ABB is building a second new facility in Selmer, Tennessee, in less than two years, with state officials announcing a $50 million expansion expected to add 227 jobs at the Switzerland-based manufacturing company's McNairy County operations. The project will place a 120,000-square-foot Industrial Connections & Solutions facility right next to a 325,000-square-foot plant ABB only recently finished building in the same industrial park.
Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter announced the expansion Thursday, according to WBBJ. The new facility will rise at the Selmer/McNairy Industrial Park on Industrial Park Drive, replacing ABB's current site on 4th Street in Selmer, the station reports. As Tennessee Lookout notes, this marks ABB's second Selmer expansion announcement in roughly a year and a half.
Per the state economic development department's announcement, the new plant will manufacture and distribute busway, bus plug systems and other electrical products. ABB plans to move about 90% of its equipment and employees into the existing 325,000-square-foot building during the first half of 2027, then shift the remaining staff and gear to the newly built facility in the second half of that year, according to the same release.
A Company Already Deeply Rooted in Selmer
ABB is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and describes itself as a global technology leader in electrification and automation. The company already operates in five Tennessee cities — Selmer, Portland, Athens, Memphis and Mount Juliet — and expects to employ more than 1,500 people across those locations once the Selmer project is complete, per the state's announcement.
This isn't ABB's first big swing at Selmer. The company announced an earlier expansion there in March 2025, though the dollar figures attached to that project have varied depending on the source. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development's own announcement of the new expansion describes the earlier project as a $100 million investment projected to create more than 50 jobs, while a March 2025 state statement put the figure at $76 million for 50 new jobs, and ABB's own company announcement cited an $80 million investment in a 320,000-square-foot facility, also expected to create 50 jobs. The state's evidence does not explain why the figures differ.
Grants Have Shaped the Industrial Park for Years
The Selmer/McNairy Industrial Park has already drawn state investment ahead of ABB's latest move. The park received Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development site development grants in both 2022 and 2024, with roughly $898,000 awarded in 2022 for property grading and access road construction and $500,000 awarded in 2024 for engineering studies.
ABB's broader U.S. push extends beyond Tennessee. The company has also invested in a Senatobia, Mississippi facility, where a $40 million expansion was expected to create 200 jobs, according to ABB's own announcement. Combined, the company said its Selmer and Senatobia manufacturing expansions represented $120 million in U.S. investment.
Manufacturing Remains McNairy County's Economic Backbone
The expansion lands in a county where manufacturing already dominates the job market. Manufacturing was McNairy County's largest industry in 2024, employing 2,680 people, according to Data USA. Countywide employment grew 3.48% from 2023 to 2024, rising from 10,300 to 10,600 employees over that span, the same data shows.
Growth in the electrical equipment sector tracks with broader demand trends. A Memphis Business Journal report notes that demand for power infrastructure is growing, particularly in sectors such as data centers — a dynamic that has helped fuel investment in companies like ABB that manufacture electrical distribution equipment.
