Grading has begun on a 10-acre site in Gadsden’s Airport Industrial Park to prepare it for the construction of a new plastic injection mold maintenance facility.
MS-2, LLC, a joint venture between Mid-South Industries and M2M International, Ltd. in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada, will become a reality because of favorable action undertaken by Gadsden Mayor Steve Means and the city council. The new company is making a capital investment of $2.8 million. Total employment with planned expansions could be in excess of 40-50 jobs.
The Gadsden city council voted in favor of underwriting a build-to-suit/leaseback on a new building for the company. MS-2 will lease the building for the term of the city’s debt service, and their lease payments will equal the city’s debt service payments on the building. M2M International and MSI are guaranteeing the lease, individually and collectively, thus providing financial protection to the city.
The building will encompass 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space and a 1,000-square-foot office. The fully heated and air conditioned manufacturing area will have high ceilings to accommodate a 40-ton overhead crane.
This action came on the heels of a luncheon meeting earlier this year, attended by Means, Harold and Darryl Weaver of MSI, and two officials of M2M: Richard Myers, president and Wayne Martinuik, vice president of finance. The meeting was hosted by Mike McCain, executive director of the Gadsden-Etowah County Industrial Development Authority, who has been instrumental in helping officials structure an equitable arrangement, according to Means.
MS-2 projects it will create from 10 to 12 new jobs within the first 18 months, employing skilled tradesmen at an average wage of some $22.00 per hour. Plans include adding 20 to 25 total jobs within four years and a subsequent expansion that could add another 15 to 20 jobs.
Darryl Weaver of MSI said MS-2 was formed as a combination of the mold design, build and repair operation of MSI and the expansion of M2M into the area. He said M2M had looked at a number of site alternatives in the southeast before picking Gadsden.
He stated that the project will provide a local facility for servicing automotive manufacturers and their suppliers as well as any other companies in need of plastic injections molds. He added that since discussions between MSI and M2M began, several strong first tier automotive suppliers have indicated they had business available as soon as this new venture was able to accommodate their work.
The partners in the venture are MSI, an Alabama corporation with facilities in Rainbow City and Gadsden, Alabama as well as Annville, Kentucky. For more than 40 years the company has provided contract manufacturing services to many of the nation’s largest companies, with metal stamping, plastic injection molding, electrical and electronic assembly, powder coating, design and manufacturing engineering, and manual assembly expertise. MSI has also aligned with other service companies to provide it’s customers with die and mold design and build services. The customer base includes major companies in the telecommunication, major appliance, office machines, recreational equipment, and automotive industries.
M2M is a Canadian company located in Wallaceburg, Ontario with affiliations in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Korea, and Germany. As a manufacturer of plastic injection molds for the past 24 years, M2M is currently ranked in the top 20 of North American mold makers. The company’s focus has been providing molds to the automotive industry. Over the past year, M2M has been exploring various options to expand operations into the southeastern United States, in order to service the ever expanding automotive manufacturing presence in the area.