Ashley Furniture expansion takes teamwork at local, state levels
The expansion has created 500 jobs in Lee County
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – They are one of the largest employers in the region, and they’re expanding. Ashley Furniture will invest $80 million to expand its foam and mattress production in Northeast Mississippi.
More than eight months of work and negotiations paid off with the announcement that Ashley Furniture is investing $80 million to expand its operations in Lee County.
“It is huge for the area,” said Wesley Webb, president of the Lee County Board of Supervisors.
Webb worked with economic development leaders at the local and state level and executives at Ashley Furniture to seal the expansion deal.
Ashley Furniture will get a major tax incentive, while 500 jobs are added to the company’s payroll in Verona and Saltillo.
Ashley has purchased the former Lane plant in Verona, that closed several years ago.
Webb said such incentives are necessary to keep and attract companies like Ashley, who invest in the area.
“They are going to go somewhere else and we will lose those jobs and will dry up and that goes to show you about our leadership here and what we have working in Lee County for us,” Webb said.
State agencies and leaders also played a big role in negotiations. The Mississippi Development Authority will provide $850,000 through the Mississippi Flexible Tax incentive to help the company upgrade its fire safety systems.
Governor Tate Reeves said economic development is a team sport.
“We do a return on investment analysis on every one of the investments state participates in, we focus our investments around infrastructure, core things government is supposed to do anyway, and at the end of the day, the ultimate winners are the people, the people who are going to work there,” Reeves said during a recent Zoom interview.
The expansion will also have a nationwide impact, virtually every mattress sold and marketed by Ashley will be made in Lee County Mississippi.
Ashley employs around 3,000 people throughout Northeast Mississippi.
