Alabama Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair announced that Phoenix, Arizona-based OMCO Solar, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of steel structures for solar panels, plans to invest over $10 million into its second production facility in Alabama, creating 70 full-time jobs in Limestone County.
OMCO is leasing Building 100 in the Huntsville West Industrial Park at 7620 Greenbrier Parkway Northwest and has outfitted the facility for the production of solar racking.
“OMCO has a heritage in steel fabrication dating back decades and has built a national manufacturing footprint through savvy investment projects,” Secretary McNair said.
“I’m proud that this great company, dedicated to manufacturing its products in America, has decided to expand its presence in Alabama and create additional career opportunities in Huntsville.”
Founded in 1955, OMCO is the largest custom roll former in the United States, producing highly engineered, custom roll-formed shapes for many applications across a wide range of industries. It is the nation’s premier manufacturer of solar trackers — devices that direct panels towards the sun — and fixed-tilt structures for solar arrays.
Amid forecasts of significant increases in solar installations in the U.S., the company has delivered 10.5 gigawatts of solar-mounting structures for distributed generation and utility-scale projects nationwide.
“We are thankful to the state of Alabama and their approach to business with tax incentives that line up with our commitment to support domestic manufacturing, create U.S. jobs, and provide factory-direct solutions that solve for the complexity of utility-scale solar projects,” said Gary Schuster, CEO of OMCO Solar.
“Our newest facility in Huntsville is our second in the state and shows our dedication to driving growth in Alabama,” he added.
The Huntsville facility houses multiple high-speed manufacturing systems designed specifically to produce the Series 7 PV module backrail for First Solar, the No. 1 U.S.-based solar module manufacturer.
First Solar is constructing a solar panel factory in Lawrence County as part of a $1.1 billion project that is expected to come online later this year. To scale quickly and support the expected Series 7 volumes, OMCO’s newly established plant will be in close proximity to First Solar’s new solar panel factory.
OMCO now operates six U.S. plants, located in Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, and the Alabama city of Talladega.
Its facility in Huntsville, which opened last month after a $10 million investment, now employs 30 full-time workers and will be fully operational within the third quarter.
“OMCO’s expansion into the Huntsville Greenbrier corridor is another testament to Huntsville’s economic development strategy, which has been to make key infrastructure investments and to utilize existing policy to create jobs and new capital investments,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said.
“We are confident OMCO will see tremendous success in Huntsville, much like the dozens of new and existing industries that have chosen us for their new home,” he added. “We look forward to providing OMCO the long-term support that Huntsville is known to deliver.”
Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly welcomed OMCO to the county’s business community.
“This investment in our county will bring 70 jobs and a positive impact to our county for many years,” Daly said. “We would like to thank OMCO for selecting our county for their new facility and we welcome them to our family of advanced manufacturers.”
Chip Cherry, president & CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber, also welcomed OMCO’s growth plans.
“The company’s products will serve many applications in our robust manufacturing arena, especially in the green energy sector providing solar panel frames and supports,” Cherry said. “OMCO is strategically located to support First Solar Inc, which located in Lawrence County in 2022.
“This is a win for the U.S., Alabama and the green-energy economy.”