Major global contractor creating jobs in Brookhaven

By Bob Arnold

Brookhaven new base for international contractor.

In an economy characterized by uncertainty in which employers are passing on location and expansion decisions, a major international construction and maintenance firm that serves downstream and midstream oil and gas companies, manufacturers and electric utilities throughout the world has established an operations base in the area that has created more than 70 jobs.

Baton Rouge-based MMR Group purchased Brookhaven-Lincoln County Economic Development Alliance’s (BLCEDA) 50,000 square foot spec industrial building in the Linbrook Business Park at Brookhaven in May, has been customizing it to meet its particular business needs and ramping up operations there at the same time.  It is one of 30 MMR Group offices and locations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, where more than 5,000 employees serve clients across four continents in 36 countries.

The fifth largest electrical contractor and 16^th largest specialty contractor in the nation, MMR Group’s work encompasses instrument and technical services, electrical construction, power distribution, panel and modular control buildings, telecommunication and security systems, commissioning and startup, power development, maintenance, mission critical construction and power engineering and design.  Since 1991, it has performed more than $6 billion in electrical and instrumentation services.

“In the near future the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce (BLCCC) will recognize this new addition to the area economy in a special ribbon-cutting ceremony,” BLCCC and BLCEDA Executive Director Garrick Combs reports.

For Combs, the MMR Group’s decision to locate in the area affirms two BLCEDA economic development strategies:

•  Spec buildings.  The centerpiece of BLCEDA efforts to attract industrial companies in recent years has been empty industrial buildings into which companies can take over, fashion according to their specialized needs and readily start operating.  Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC) has recognized the unique BLCC-BLCEDA economic development model as an effective way to lure employers that want to deploy workers and machinery to get products to market as quickly as possible without a long wait to construct manufacturing facilities.  

• Economic sector focus.  BLCEDA focuses on attracting industrial companies unfettered by economic uncertainties that delay their decisions about locating new facilities or expanding existing ones.  “The best recruiting prospects are in the utility, logistics and forestry and timber sectors of the economy that are relatively unaffected by tariffs and supply chain disruptions unlike manufacturers – particularly the automotive industry in Mississippi -- and their materials suppliers, particularly of metals and plastics,” says Combs.

Looking to the year ahead, Combs says BLCEDA will be engaged in  planning conversations with new people who have not previously been involved in Brookhaven and Lincoln County economic development.  “Brookhaven has a new Mayor and Board of Aldermen members,” he notes.  “We will review and evaluate strategies that have brought us to where we are, build on them and move forward.”

One lingering industrial project on the agenda is Southwest Electric’s (SE) district headquarters, a 16 million investment for a dispatch office, IT services, a full warehouse, mechanic shop, a truck staging area and laydown yard to house emergency storm crews to better serve its 25,000 members in Lincoln, Copiah, Franklin, Amite, Adams, Hinds, Jefferson and Wilkinson Counties, increase overall system reliability and create more than 100 jobs in the process

Last year, SE purchased land for the facility on Highway 550 near Loyd Star instead of property, which had some wetlands issues, near Brookway Boulevard for which it had an option.  “The purchase on Highway 550 confirmed SE’s commitment to a Lincoln County facility, but when groundbreaking will occur remains a question,” says Combs.  “All in all, it was a good move for SE and BLCEDA, which can use the land formerly under option for something else.”

Grocery shopping for locals remains a question, too.  Although Combs’ work doesn’t encompass retail projects, he says grocery store chains no longer call him to ask about opportunities in the area as they did after the closures of two Piggly Wiggly stores in Brookhaven.  Brookhaven, Lincoln County and surrounding area shoppers now can buy food and other grocery items at three major stores – Walmart, Sullivans and Aldi’s.

A specialized organization paid by the BLCCC tourism committee with funds it receives from a two percent sales tax assessed Brookhaven hotels and motels seeks retail businesses, Combs notes.  The committee also uses the tax monies to build retail traffic and stimulate sales at existing stores through social media and special events – in the process, generating convincing data for retail organizations looking for new markets. 

All and all, Combs says the area economy is healthy with sales tax revenues up, the unemployment rate below five percent and now a new major international construction and maintenance organization based in Brookhaven.  He looks forward to an exciting year.