Industry presence continues to grow. The TAP Alliance region is home to a growing cluster of steel and metal fabrication companies including Dennen Steel, Contract Fabricators, FerrouSouth, G&G Steel, Roll Form Group, Monotech/PSP Industries, Skyline Steel/Arcelor/Mittal, Truck Bodies & Equipment International/HEIL, Tiffin Motorhomes, International Converter, and others.
Workforce is skilled in manufacturing. The region has a trained workforce that possesses skills desirable to steel and metal fabrication companies. Manufacturing-specific workforce training is provided by the community college system and technical schools, all located within a few hours drive.
Transportation is quick and easy. Transportation of products is possible via 4-lane highways, ports, and rail lines. A major customer base is located within 200 miles of the TAP region – Nissan, General Motors, Volkswagen, Navistar, and Toyota automotive suppliers and several aerospace-related companies are located in nearby Huntsville, Alabama, Tennessee, and Columbus, Mississippi.
Low cost of business PLUS incentives. The state of Mississippi offers many tax incentives and has a low cost of living and low cost of doing business. Electricity and natural gas costs are cheaper than many other places in the nation.
Nearby Customer Base
Automotive Assembly Plants
The TAP Alliance region is within 500 miles of 28 automotive assembly plants. The closest plants are Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, Navistar, and General Motors (Saturn). The Toyota plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi, is only 55 miles from the TAP region, accessible via four-lane US Highway 45. The Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee (172 miles from TAP) and the General Motors Plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee (133 miles from TAP) are accessible via US 72, a divided four-lane highway and US Route 43, most of which is divided 4-lane.
View an interactive map of the state’s automotive industry.
Distance to Automotive Plants
Search:
| Auto Manufacturer | Location | Distance from Center of TAP Alliance |
|---|---|---|
| Navistar | Barton, AL | 27 miles |
| Toyota | Blue Springs, MS | 55 miles |
| Toyota Mazda | Huntsville, AL | 90 miles |
| Mercedes | Vance, AL | 164 miles |
| General Motors (Saturn) | Spring Hills, TN | 126 miles |
| Honda | Lincoln, AL | 193 miles |
| Nissan | Smyrna, TN | 165 miles |
| Volkswagen | Chattanooga, TN | 206 miles |
| Nissan | Canton, MS | 227 miles |
| Hyundai | Montgomery, AL | 240 miles |
| Kia | West Point, GA | 282 miles |
| Ford | Hapeville, GA | 303 miles |
| General Motors | Doraville, GA | 310 miles |
| BMW | Greer, SC | 453 miles |
| General Motors | Shreveport, LA | 455 miles |
| General Motors | Arlington, TX | 581 miles |
| General Motors | Oklahoma City, OK | 575 miles |
| Toyota | San Antonio, TX | 835 miles |
Aerospace and Aviation Companies in TAP Region
| Company Name | Location | Description | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynetics | Iuka | propulsion testing services to for thrusters and engines | 3 |
| ETD, Inc. | Belmont | tool & die for aerospace parts | 5 |
| General Atomics | Iuka | defense research and development | 12 |
| Orbital ATK | Iuka | produces large composite aerospace structures | 175 |
| Precision Machine Tools | Iuka | tool & die for aerospace parts | 2 |
| Turner Aviation | Corinth | private and commercial aircraft engine services and repair | 3 |
Transportation
US Highways and Interstates
US Highway 72 (east-west) and US Highway 45 (north-south) are four-lane highways running through the TAP Alliance region. Future Interstate 22 is accessible from Tupelo (50 miles) and connects I-240 and I-40 with I-65 and I-20. Interstates 55, 22, and 40 are accessible from Memphis, approximately 110 miles from the TAP region. Several state highways serve the TAP Alliance region.
View map of highways in North Mississippi (365 KB, PDF)
Ports
Water transportation is available via the Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW). Yellow Creek Port on the TTW is near Iuka in Tishomingo County. This port is equipped with 200-ton capacity cranes, warehouse, as well as truck and rail facilities. It is a designated Foreign Trade Subzone and a federal HUBZone. Yellow Creek port has an onsite steel processing facility, which in 2012, will install the world’s largest stretcher-leveler. The port also has a cluster of steel processing facilities around it.
The Port of Itawamba also serves the TTW. Located 50 miles from the edge of the TAP Alliance, it has truck and rail facilities, warehouses, conveyor, 60-ton crane, and also provides cargo handling and logistical support.
View a map of ports along the Tenn-Tom Waterway in the TAP Alliance (1.2 MB, PDF)
Railroads
Rail lines serving the TAP Alliance region include Norfolk-Southern Railroad main line and 4 short lines: Kansas City Southern, Yellow Creek Port, Tishomingo Railroad, and Redmont.
View a map of rail lines serving the TAP Alliance region (1.8 MB, PDF).
