April has seen large manufacturing announcements from AbbVie, L3Harris and Texas A&M. Here are six other notable openings ranging from Diageo to Suniva, in alphabetical order.
Diageo
Beverage manufacturer Diageo North America opened a new $415 million, 360,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehousing facility in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 21. According to a press release, the facility has a “multimillion-case annual production capacity,” that “will build greater resiliency and agility into the company’s supply chain footprint in North America, while making its operations more sustainable.”
Diageo Montgomery will feature advanced technologies like on-site automated guided vehicles for transporting pallets, high‑speed bottling lines with technology that enhances rinsing and inspection capabilities, energy‑efficient infrastructure heated by electric boilers for sanitation and bottle‑filling operations, and advanced water and energy metering technology. It will employ about 100 people full time and support about 750 one-time construction jobs in the surrounding area. Diageo said it has invested $750,000 in local universities for workforce development.
MISA
Metals processor Marubeni-Itochu Steel America announced April 23 that it plans to build an advanced flat-rolled steel processing plant in Osceola, Arkansas. The plant will be valued at $37 million and is expected to bring 35 new jobs to Mississippi County, the company said. It will be located adjacent to U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel Works and will serve various industries, including automotive, across the South Central United States. Operated by MISA Specialty Processing, a subsidiary of MISA, the new plant will join the company’s existing network of metal processing facilities in North America.
Oxbo
Oxbo, which makes specialty harvesting and controlled application equipment, opened a $60.5 million, 200,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Bergen, New York, on April 16. The facility designs and manufactures harvesters for specialty crops such as seed corn, sweet corn, green beans and peas, Oxbo said in a press release. It will also serve as the company’s U.S. headquarters, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a separate news release.
The site includes a fully integrated laser-based fabrication center, robotic and manual welding, power and liquid finishing systems and multiple mixed-model assembly lines. The new facility also has a large product showroom and an outdoor test track, which can conduct technical training and equipment testing. The facility will employ about 250 people, including up to 78 new jobs. New York is providing up to $2.5 million for the project through the performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program in exchange for the job creation commitments, Hochul said.
Premier Brands of America
Premier Brands of America, which makes Arm & Hammer Foot Care and other health and wellness products, will open a $15 million manufacturing facility in Lackawanna County — the company’s first in Pennsylvania. The facility will be built on the site of the former Scranton Times-Tribune printing facility and will create 58 new jobs over the next three years, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said in a press release.
He said Premier Brands of America received a funding proposal from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for a $3.6 million Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority loan, a $245,700 Pennsylvania First grant, and a $64,300 Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania grant to train its workers.
Siemens Mobility
Siemens Mobility on April 3 announced the opening of a $220 million rail manufacturing and services center in Lexington, North Carolina, that will be the first facility in North America to offer both coach and locomotive overhauls when fully operational. According to Siemens, the 200-acre project will create more than 500 local jobs by 2028 while expanding its U.S. production and service footprint. The facility is Siemens Mobility’s newest manufacturing location in the U.S. and will help growing demand for passenger rail across the country, the company said in a press release.
Site construction is complete, the first passenger coaches are scheduled for delivery this summer and more than 375 people have been hired thus far, the company said. The facility manufactures Siemens Venture passenger coaches and serves as the company’s East Coast rail services hub. It will support maintenance and overhaul work for bogies, locomotives and coaches, with the potential to support light-rail vehicles in the future. The project will use artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to streamline operations and is supported in part by a $5.6 million job development investment grant from North Carolina.
Suniva
Solar cell manufacturer Suniva announced April 14 that it has entered agreements to bring a 4.5-gigawatt solar cell manufacturing facility to Laurens, South Carolina, with a projected opening in the second quarter of 2027. The new facility, coupled with Suniva’s existing facility at its headquarters in Atlanta, will bring the company’s total domestic solar cell manufacturing capacity to over 5.5 gigawatts annually. It will be the largest of any merchant solar cell manufacturer in the U.S., Suniva said in a press release. The 620,000-square-foot Laurens facility will cost more than $350 million and will create more than 550 jobs, the company said.
