MEDC 2009 NEWS

Scroll down for listing of Towns and Cities
Chronological listing of news
News on Individual Members - Member News
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NEWS ARCHIVES
Click below for news articles in each year.
2010
2008
2007

2009 CEDA WINNERS

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL INVOLVED IN THESE PROJECTS:

List by town - linked to chronological list below:
Aberdeen - Biodiesel Refinery | Holley
Batesville - GE Aviation | Anderson Technologies
Booneville - ProVia
Brookhaven - Reed's Metals | Yella Fella
Bruce - United Chair
Calhoun City - Kidz World
Columbus - Stark Aerospace
Grenada - Vitro
Hattiesburg - Hattiesburg Cycles | Pepsi
Horn Lake - Rite-Hite
Itawamba County - BlueFire
Iuka - Alliant Techsystems | G&G Steel
Jackson - Convention Center
Macon - Thomasson
Meridian - Handy Hardware | Meridian Furniture | N.E.W. Call Center
Nettleton - HomeStretch
Okolona - United Furniture
Olive Branch - Cardinal Health | CE-BIO | Smiths Medical
Picayune - MS Power Plant
Pontotoc - Enerkem Inc.
Sardis - United Solutions
Shannon - General Atomics
Starkville - Camgian | Tech Firm
Tippah County - Big M
Tunica - GreenTech
Tupelo - Cooper Tire | Eagle Capital | N.E.W. | One of Top Micropolitans in U.S. | Top 10 in U.S.
Vicksburg - Vicksmetal
Wiggins - Piney Woods Pellets