Metal Fabrication and Steel Manufacturing Companies in TAP Region
Search:
| Company Name | Location | Description | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Machine Products, Inc. | Corinth | CNC & screw machine products | 30 |
| Baldwyn Tool & Die | Baldwyn | tool and die, CNC machine shop | 15 |
| BMSI | Burnsville | military and restaurant metal fabricated parts | 100 |
| Booneville Machine & Metal Fabricating Co. | Booneville | metal fabricating, miscellaneous metal work, misc. machinery products | 12 |
| Carolina Carports | Iuka | portable metal buildings | 15 |
| Contract Fabricators Inc. | Iuka | pressure vessels | 50 |
| Developmental Industries | Corinth | design & tooling shop | 76 |
| ETD Inc. | Belmont | tool and die, CNC machine shop, design services and prototypes | |
| FerrouSouth | Iuka | coil and sheet steel processor | 103 |
| G&G Steel | Iuka | metal fabrication | 55 |
| HAGO Automotive | Iuka | auto parts | 180 |
| International Converter | Iuka | aluminum insulation products | 55 |
| J&M Services | Baldwyn | tool and die makers equipment, industrial supply | 4 |
| King Manufacturing | Corinth | metal stamping/screw machin | 48 |
| Metal Products | Corinth | specialized machine shop | 7 |
| Monotech of Mississippi/PSP Industries | Iuka | steel fabrication | 90 |
| North MS Tools, Inc. | Booneville | tool and die machine shop | 12 |
| Plant Process Support | Burnsville | metal parts cleaning | 30 |
| Precision Machine Tools | Iuka | high precision tooling | 2 |
| Ray Hughes Inc. | Corinth | wire crimping tools, press dies and special industrial machines | 7 |
| Ricky Marsh Ornamental Iron | Corinth | fabricated structured metal, ornamental doors, rails, and gates | 2 |
| Ripley Industries | Iuka | metal filters | 30 |
| Robby’s Custom Exhaust | Iuka | vehicular exhaust systems | 3 |
| Roll Form Group (US) Inc. | Iuka | steel sheeting and piling, sheet piling, rail car parts | 240 |
| S&G Gutter and Sheet Metal Company | Corinth | sheet metal fabrication | 5 |
| Skyline Steel Pipe | Iuka | spiral welded foundation pipe | 50 |
| Stevens Machine and Tool | Marietta | tool and die machine shop | 7 |
| Sun-Air Products Inc. | Belmont | metal fabrication, laser cutting, powder coat painting | 85 |
| Tiffin Motorhomes | Belmont | RV frames and painting | 185 |
| Truck Bodies & Equipment International (formerly HEIL) | Belmont | truck dump bodies | 80 |
| Baymont Composites | Burnsville | fifth wheel RV units | 110 |
| Young & Daughters | Corinth | precision machine work | 4 |
Specialized Workforce
ABET-accredited undergraduate engineering degree programs and master’s and PhD options in similar areas are available at nearby universities.
| Degree Programs | Mississippi State University | University of Alabama at Huntsville | University of Mississippi | University of Memphis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerospace engineering | X | X | ||
| Biological engineering | X | |||
| Biomedical engineering | X | |||
| Chemical engineering | X | X | X | |
| Civil engineering | X | X | X | X |
| Computer engineering | X | X | X | |
| Electrical engineering | X | X | X | X |
| Engineering technology | X | |||
| Geological engineering | X | |||
| Industrial engineering | X | X | ||
| Mechanical engineering | X | X | X | X |
| Optical engineering | X | |||
| Software engineering | X | |||
| Miles from TAP Region | 120 miles | 106 miles | 92 miles | 110 miles |
Search:
| Occupation | Current Jobs | Median Hourly Earning in TAP Region | Median Hourly Earning in Mississippi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil winders, tapers, and finishers | 31 | $18 | $18 |
| Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic | 37 | $19 | $19 |
| Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 91 | $14 | $14 |
| Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | <10 | $16 | $16 |
| Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 39 | $15 | $15 |
| Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | <10 | $16 | $16 |
| Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 20 | $19 | $19 |
| Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | <10 | $21 | $21 |
| Industrial engineers | 55 | $37 | $37 |
| Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | <10 | $17 | $17 |
| Lay-out workers, metal and plastic | 32 | $23 | $23 |
| Machinists | 89 | $19 | $19 |
| Mechanical engineers | 28 | $37 | $37 |
| Metal and plastic workers, all other | <10 | $10 | $10 |
| Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders | <10 | $14 | $14 |
| Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | <10 | $12 | $12 |
| Model makers, metal and plastic | <10 | $14 | $14 |
| Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 32 | $11 | $11 |
| Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 17 | $13 | $13 |
| Numerical tool and process control programmers | 12 | $19 | $19 |
| Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 25 | $19 | $19 |
| Sheet metal workers | 28 | $17 | $17 |
| Structural iron and steel workers | <10 | $18 | $18 |
| Structural metal fabricators and fitters | 49 | $17 | $17 |
| Tool & die makers | 17 | $22 | $22 |
| Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners | <10 | $17 | $17 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 204 | $20 | $20 |
| Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders | 32 | $16 | $16 |
Data source: State Workforce Investment Board (Mississippi) https://swib.ms.gov/DataCenter/PublicReports/, Accessed 2/20/18
Workforce Training
Northeast Mississippi Community College
Division of Workforce Training and Economic Development
Offers customized job training to new and existing business and industry. Two training facilities are located within the TAP region, one in Corinth and the other in Booneville. Mobile training facilities may be available upon request for onsite training throughout the TAP region.
East Mississippi Community College
Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence
Offers technical training relevant to Mississippi industries. 112 miles from the TAP region.
Workforce Services
Offers customized training to industry and core courses to individuals. The Manufacturing Academy course provides training in the essential skills defined by manufacturers in the area. These include quality tools, measuring instruments, problem-solving, applied math, critical thinking and more. Additional classes offered include
- Welding Customized
- Welding Structural
- Safety
- Machining
- Maintenance Technician
- Manufacturing Skills Basic
Tennessee Technology Center at Memphis
Workforce training through traditional and distance learning systems. 110 miles from the TAP region. Courses include
- Aircraft mechanics
- Avionics maintenance technology
- Drafting and CAD technology
- Machine tool technology
University of Mississippi
Center for Manufacturing Excellence
Provides manufacturing education through the mechanical engineering program, professional development courses and is involved with industry-led research. 92 miles from the TAP region.