WEST POINT — Navistar Defense, LLC has announced an $8 million upgrade to its West Point facility that is expected to add 500 permanent jobs by 2024.
The company, which manufactures military vehicles, has had a facility in West Point since 2005 but currently only employs 25 people, according to a company press release issued Tuesday. Officials say the upgrade shows the company’s intention to invest long-term in Mississippi.
“Navistar Defense is demonstrating its commitment to the Golden Triangle region through its investment in our West Point Assembly Plant,” Navistar Defense CEO Ted Wright said in the press release. “Enhancing our manufacturing capability and growing our workforce is part of our strategic plan to grow the company. The plant’s large capacity enables us to build on our core military vehicle business and offers the potential to manufacture a variety of additional products.”
West Point Mayor Robbie Robinson said city officials are enthusiastic about the project.
“We’re excited about it,” Robinson told The Dispatch. “It helps us tremendously because we’re not talking about temporary jobs. We’re talking about permanent ones. That’s a lot of jobs to fill too, so it’s going to help the whole region.”
The city of West Point has seen several major industries invest in the region over the last several years. In 2015, Yokohama Tire Manufacturing opened its facility, and three years later, Peco Foods bought the former Bryan Foods freezer to turn it into a chicken processing plant, which is expected to grow to add 300 jobs by 2022.
Golden Triangle LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins called the Navistar project “just another example of why the Golden Triangle is a profitable place for business.”
“The commitment that Navistar Defense is making in West Point not only in investment, but in hiring 500 full-time jobs with great benefits is a tremendous investment in our region,” Higgins said. “…These hires will be very helpful as we continue to work toward recovering from COVID-related effects.”
Mississippi Development Authority and Tennessee Valley Authority are both aiding Navistar with the project, with MDA providing a $2.5 million grant for building improvements, LINK Chief Operating Officer Macaulay Whitaker said. Navistar is also eligible for the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which provides a cash rebate to eligible businesses that create new jobs for up to 10 years, according to information on MDA’s website.
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