Valmont Adds 84 Jobs With $45 Million Jasper Plant Expansion

JASPER, Tenn. — Valmont Industries plans to put $45 million more into its Marion County plant and hire 84 additional workers, state economic development officials said Friday.

The new money will go toward turning out more of the engineered steel structures that utilities use for transmission lines, distribution lines and substations. The state Department of Economic and Community Development tied the move to rising demand as power companies build out the grid to handle growing electricity needs.

This is the second growth step for the Jasper site in two years. In May 2024, the company committed to spending more than $6 million there and adding 80 jobs, split between technical posts needing national certifications and starter jobs backed by workforce training. At that time the plant employed 270 Tennesseans and was a nationwide supplier of steel poles to power utilities and transportation agencies.

State officials said Valmont reached the 2024 hiring target almost three years ahead of schedule, which opened the door to the new round of investment.

The plant also has a long-running link to area schools. Back in 2019, Jasper was home to the first Tennessee factory to start a high school welding pre-apprenticeship, according to the state. More than 80 students have finished the program, and the company has typically hired 65 to 70 percent of graduates into full-time jobs at Jasper.

Gov. Bill Lee said in the state announcement that the expansion shows rural Tennessee doing well, and Deputy Gov. and economic development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter singled out the school partnership as the kind of commitment the state looks for. Marion County Mayor David Jackson said the new jobs will let more residents work close to home instead of commuting out of the county.

Valmont was founded in 1946 in Valley, Nebraska, and is now based in Omaha. It makes infrastructure structures and center pivot irrigation equipment and its workforce tops 11,000 across 21 countries on six continents.

Filed under: Chattanooga TN Business News