Tazewell-based mining equipment manufacturer expanding into Russell County, creating 75 jobs

Simmons Equipment Co., a specialty mining equipment manufacturer based in Tazewell County, is “busting at the seams,” so it’s expanding into Russell County, where 75 jobs will be created, a company official said Monday.

The company will invest $8.5 million in two existing buildings in Lebanon, one on Joe Gillespie Drive, which is 76,000 square feet, and the other on Haber Drive, which totals about 50,000 square feet, according to Shane Simmons, sales and marketing specialist. It will also maintain the facility in Tazewell.

“We’ve outgrown our operation here and we really had to hold back on some of our production because of that,” he said. “We just don’t have the space here. But that’s going to give us a massive increase in size.”

Hiring for the jobs in Lebanon will begin immediately . There are openings for assemblers, hydraulic engineers, warehouse techs, manufacturing engineers, design engineers, fabricators, welders and utility/building maintenance positions.

There are also travel positions and openings at the facility in Tazewell, which currently has 107 employees.

According to a news release from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who announced the expansion Monday, Virginia successfully competed against Tennessee and West Virginia for this project.

Simmons said Southwest Virginia is a good fit for the business, and the Lebanon locations are close to the operation in Tazewell. He also credited the county’s Industrial Development Authority for helping make the deal happen.

“The facilities are one thing, but also just the environment and the people, the culture, it’s a good fit. It just felt like the best place for us. It was really important for us to stay in Southwest Virginia, if possible, because we’re all local and we really want to help out the area as much as we possibly can,” he said.

Company officials have been working toward the expansion for about 18 months, according to Simmons.

After some remodeling, employees will move into the two buildings in phases over the next two quarters, he said.

The larger building on Joe Gillespie Drive was the former site for Polycap, a manufacturing plant that recently went out of business, according to Ernie McFaddin, executive director of the county’s IDA. The other property on Haber Drive was known as Russell Place and housed a sewing factory but was vacant for 25 years until it was purchased and refurbished by the IDA in hopes it could attract another manufacturing company, he added.

“It has been a pleasure to work with this company as they have made Russell County home. They have a clear vision of integrating their company into the community and economic landscape of Russell County. We are looking forward to our work with them as they continue to grow and expand their operations,” McFaddin said in the release.

Matt Simmons, the company’s president and CEO, said in the release that the business has been growing into new markets worldwide, and the additional manufacturing capacity “will allow us to aggressively pursue those opportunities. After an extensive search we are excited to continue our growth here in Southwest Virginia. We were highly impressed with the efforts of the Russell County Industrial Development Authority, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, and the Commonwealth of Virginia to support us in this exciting endeavor. We look forward to being part of the growing business community in Russell County.”

VCEDA has assisted the company in the past and has approved a $187,500 workforce development and training grant for the company and a $500,000 loan to the county’s IDA for facility improvements, according to Jonathan Belcher, the authority’s executive director.

“It is always exciting to see great existing companies like Simmons grow and add jobs in the region and that is one of our primary targets for enhancing the regional economy,” Belcher said in the news release.

Youngkin approved a $270,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Russell County with this project. The company is also eligible to receive state benefits from the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for new, full-time jobs that are created, according to the news release.

Support for the company’s job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership in collaboration with higher education partners, with funding from the governor’s administration and the Virginia General Assembly, the release states.

Founded in 2005, Simmons manufactures a wide range of soft rock mining equipment, including battery and diesel-powered scoops, haulers and longwall support vehicles. The expansion will also allow for further product line expansion, the news release states.

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