Mannington Expands in Alabama

Epes, AL, October 29--Mannington Mills has completed the purchase of land necessary for the expansion of its operations in the Sumter county area, according to the Demopolis Alabama Times. Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway, who serves as president of the Sumter County Industrial Development Board, said the move to sell about 10 acres the IDB owned to Mannington had been completed and is pleased with the project's progress. James Mock, director of the Regional Center of Community and Economic Development at the University of West Alabama and a member of the IDB, said Mannington purchased the 10 acres, less the area that needed to be cleaned up, for $10,000 from the IDB and paid an additional $15,000 for truck scales already installed on the property. The remaining land would be conveyed to Mannington once the IDB settles on a course of action for clean up. Mannington officials, however, said the clean up on the small portion of the land wasn't hampering its expansion, announced in July. The expansion project is expected to produce about 30 new jobs at the plant in its first phase. The Epes plant manufactures wood veneers that are then shipped to Mannington's High Point, N.C. plant and used to create hardwood laminate flooring. The expansion in Sumter County could have been built at the North Carolina plant. Eventually, the expansion project could double the size of the plant near Epes.