Boom Belt Mississippi! Solero Technologies To Add 86 Jobs At Water Valley Plant In $14 Million Expansion
WATER VALLEY — Automotive parts manufacturer Solero Technologies is expanding its plant in Water Valley in a project worth more than $14 million that will create 86 jobs, the Mississippi Development Authority announced Thursday.
Solero supplies actuators and solenoid valve solutions to automakers and to other industrial sectors. MDA said the expansion adds 14 manufacturing lines at the Water Valley facility, together with upgrades to its electrical systems, information technology infrastructure, HVAC systems, compressed air systems, roofing and flooring.
The state is assisting the project through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive program, known as MFLEX. The Yalobusha County Economic Development District is also supporting it. MDA did not state the value of the MFLEX assistance in its announcement, and gave no timetable for the hiring or for completion of the work.
The Water Valley plant has operated since 1972 and is Solero’s largest production operation globally. The company’s own website describes the site as a 225,000-square-foot facility employing about 435 people and producing roughly 12 million parts a year across seven product families — close to half of Solero’s worldwide production and revenue.
Solero was created out of BorgWarner’s North American Controls business, which the private equity firm Atar Capital acquired on December 31, 2021 and renamed Solero Technologies with effect from February 8, 2022.
Gov. Tate Reeves said in the MDA announcement that the company’s decision “speaks to the advantages Mississippi offers manufacturers that need to operate efficiently and compete globally.” He added: “Solero has been in Mississippi for more than 50 years, so this project is about more than adding production capacity; it’s about investing in its next 50 years in Mississippi.”
MDA Executive Director Bill Cork said the expansion “builds on that legacy while bringing 86 new jobs and a significant new investment to Yalobusha County.”
Solero chief executive Dr. Donald R. James said the company’s vision is “to become a top three global leader in mobility controls technology,” and that as it works to grow into “a more than $1 billion enterprise,” continued investment at Water Valley “will be essential to advancing our growth strategy and supporting Solero’s future product development transformation in global mobility.”
Kagan Coughlin, executive director of the Yalobusha County Economic Development District, credited the county’s workforce and the company’s leadership with building “a 50 year legacy of success in rural America,” and said the district looked forward to “welcoming the families that relocate to our communities to contribute to that growth.”
The Tennessee Valley Authority also worked on the project. TVA Vice President of Economic Development Heidi Smith said the authority partnered with MDA, the Water Valley Utilities Commission, the city of Water Valley and the county development district in support of the expansion.