Video from the Monday, Feb. 14 announcement of Mitsubishi Electric's plans.
$200 million investment, plan for up to 275 new jobs is second major recent boost to regional economy.
JOB SEEKERS: Click here to connect to Mitsubishi Electric Power Products' careers page, where you can submit a resume to the company, and where specific job opportunities will be posted over time. Once at the page, click on "job openings" and, in the "locations" tab, scroll down to select "Memphis."
Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. will build a power transformer manufacturing facility in Memphis that will employ up to 275 people, company, state and economic development officials have announced.
The announcement was made Monday, Feb. 14 at a press conference in the Peabody Memphis Hotel’s Skyway Room by Chamber president and CEO John Moore, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, along with Commissioner of Tennessee Economic and Community Development Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and special guest Memphis Grizzlies forward and U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Rudy Gay.
“We are very excited to welcome Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. to Memphis where our logistics capabilities will aid in supplying their products to customers all over the world,” said Chamber chairman Joe DeVivo. “This kind of investment in our city is due to the strong collaboration between the Greater Memphis Chamber and the local and county governments, whose essential partnership fuels our economic development. With this continued leadership selling all we have to offer, Memphis is on its way to being the fastest growing city in the Mid-South.”
Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. is part of a U.S. business group owned by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Tokyo, Japan. The corporation is one of only four global manufacturers of extra-high voltage shell type power transformers. These large power transformers will be the first products manufactured in the new Memphis factory.
“Several things attracted Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. to Memphis, from their negotiations with Belz, to working with a quality site selector like McCallum Sweeney to our deep roots with Japanese manufacturing,” said Susan Hadley Maynor, Managing Director of Economic Development for the Chamber. “This company will be great for engineering students graduating from local universities. Mitsubishi Electric is a great company to work for.”
The 350,000-square foot facility will be built on almost 100 acres of land in Rivergate Industrial Park and will be a $200 million investment. The plan is to open the facility with 90 employees and eventually hire up to 275 at full production. The plant will be designed and constructed by O’Neal Inc. of Greenville, South Carolina. Construction is scheduled to begin in late spring 2011; production is slated to begin in 2013.
"The Chamber staff, especially Susan Hadley Maynor, has worked intensely since 2009 for this project,” said Mark Herbison, Senior Vice President of Economic Development for the Greater Memphis Chamber. “We have a combination of attractive qualities which have enticed companies like Mitsubishi Electric such as our can-do pro-business attitude in the city and county government, a strong economic development plan under the auspices of MemphisED and our strong logistics-based environment."
Mitsubishi Electric conducted a nationwide search, led by McCallum Sweeney Consulting of Greenville, S.C. to select the best location for this new facility. Key decision criteria included a pro-business environment, a strong logistics infrastructure, an attractive quality of life and the ability to recruit and retain professional and technical talent.
The Memphis Economic Development (MemphisED) Plan serves as the economic development component of a broader economic growth initiative for Memphis/Shelby County called Memphis Fast Forward. MemphisED is led by the Greater Memphis Chamber. The plan is designed to ensure that both Memphis/Shelby County has a strong and diverse economy, fosters innovation and entrepreneurship, and advance the region’s global leadership in the bioscience, music/film and logistics industries.