Steel Fabricator To Expand In Chickasaw County, Hiring 50

HOUSTON, MS (AP) — Quality Iron Fabricators will invest $4.9 million to expand its Chickasaw County facility and hire 50 workers, bringing total employment to 70.

         The structural steel fabricator, based in Memphis, TN, made the announcement Wednesday. It will build a 90,000-square-foot addition on land in Houston that it will lease from Chickasaw County.

         The Mississippi Development Authority is giving Quality Iron $450,000 to pay for site preparation, and $50,000 to help move equipment from a former location the company closed in Hammond, LA.

         The county is leasing land to the company at a market rate and intends to grant 10-year breaks on property taxes. The projected value of those breaks weren't released Wednesday.

         The Mississippi Development Authority says the average worker will make $40,000 a year.