The Starkville project will add 380,000 square feet and 128 jobs as Southwire expands manufacturing capacity amid electrification, market growth and rapid data center development.
Southwire is planning a major expansion of its manufacturing operations in Starkville, Mississippi, investing more than $256 million in a project expected to add roughly 380,000 square feet and create 128 jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with the expanded facility expected to reach full capacity in 2028.
The project is part of a broader modernization effort across Southwire’s operations, where the company has committed more than $2 billion to upgrading its manufacturing footprint. Southwire points to electrification, broader market growth and rapid data center expansion as factors driving demand for additional capacity, connecting the Starkville investment to larger changes in the infrastructure supporting electricity-intensive industries and development across North America.
The Starkville plant also illustrates how established manufacturing sites can evolve over decades rather than being replaced outright. Originally opened by Phelps-Dodge in 1979 and acquired by Southwire in 1989, the facility underwent an earlier expansion in 2010 that added an onsite distribution center. The latest project will substantially increase its physical footprint while introducing upgrades intended to improve safety, operational efficiency and product quality.
For Starkville and the surrounding Oktibbeha County, the significance extends beyond the additional manufacturing space. The 128 planned positions represent new employment tied to an existing industrial employer, while local officials describe the investment as the largest single economic development project the city has seen. Reinvestment of this scale can also be consequential for communities because it builds on infrastructure and workforce relationships already established over decades.
Southwire’s decision comes as manufacturers serving electrical infrastructure face the practical challenge of preparing capacity for changing patterns of power demand. The company, which employs more than 9,000 people globally and reports an organizational size of $9.7 billion, produces wire, cable and related electrical products for several markets. Its Starkville expansion therefore represents more than a local factory upgrade: it is a long-term capacity decision based on expectations that demand for the physical components behind electrification and data infrastructure will continue to require greater manufacturing scale.
