Project Poppy wins Deals of the Year Award

For the second time Marshall County has earned its seat at the table in the Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC) Deals of the Year Award.

Marshall County received the award in Category 2 in the 2025 award ceremony Feb. 6.

The county also won a similar award for the Roxul insulation manufacturing facility on Cayce Road in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park, eight or 10 years ago.

The Deals of the Year Award honors exceptional economic development projects in the State of Mississippi that achieve community economic development goals and involve significant community support such as financial assistance, permitting assistance, workforce development and state financial support. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in locating and expanding businesses that drive economic growth and prosperity in communities. Accepting the Deals of the Year Award for Project Poppy, a.k.a. the Battery Plant, was President of the Marshall County Board of Supervisors Charles Terry and Justin Hall, executive director of the Marshall County Industrial development Authority

Terry said Amplify Cellular Technologies, also known as Project Poppy, is a major asset to Marshall County and will benefit citizens of the county and region by bringing good paying jobs to the area that will benefit future generations for decades to come.

He praised Hall and his staff for helping shepherd the project through the various state agencies to fruition.

“It says a lot for the county on what we are doing to help to offer the best jobs in Marshall County and the City of Holly Springs for years to come,” Terry said.

“This project represents the commitment and efforts that the Marshall County Board of  upervisors, Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, and the Marshall County legislative team have invested in improving the lives of our residents,” said Hall. “There are opportunities for all skill sets to secure a great career with quality compensation. The future is bright and this project will have a generational impact on Marshall County.”

He thanked members of the local delegation for their support to get state appropriations for the project – Reps. John Faulkner, Steve Massengill and Bill Kinkade and Sen. Neil Whaley and also Gov. Tate Reaves and the Mississippi Development Authority for putting the state’s best foot forward to obtain funding.

Amplify Cell Technologies chose the site in Marshall County’s Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park after an extensive national site search. Legislation for the project was approved by the Mississippi Legislature during a special session in January 2024.

The project represented a $1.9 billion capital investment and the largest payroll commitment at the time in state history boasting, an annual wage of $66,000, and promised 2,000 jobs.

The facility consists of 2.2 million square feet using state of the art technologies to manufacture lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells for commercial vehicles, such as large commercial buses and 18-wheelers.

The plant is located on a 487-acre site with an expected annual manufacturing capacity of 21 gigawatt hours.

Site construction began in May 2024 with manufacturing set to begin in 2027.

Amplify Cell Technologies is a joint adventure between three iconic brands in the commercial vehicle sector: Paccar, Daimler Truck and Accelera by Cummins. EVE Energy is a technology partner in the joint venture.

The third generation stateof-the-art batteries will be used to power commercial vehicles. The customer will see these batteries in products with names such as Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mercedes and Freightliner, to name a few.

The Marshall County Board of Supervisors is a probusiness board that works diligently to foster economic development to provide good paying jobs to its citizens and to those in the surrounding area. Their partnership with Project Poppy will result in positive economic impacts for future generations.

For more information, contact Justin Hall, executive director, Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, at 662-252-3916 or jhall@marshallcoms.org.