool Accessories at Milwaukee Tool. “We have been here for quite a while, we’ve built great relationships and the state has always been there for us, whatever we need.”

The 563,000 square foot production facility will be Milwaukee Tool’s fourth location in Mississippi.

Matthew Harrison, CEO, President & Executive Director of the Greater Grenada Partnership, Greater Grenada Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater Grenada Foundation for Economic Development, says the jobs the plant will bring could lead to at least a 10 percent employment increase in Grenada County.

“You think about the family being two-and-a-half to three people per family, now you’re talking about impacting a group of people, 1,600, 1,700, 2,000, 2,500-plus people,” he says.

Set to open in 2023, Griswold says the factory will produce over 100 million of their signature SAWZALL blades each year.

“This is a very high-tech operation,” Griswold says. “A lot of automation, a lot of new technology that will be pioneered here as we go forward.”

Functioning as a service center and the production of power tool accessories, Harrison says that Grenada’s infrastructure and focus on manufacturing make it an ideal choice.

“You have an interstate highway system, 1,175 acres of property, then you have a rail system and an airport system all right here,” he says. “The Grenada workforce is about 32 to 34 percent manufacturing. So we have manufacturing skills already here and had it here for several years.”

Lt. Gov. Hosemann says that as Milwauke Tool succeeds, so will Mississippi.

“You have to have the people. You have to have the workforce,” he says. “The state is committed to training the workforce, you see us working with community colleges. All those things are lined up here.”

Harrison hopes other companies will follow Milwaukee Tool’s lead.

“The Milwaukee brand will be a sign on Interstate 55 that says Mississippi is a great place for manufacturing and Grenada County is a great place to locate,” he says. “That symbol will bring in other opportunities and other companies.”

Milwaukee Tool is already accepting job applications for the production facility.

View Original Story (May 19, 2022)