M & M Industries announced it is expanding its Chattanooga operation with an additional location on E. 14th St., creating 110 new jobs and investing more than $42 million.
M & M Industries is a Hamilton County-based manufacturer of injection molded plastic pails, buckets and lids with child-resistant locks.
The firm is seeking a seven-year PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) tax abatement in connection with the project.
Officials said the firm would still be paying $731,151 in school taxes, plus other city and county taxes during the life of the PILOT.
The company will invest nearly $3 million for renovation and nearly $24 million for machinery and equipment at the new site, formerly a Millennium Packaging facility. In addition, the Hamilton County Rail Authority designed a new rail spur for the plant.
“Chattanooga is great for us,” said Glenn Morris, president and CEO of M & M. “The city, county and state economic development teams more than talk the talk. They meet you openly and help a company at every stop along the way. Chattanooga is a strong community of great people, and it just makes sense for us to expand here.”
"When a local company expands here, it puts more money in the pockets of Chattanooga families and contributes to our local economy. The creation of more than 100 jobs is a great addition to the revitalization of Highland Park and will provide opportunities for workers in our community," said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke.
In addition to more than 85 employees at a Phoenix, Arizona plant, M & M employs nearly 300 people at its Lookout Valley facility and will invest more than $15 million in that location as part of the expansion.
“The growth of M & M Industries is not only a great story about manufacturing, but a great story about entrepreneurship,” said Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger.
Morris’ father, Glenn Morris, Sr., established M & M in Chattanooga in 1986 after he began packaging over the counter remedies in 1963. He held more than 44 patents including several for child-resistant containers, and was inducted into the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2005 alongside Sen. Bob Corker.
EPB and TVA were valuable economic development partners on this expansion project, officials said.
Apply for positions with M & M Industries here.