Mullican Flooring will expand its engineered flooring manufacturing operations in Johnson City, Tenn., replacing a portion of the company's production capacity that is currently coming from Asia.
"We believe we're on the leading edge of a trend by U.S. manufacturers to shift jobs back to American soil," Mullican Flooring President Neil Poland said in a press release. "The high-quality workforce available in the Johnson City area has made the expansion of our production line a reality."
Mullican will create 164 new jobs with the expansion. The company's new manufacturing operations will be housed in a former Superior Industries building in Johnson City. As part of the overall expansion, Mullican will relocate all of its manufacturing operations there at a price of $12 million over the next three years, and it will sell its current Johnson City factory, according to WCYB.com. The company's operations in West Virginia, Virginia and New York will remain open, as well.
Currently, Mullican employs 130 workers at its Johnson City plant. These workers will be relocated to the new plant during the first quarter of 2012, and by 2015 the company should employ close to 300 people in Johnson City.
"When a long-standing Tennessee company like Mullican Flooring chooses to expand right here in our state, it is a great indicator of the business friendly climate we are working hard to maintain and improve," Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said in a release.
Updated, Nov. 2
Mullican has clarified that it is moving its entire corporate headquarters into its new plant, a 309,000-square-foot facility located on a 24-acre spread at 655 Woodlyn Road.
