Holley Performance Products President Jeff King (left) gives Aberdeen, Miss., officials a plant tour Tuesday. (Photo by Joe Imel)

Bowling Green-based Holley Performance Products is expanding its operations to Aberdeen, Miss. a move that also should boost employment here. However, the expansion will force facilities to close in Mexico and Arizona. Holleys Aberdeen facility initially will employ 150 people and will grow to employ 400 to 500 people within two years, Holley Chief Executive Officer Jeff King said. Employment at Holleys Bowling Green distribution center also will increase by 100 to 125 people as production picks up in Aberdeen, King said. The newest Holley facility is a former Tenneco Automotive plant that manufactured high-performance exhaust products for the aftermarket production that Holley plans to continue there. We are receiving a very favorable (55-year) lease rate on the 350,000-square-foot facility and will invest about $2 million in new equipment, King said. Plus, we are moving a sizable amount of assets from the operations we are closing. While many companies have moved manufacturing operations to Mexico to save money, King said returning manufacturing is an affirmation of the American work force. If you have the right manufacturing system and a motivated and skilled work force, you can compete paying American labor rates with anywhere in world, King said. From the study we have done, we believe we will have a better cost structure in (the) U.S.Monroe County (Miss.) Chamber of Commerce President David Parker was in Bowling Green today to sign lease documents for the Aberdeen facility and to get to know Holley leaders. Words cant express how excited we are, Parker said. When Tenneco announced in October that it would close its Aberdeen facility, Parker and others began pursuing a replacement manufacturer in the automotive industry, he said. There are several industrial employers in the region about 30 minutes south of Tupelo, Miss., but Tenneco had been a major manufacturer, he said. This is a perfect fit for us, Parker said. Production at the Mississippi facility, which has been closed for more than a month, will begin Monday. We are all about speed and performance, so there is no reason to mess around, King said. The move is part of Holleys continued growth plans. Since King and a group of investors purchased Holley in 1998, the company has added production lines and employees. Its distribution center now employs 50 people and its manufacturing facility employees 550 people a total growth of 200 employees. Holley also has become a significant sponsor of major racing circuits, participants in which are Holleys biggest customers.