Hundreds of new jobs are planned as this new manufacturing plant opens in Phenix City
A California-based company, Sierra Pacific Windows, held a ribbon cutting Tuesday for a new manufacturing plant expected to bring hundreds of jobs to Phenix City.
Around 45 employees work at the facility, Sierra Pacific Windows President Tom Takach told the Ledger-Enquirer. Most of the employees were focused on construction and remodeling, but the company is transitioning to hiring people for manufacturing jobs.
“We’re gonna start building windows and doors,” Takach said.
Their plan is to hire 100 people by early 2025, he said. By mid-2026, the company expects to employ around 300 people. From there, they plan to increase the facility’s manufacturing capacity with a workforce of over 500 people.
Newly created jobs include technicians, managers, engineers, machine operators, maintenance and others.
The hourly wage will start around $20 per hour, Takach said, and can go up to over $30 an hour depending on skill level. Workforce development likely will happen internally, he said.
Local officials, including Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe and Phenix City Councilor Arthur Day, thanked the company for investing in the community. They expressed their optimism for the plant’s impact on Phenix City.
“My heart is glowing right now as I have heard about the jobs that are coming here to this facility,” Day said.
It’s not hard to understand why the California-based company chose Phenix City for its Southeastern manufacturing facility, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said at the ribbon cutting. The region has abundant land, a strong workforce and a friendly business climate, she said.
“Simply put, Alabama is the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Ivey said. “And companies from far and wide want to call Alabama their home.”
Inside the plant
The facility comprises three buildings with 610,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space on 113 acres.
“Ultimately, we envision this being our flagship facility,” Takach said. “And we have great facilities.”
This Phenix City facility was a $60 million investment, Ivey said.
The facility was originally a textile mill, President and CEO of Sierra Pacific Industries Mark Emmerson said.
“It’s hard to believe — 18 months ago — what this thing looked like,” he said.
It was a “mammoth” project, Takach said, and the building had been sitting empty for a long time falling into disrepair.
There was “sticky stuff” on the walls, dirt and rats running around, he said. But the last year-and-a-half was spent bringing the building back to life.
“With the dedication of our team here, we’ve really turned this around,” Emmerson said. “It’s an impressive facility.”
Sierra Pacific Windows also has campuses in California and Wisconsin. But the Phenix City plant has state-of-the-art equipment, Takach said, and will serve the customer base in the Southeast.
“We’re building this plant to bring jobs to this area,” he said. “But it’s our customers that drive the ship.”
The company has clients locally and throughout the region. In Columbus, the company expects to work with Valley Fir & Redwood, which specializes in retail and wholesale wood and supplies.
In North Carolina, they plan to work with Greenville Builders Supply (GBS), Takach said.
“They’ve got multiple locations in the western Carolinas, which obviously just got hit by the hurricane pretty bad,” he said. “And they’re going to be a big part of the rebuilding up there.”
About Sierra Pacific Windows
Sierra Pacific Windows is a division of Sierra Pacific Industries, which is a third-generation, family-owned forest products company based in Anderson, California. The founder, Archie “Red” Emmerson, was born in Oregon, where his father worked in the timber industry.
When he got older, Emmerson and his father leased a sawmill together, and Emmerson began growing the business by acquiring more land and lumber. Sierra Pacific Industries was trademarked in 1969, and Emmerson’s sons, George and Mark, now run the business.
The company is excited to be operating in Phenix City, Emmerson said during the ribbon cutting.
“We love Alabama,” Emmerson said. “And this is a significant milestone for Sierra Pacific, for the Phenix City community and for the state of Alabama.”
Sierra Pacific showed trust in the Phenix City community by bringing the plant to the region, Lowe said during the ribbon cutting.
“Now we have the responsibility to keep that trust,” Lowe said. “So, I want to challenge us here in Phenix City, in this region, that we have the fiduciary responsibility to keep that trust, that we’re going to be the community that loves to have them here.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
