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Whirlpool addition brings employment By Danza Johnson, DM Staff Writer The Daily Mississippian
July 28, 2003
The $20 million dollar expansion project to Oxford's Whirlpool plant is nearly complete but still is months away from beginning production on the new range products.
The plant opened its doors in 1956, but it was not until 1986 that it was acquired by Whirlpool. In the 17 years Whirlpool has been a part of the Oxford community, this is the first major expansion project it has under gone.
"We are expanding the building by 140,000 square feet," said Whirlpool Human Resources Manager Michael Weatherly. "One hundred thousand square feet of that will be warehouse space, set up for distribution and the rest will be set up for manufacturing space."
Reasons for the expansions according to Weatherly, are to expand the company's distribution networks and to prepare production space for the new range products that will be manufactured in the plant, Weatherly said.
"We really needed to expand our distribution networks, so that's why we decided to make the majority of the 140,000 square feet of the expansions warehouse space," he said. "The floor space was increased in order to prepare the plant for the production of the new products we will be manufacturing, which will be for ranges."
The expansions are expected to add 100 to 150 new employees to the 500 people Whirlpool already employs.
The new employees will be hired through Holland Employment, a temporary job service located in Oxford.
To offset the increase in traffic the Whirlpool expansions will more than likely cause, a new road off Coliseum Drive leading to and from the plant will be constructed.
The building will be completed sometime in August, but production of the new products is scheduled to begin around the first of the year.
"It's going to take a lot to move everything into the building," Weatherly said.
The expansions Whirlpool has done may also prove to be a good thing for the city of Oxford's economy. It is possible other corporations will begin to buy into the area because of what they have done.
"I've spent a whole year on this thing, so of course I think it's a good move for the city of Oxford," said Max Hipp, executive director of the Economic Development Foundation.
"There is no doubt that this project will help to offset other manufacturing closures in Oxford. Having a viable economy is always healthy and attractive to other corporations. But every business has its own reasons for moving into a location. So I wouldn't say that this project alone will make the county more attractive to buyers, but it certainly couldn't hurt."
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