PowerTec Solutions, a Franklin-based producer of power-supply devices, is adding some juice to Simpson County’s economy. The company purchased 17 acres in Wilkey North Industrial Park and announced plans to build a 30,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center.

The new facility will replace PowerTec’s existing 12,000-square-foot building in the same industrial park that houses six employees. The expansion to the larger building will allow the company to add about 20 employees and accelerate its growth.

“Part of that (expansion) is sales-driven,” said Spencer Anderson, PowerTec’s operations manager. “We need more room, and we have some new product lines. We’ll need more labor to assemble the components.”

PowerTec’s core product is lithium battery uninterruptable power supply devices for fiber optic networks.

That business is expanding, he said.

“Even locally, everybody is switching from copper lines to fiber optic,” he said. “The FCC mandates that you have an eight-hour backup. We have modular units that provide that, and customers can order our product in a variety of configurations.”

Anderson explained that PowerTec’s product is “stackable,” meaning that an eight-hour power backup can be easily expanded to increase the length of the backup.

The modular product has attracted local companies such as the Franklin Electric Plant Board and customers in other states and even in countries such as Australia and Canada.

“Their sales are growing quickly,” said Dennis Griffin, executive director of the Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority. “They have found Franklin to be a good home. This is a good way to start off the year, with a good expansion.”

Anderson hints that this expansion could be only the beginning of his company’s growth.

“Under the current plan, we’re doing grading for the future that will be for six buildings,” he said. “We’ll do it in phases. Even the 30,000-square-foot building can be expanded.”

The expansion, which is estimated to cost more than $2 million, was aided by tax incentives being provided by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority, which approved PowerTec for incentives up to $200,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program.

The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

“That (tax incentives) was a big factor,” Anderson said. “There were a couple of different directions we could have gone, but we’ve been happy with our investment in Franklin. It will be good to get some of that investment back.”

The new building is expected to be complete by the end of 2018, according to Anderson.

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.