Steel company taking over empty Jefferson County facility in $20M expansion

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — Another business is choosing East Tennessee to expand, this time in Jefferson County.

Steel Warehouse is taking over the facility that used to be the Footwear Industries of Tennessee. The company distributes products for several industries including aerospace, agriculture, and construction.

“A lot of the equipment we have are high-end lasers, we deal with a lot of high tolerance parts, fabrication, so most of it is obviously steel based, but its all manufacturing industrial jobs,” Matt Black the Southern Region Vice President of Steel Warehouse said.

Black credits local city and county leaders as one of the many reasons the company chose the area.

“Within two or three weeks of us being here, we were contacted by multiple groups giving all the resources we needed which is why we are probably three to four months ahead of schedule,” Black said.

The company’s investment in the area totals close to $20 million and will create more than 70 jobs.

“This particular project is special because they took a building that basically was vacated, not being used, they repurposed it,” Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter said. “They’ve also hired the previous workers that have been here before in the previous business.”

Black told 6 News the local school district also attracted Steel Warehouse to the area due to their welding program. Black believes those high school students could be future employers, calling the area high school and college programs “a great match’ for the company.

“To be able to come into a community with such a great workforce and incredible vocational resources is a true blessing for us. We are excited to bring high-end industrial jobs into the area while partnering with local resources like TCAT and Jefferson County HS CTE to support JLG and many other key customers in Jefferson County and surrounding areas,” said Black.

McWhorter believes Steel Warehouse could also receive more business from the area in the future.

“Not only is it going to benefit the customer{s} they already have here, but there are others now that are noticing they’re coming, they are here and may pick up additional businesses,” McWhorter said.

This expansion makes Steel Warehouse’s third location in Tennessee, with its existing operations in Chattanooga and Memphis.

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