KIDZ WORLD CELEBRATED GRAND OPENING IN CALHOUN CITY
December 22, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
Officials from Kidz World Furniture, manufacturer of upholstered children’s furniture, recently celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Calhoun City.
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ANDERSON TECHNOLOGIES PREPARING NEW PLANT IN BATESVILLE
December 21, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
Anderson Technologies has opened a contract manufacturing and precision injection molding plant in Batesville. Current plans call for the plant to be operational in Feb. 2010 and will employ approximately 50 people when it becomes fully operational
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NEW FURNITURE MANUFACTURER TO BEGIN OPERATIONS IN NETTLETON
December 17, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
HomeStretch LLC, an upholstered furniture manufacturing company, is setting up operations in Nettleton. The new company will create 140 new jobs over the next four years.
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GE AVIATION EXPANDING BATESVILLE OPERATION
December 15, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
GE Aviation is expanding its operation in Batesville, which will add an additional 350 jobs over the next few years. The facility currently employs more than 100 employees.
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YELLA FELLA PLANS $5M INVESTMENT IN BROOKHAVEN
December 8, 2009 - (No Link)
Great Southern Wood Preserving Inc. is moving at break-neck speed to open a pair of facilities in the heart of Brookhaven and hire 15 to 20 employees by Feb. 1.
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DEFENSE PLANT BREAKS GROUND IN SHANNON
December 4, 2009 - Mississippi Development Authority
General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Division (GA-EMS), manufacturer of advanced linear motors for electromagnetic aircraft launching systems (EMALS), has broken ground on its phase IV, 50,000-square-foot expansion at its 72,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Shannon.  The project will create at least 20 new jobs.
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PEPSI PLANT OFFICIALLY IN OPERATION IN HATTIESBURG
November 19, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
Pepsi bottlers, elected officials and economic development leaders yesterday celebrated the opening of a state-of-the-art Pepsi South bottling facility here that will produce 350,000 cases of Pepsi and Dr Pepper products per week.  The 236,000 square foot plant is located in the Forrest County Industrial Park, and is the only soft drink production facility in the area.
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STARK AEROSPACE HAS GRAND OPENING IN COLUMBUS
November 17, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
Stark Aerospace held the grand opening celebration of its new facility in Columbus yesterday. Stark Aerospace is a subsidiary of IAI North America, the U.S. subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI).
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GRENADA GLASS PLANT EXPANDING
November 4, 2009 - Mississippi Development Authority
Vitro America, which makes and distributes architectural glass and aluminum products, is expanding its Grenada plant, adding 20 jobs to the 100-employee work force.
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CE-BIO MOVING TO LARGER FACILITY
October 26, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
Officials with CE-Bio, LLC, have unveiled plans to locate a nutritional supplements manufacturing facility in Olive Branch. The Olive Branch location will become the company’s principle manufacturing facility.
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MERIDIAN FURNITURE PREPARES FOR PRODUCTION IN TISHOMINGO COUNTY
October 26, 2009 – NEM Daily Journal
Start-up company Meridian Furniture held a ribbon cutting ceremony at recently renovated facilities in Iuka. The company will initially employ 75 people, with as many as 150 jobs expected to be created as they expand.
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STEEL FABRICATOR BUILDING RENOVATION COMPLETED IN IUKA
October 26, 2009- NEM Daily Journal
G&G Steel recently completed a $950,000 expansion that is expected to increase employment at the company from its current 30 to about 140 employees.
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METAL FIRM EXPANDS IN LINCOLN COUNTY
October 21, 2009 - (No Link)
Reed's Metals Inc., a growing metal manufacturing plant on U.S. 84, is undergoing a $1.6 million expansion that will add 32,000 square feet of production space and necessitate the hiring of 15 more employees.
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CELLULAR SOUTH TO ACQUIRE ALABAMA WIRELESS PROVIDER
October 18, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal
Cellular South, the country’s largest privately owned wireless communications carrier, said it plans to take over Corr Wireless, a leading wireless carrier headquartered in Oneonta, Ala. with coverage areas in northeastern Alabama and Georgia.
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ETHANOL PLANT IN WORKS FOR ITAWAMBA COUNTY
October 17, 2009 - (No Link)
A California-based ethanol company announced it has gotten permission from the U.S. Department of Energy to use a $40 million grant to construct an ethanol plant in Fulton. The total investment would be between $210 million and $220 million. During construction, the plant could employ as many as 1,300. When open, its maximum employment would be around 60. BlueFire would produce 18 million gallons of ethanol annually at the Mississippi plant.
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UNITED FURNITURE INDUSTRIES EXPANDING IN OKOLONA
October 12, 2009 - Mississippi Development Authority
Okolona-based United Furniture Industries will expand the company’s Okolona operations and adding at least 100 new jobs. 
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GREENTECH UNVEILS TUNICA CAR PLANS
October 6, 2009 - DeSoto Times Tribune
GreenTech Automotive, Inc. unveiled plans Tuesday to develop and manufacture hybrid, fuel-efficient automobiles on 1,500 acres in Tunica County's Metro-Mega-site, with an option to purchase more land as needed.  The initial phase of the project is estimated to cost $1 billion and provide 1,500 jobs locally, according to company officials.
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VICKSMETAL COMPANY OPENS PLANT IN VICKSBURG
September 30, 2009 - Vicksburg Post
Vicksmetal Company will employ about 25 to produce transformer cores for manufacturers of electrical transformers and voltage regulators.
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COOPER TIRE EXPANSION PROJECTED TO BRING 150 JOBS
September 23, 2009 - Nems360
Nearly a year after finding itself on the chopping block, the Cooper Tire and Rubber plant in Tupelo is adding room and more jobs. The approximately $7 million project also could add as many as 150 employees to the 1,250-worker plant.
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EAGLE CAPITAL, SISTER COMPANIES, EXPANDING TO TUPELO
September 16, 2009 - (No Link)
Eagle Capital Corporation, along with its four sister companies Vector Transportation, Timberlake Foods, Southern Belle Refrigerated and Heritage Memorial Funding, recently announced the opening of a new corporate headquarters and an expansion of its operations in Tupelo. The five companies currently employ approximately 85 people; the expansion of the companies will result in approximately 35 new jobs.
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SMITHS MEDICAL EXPANDING DESOTO OPERATIONS
