MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Hundreds of new jobs are music to many ears at one Memphis-area business.
Memphis Record Pressing, which produces vinyl records at its facility in Bartlett, is planning a $30 million expansion that will double its number of employees and make it the largest vinyl record maker in North America.
This expansion means new jobs as the company helps meet the demand of music lovers around the globe.
“It’s a big deal. You know as well as anybody vinyl records, you know, are hot again,” Keith McDonald, the Mayor of Bartlett said.
In Bartlett, Tennessee, Memphis Record Pressing has been putting its own spin on vinyl since 2014.
Mayor Keith McDonald is very excited for this development in Bartlett, which he said will add 172 jobs with an average wage of about $42,000 with benefits.
“It’s a very good accomplishment. I’m very thankful that Memphis Press is doing so well,” McDonald said. “They needed to grow. I’m glad that after their deliberation they decided to expand where they were.”
The mayor said the investment will mean more than $21 million will go into MRP’s headquarters on Brother Boulevard. They’re adding 33,000-square-feet of manufacturing space and 34 record presses.
Two years ago, WREG spoke with Brandon Seavers, MRP’s co-founder and CEO about his company’s growth.
“We went from being a regional to national company to a global company,” Seavers said. “So, the demand for our services has really just skyrocketed.”
Last year, vinyl record sales hit $1 billion, a nearly 40-year high. It’s a demand being met by MRP as more fans crave the sound of a record needle hitting vinyl, including the mayor.
“I had a job at an A.M. radio station as a disc jockey so the crackle that goes on in the vinyl, the ambience, the noise that vinyl makes. It is a much different sound,” Mayor McDonald said.
The mayor also said Memphis Record Pressing will also make more than $7 million worth of renovations at the company’s warehouse on Appling Center Drive.
It’ll operate as a packaging warehouse and could open in June.