By Michael V. Hannigan
Manufacturing jobs are coming to Athens.
Clayton Homes has purchased an empty 155,000 square-foot building on State Highway 31 West for building manufactured homes, according to Athens Economic Development Executive Director Lisa Denton.
Denton said Clayton Homes intends to invest nearly $6.5 million in the location, including plans for an additional 40,000 square feet, and will build top of the line double-wides there.
Denton said Clayton Homes is expected to hire 240 employees for the location over the next five years.
“It is going to be one of their premier manufacturing and training facilities,” said Athens Mayor Jerry Don Vaught. “It is going to be huge for Athens.”
Friday, the AEDC board met in a special session to approve up to $300,000 in job incentives, meaning Clayton Homes will get the money when hitting certain benchmarks for full-time jobs at the location. That plan, along with some tax incentives, are expected to be addressed by the Athens City Council at its April 11 meeting.
Denton said Clayton Homes was attracted to the location because it was originally used for manufacturing homes and gave a lot of credit to the prior owner for getting the company in Athens.
The announcement comes the same day that HVAC Manufacturing moved into the former Harry’s Building Materials location at 1010 West Corsicana Street. That company is expected to bring an additional 25 jobs to the city.
“I think people finally see that we want to see that growth,” said Denton. “And that we’re ready and we want to help, whether it is an existing industry that is looking to grow or new ones, we’re here.”
I would love to be a part of this great job
I currently work for athens park homes
Congratulations to Athens and AEDC – This is good news for the County.
Is this in any way owned or operated by the former owners of the business that once owned this property before? We all know how the grapevine works, but I would hate to see it fail because they hired the same poor management team that went with the failed former business. I have worked with and known about Clayton Homes for over 25 years, through an engineering firm that I worked for. What a great company. Glad to see it coming so close to home. What a great asset to a great community.
When will they be taking applications for employment?
I have not heard anything yet. I will definitely post when I get some info.
I an very interested in going to work for u guys , have lots of experience.
I would like to be a part of your team.
I would love be a part of your team , I retired from Trane in Tyler 2 years ago at the age of 55 and I hate retirement. I have always worked and I am a hard worker.