August 31, 2009 - Mississippi Business Jounal
Smiths Medical, a global provider of medical products, is expanding its DeSoto County operations by moving into a larger Olive Branch facility. Employees are expected to move into the new facility by mid-September. The company employs 50 at its current DeSoto County facility, but after the expansion, the number could grow to as many as 100.
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RITE-HITE MOVING PLANT TO HORN LAKE
July 7, 2009 - (No Link)
Rite-Hite Corporation of Milwaukee, Wis., which develops, manufactures and sells loading dock safety systems and industrial door solutions, plans to relocate a manufacturing facility to Horn Lake, bringing more than 50 manufacturing jobs to the state.
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UNITED SOLUTIONS EXPANDING
July 1, 2009 - (No Link)
United Solutions, a manufacturer of plastic house wares, is expanding operations at its manufacturing facility in Sardis. United Solutions currently employs 75 full-time workers, and as a result of the expansion, the company will hire at least 20 new employees.
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STARKVILLE-BASED TECH FIRM HOLDS GRAND OPENING
June 20, 2009 - (No Link)
A Starkville-based technology firm developing “next-generation” electronic systems celebrated a grand opening of its headquarters Friday with an eye on the future.
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WOOD PELLET PRODUCER OPENS PLANT IN STONE COUNTY
June 8, 2009 - Associated Press
A $10 million wood pellet plant opened Monday in Stone County and company officials say the 12,000 square-foot facility will produce feedstock for alternative energy. The plant will employ 27 workers.
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SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE NAMES TUPELO AMONG TOP 10 GROUPS
May 2009 - Site Selection Online
Each year, Site Selection selects the previous year's Top Economic Development Groups based upon various aspects. Community Development Foundation in Tupelo was once again named in this Top 10 Group of Economic Development Groups.
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BIG M/DIESEL EXPRESS EXPANDING
April 22, 2009 - (No Link)
Big M/Diesel Express Trucking is moving its headquarters from Hickory Flat to a larger facility in Blue Mountain.
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NEW THOMASSON BUSINESS OPENING IN NOXUBEE COUNTY
April 14, 2009 - (No Link)
The Noxubee Alliance and Thomasson Company celebrated Noxubee County's newest industry with a ribbon cutting and grand opening at the company's site on Mississippi 45 in Macon. Macon Treating Company, along with sister company East Mississippi Pole Company, represents a total investment of $6 million and approximately 30 new jobs.
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CARDINAL HEALTH EXPANDS DISTRIBUTION IN DESOTO COUNTY
April 10, 2009 - Memphis Business Journal
Cardinal Health, Inc. is expanding local operations with a 211,000-square-foot lease at ProLogis Park DeSoto, Building One. The company outgrew its existing 170,000-square-foot space in Southeast Memphis and needed room to expand.
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BIOFUELS PLANT TO BRING 150 JOBS TO PONTOTOC
March 20, 2009 - (No Link)
Enerkem Inc., an advanced biofuels company has unveiled plans to build and operate a second-generation biofuels production facility located in Pontotoc. It is expected to create 150 jobs, and to generate an additional 300 jobs during construction and start-up phases.
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TUPELO TIES FOR NO. 2 MICROPOLITAN IN U.S.
March 18, 2009 - (No Link)
The Tupelo region has been named to Site Selection magazine’s list of the most active micropolitan areas for new and existing industries in the country, for the fourth consecutive year. Tupelo ranked second in the nation out of nearly 700 micropolitan areas designated by the United States Census Bureau.
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N.E.W. HOLDS CALL CENTER'S GRAND OPENING
March 12, 2009 - (No Link)
MERIDIAN — Gov. Haley Barbour was on hand this morning for the grand opening of a call center for N.E.W. Customer Service Companies Inc. Since October, the call center has brought 273 new jobs to the area.
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CAMGIAN BUYS CYPRESS FACILITY
March 2, 2009 - (No Link)
Camgian Microsystems has acquired Cypress Semiconductor Corporation's design center in Starkville, and the company has relocated its corporate headquarters there. . . . Camgian will hire 15 of Cypress' 22 employees.
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125 NEW JOBS COMING TO BRUCE, MS PLANT
March 2, 2009 - Calhoun County Journal
Governor Haley Barbour announced today United Chair, owned by Haworth Inc., will add at least 125 new jobs at its Bruce, Miss. facility. The company’s Bruce plant currently employs approximately 180 people.
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HANDY HARDWARE TO BUILD DISTRIBUTION FACILITY IN MERIDIAN
February 13, 2009 – Press Release
Governor Haley Barbour announced today that Handy Hardware, a member-owned hardware buying group, will open a distribution center in Meridian. The company plans to employ more than 150 people.
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AEROSPACE, DEFENSE FIRM EXPANDING IN MISSISSIPPI
February 2, 2009 – Commercial Appeal
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) this week announced it will expand its Iuka plant and grow its work force from 176 people to 800 by 2017 with an average salary of about $53,000.
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HOLLEY CELEBRATES 55 NEW JOBS
January 22, 2009 –(No Link)
Key players responsible for bringing 55 new jobs to Holley Performance in Aberdeen gathered Wednesday for a reception at the facility.
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CONVENTION COMPLEX OPENS DOORS – 20,000 TOUR DOWNTOWN CENTER
January 18, 2009 –(No Link)
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MISSISSIPPI POWER COMPANY PLANS NEW $2 BILLION KEMPER COUNTY PLANT
January 17, 2009 – Picayune Item
Mississippi Power Co. has formally filed an application with state regulators to build a $2 billion power plant in Kemper County.  The state-of-the-art plant would be the first advanced gasification generating facility with carbon-capture capabilities in Mississippi, and one of the first in the country . . .
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BIODIESEL REFINERY TO BUILD IN ABERDEEN
January 16, 2009 –(No Link)
After months of speculation, Mayor Jim Ballard announced Thursday that Mississippi Investment Petroleum Co. will be building a third-generation biodiesel refinery at the Port of Aberdeen. The project, to be completed in three phases, is expected to create 32 new jobs and will bring a $12 million capital investment to the region.
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HATTIESBURG CYCLES CUTS RIBBON ON $3.5M EXPANSION
January 8, 2009 - (No Link)
Hattiesburg Cycles is bigger than ever.  Owners Larry and Faye Myatt cut the ribbon Tuesday on a $3.5 million expansion that has doubled the size of the showroom and expanded several departments including parts and service.
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PROVIA PURCHASES ASSETS OF HEARTLAND BUILDING PRODUCTS
January 5, 2009 - ProVia Door
The principals of ProVia Door in Sugarcreek, Ohio announced they have successfully purchased the assets of Heartland Building Products (HBP) in Booneville, MS, from Jancor Companies, Inc. as well as two separate manufacturing facilities in Olive Branch, MS and Macon, MS.