Grenada County hit the equivalent of the lottery in April 2021 when the Greater Grenada Partnership announced that Milwaukee Tool would expand its footprint in Mississippi with the construction of a state-of-the-art accessories manufacturing facility in the county’s I-55 Business and Technology Park.
Following 13 months of strategic planning, behind-the-scenes work and even some speculation, more than 150 county and state dignitaries and special guests joined GGP officials and Milwaukee Tool executives last Thursday morning as ground was officially broken on the site, which began taking shape more than a month ago when large equipment began moving dirt.
“We won,” Matthew Harrison, CEO of the GGP, the lead economic and chamber of commerce organization in Grenada County, said as the hour-long ceremony began.
Dozens of executives from Milwaukee Tool traveled south from Wisconsin for the ceremony, which also served as an unveiling of the facility’s design. They could be seen throughout the week in Grenada preparing for the monumental occasion, while enjoying local accommodations and flavors at hotels and restaurants.
“Milwaukee Tool could have put this any place in the world,” Harrison said. “They chose Grenada.”
The power tool manufacturer’s executive team’s large presence in Grenada served as a sneak peek to the company’s commitment to the community.
“This is really a big deal for us,” Scott Griswold, president of Power Tool Accessories at Milwaukee Tool, said from the podium during the event. “We are breaking ground on our fourth plant in the state and we couldn’t be happier and more thrilled to be here.”
Although Thursday was the groundbreaking ceremony, Harrison noted that dirt had been moving on the site for more than a month.
“The construction crews have been working non-stop trying to take advantage of every dry day,” he said. “They are working on a tight schedule and plan to be ready for operations in 2023.”
Growing in Mississippi
Milwaukee Tool, headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., is a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty power tools, hand tools, storage and accessories for professional construction trades worldwide. In recent years, the 98-year-old company has invested significantly in its Greenwood, Jackson and Olive Branch manufacturing, distribution and operations facilities, creating hundreds of jobs for the regions’ workers. The company has invested more than $209 million in domestic expansion in Mississippi in the last five years.
“The State of Mississippi continues to be a valued partner for us as we grow and seek out the very best talent,” Griswold said. “We look forward to working with Grenada County to provide its residents a best-in-class work environment.”
Gov. Tate Reeves, who was unable to attend the groundbreaking, praised the strength of Mississippi’s assets and position in the global marketplace.
“There’s no better place to open or expand a business than in Mississippi,” Gov. Reeves said prior to the event. “Our state has all the tools companies need to succeed including a capable and dynamic workforce and a pro-growth business environment. Today’s groundbreaking signifies an important milestone in the development of Milwaukee Tool’s newest project in our great state as well as the next giant step toward bringing quality jobs to Grenada County.”
Milwaukee Tool’s newest facility will stand 563,000 square feet and will employ more than 800 workers with “good-paying jobs,” according to company leadership.
“It’s all about our people and the people that we are trying to attract into our company; we believe that very strongly,” Griswold said as equipment sounded in the background. “The strategy is good, but if you don’t have great people and a great culture none of that can get delivered and executed.”
Griswold went on to say that the Grenada employees would join the “family” in Mississippi based out of Greenwood, Jackson and Clinton.
“It’s nice that we have a community that spans the state,” he said. “Each of these facilities will help each other very often. Our culture is all about one team, you’ll hear that over and over. Times are tough, different parts of the organization could struggle and what you’ll find at Milwaukee is we all come in to help each other to get through any obstacle.”
Advanced Facility
The new production facility has been designed for efficiency and rapid delivery timelines to keep up with current demand, according to Milwaukee officials. Its design unveiling last Thursday was impressive to those dignitaries on hand.
“I was blown away when they unveiled the facility design,” Rep. Kevin Horan (R-District 34) said. “I knew it would look good, but this was better than I expected. We are looking forward to having Milwaukee as part of the Grenada community and we will continue to support their growth efforts in the State of Mississippi.”
Michael Lott, president of the Grenada County Board of Supervisors agreed with Horan’s sentiments.
“We all have been waiting in anticipation for this exciting day,” Lott added. “The new facility looks great, and the company has exceeded our expectations in creating a first-class operation that will make a statement to all who travel on Interstate 55.”
Existing product lines, businesses and services with Milwaukee will be moved to the Grenada facility, along with new lines, according to Griswold.
“This is going to be a very complex transition,” he said. “We are all going to need help doing it. But the beauty is, really Grenada is just an extension of Greenwood. Greenwood has been a wonderful area for us to grow with a tremendous amount of support, but it’s a smaller demographic community; there are only so many people there that can support our growth. Grenada being right up the road is really an extension of Greenwood and they’ll be like sister plants. I feel really comfortable with our leadership and the fact that these plants can almost work as one as we work through these challenges to build this incredible facility.”
The company’s expansion in Grenada represents a $60 million corporate investment in advanced technology and manufacturing equipment to support the operation. Available jobs will include machine operators, technicians, warehousing/inventory, shipping/receiving, engineering and management roles.
Griswold went on to recognize the GGP, Grenada County Board of Supervisors, Holmes Community College, the Grenada School District, Kirk Academy, Mississippi Development Authority, Entergy, Riley Construction and T.W. Frierson Contractor, Inc., as partners that have stepped up and made a commitment to help make Milwaukee’s site in Grenada successful.
“We’re going to be expanding our tools service division here,” Griswold said. “As you look at the range of products we’re developing, there’s a lot of very complicated things that we produce and it’s important for us to be able to service those tools and get them turned around in a matter of days.”
The Greenwood facility also services tools, giving Milwaukee even quicker response time once the Grenada facility is operational. Griswold added that “a lot of Sawzall blades,” more than 100 million, which Milwaukee Tool invented, would be manufactured in Grenada.
“Think about that,” he said. “So why is that cool? That’s 100 million impressions that we can give a user every year; 100 million times a user is going to experience our brand just through a Sawzall blade. All of us in this community can have a huge impact on our users and how they view us every single day.
Mid-2023 Opening
A lot of work behind the scenes was necessary to make Milwaukee Tool a reality for Grenada County.
Keith Mitchell, chief banking officer at Guaranty Bank, has seen firsthand the hard work and investments that Grenada County has put in place over the past several years to win new industrial clients also serving as chairman of the local economic deployment agency in Grenada.
“We are thrilled that Milwaukee’s facility unveiling was right here in Grenada, Miss., a community that has proudly played an integral role in Mississippi’s manufacturing heritage,” he said. “Mississippi is a great manufacturing state and Grenada is one of the top manufacturing communities to locate in. Grenada County will continue to make the investments necessary to see this type of growth which will have positive economic impacts for years to come.”
The groundbreaking event was livestreamed by The Star and can be accessed at https://fb.watch/dbECQOuzbo/
“This is truly a very, very important day for the county of Grenada,” Harrison concluded. “One of the largest industrial projects in the State of Mississippi in the last seven years has just broken ground and I think that sends a signal to everyone. Grenada County is open for business. Grenada is the go-to place.”
The new facility is expected to open in mid-2023. Milwaukee Tool is currently hiring. Visit www.milwaukeetool.jobs to apply.
