From Copper to Fiber: Tennessee Plant Begins $100 Million Expansion

A Tennessee factory that once made copper communications cable is preparing to double its footprint as Prysmian begins a $100 million expansion focused on fiber-optic networks.

The company broke ground Oct. 15 at its Jackson plant, where the project is expected to create 100 jobs. Prysmian says construction should be completed in the first half of 2028.

The investment, first announced in August, will renovate and expand an existing operation in Madison County. Prysmian is headquartered in Milan, Italy, with its North American headquarters in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It manufactures cables and related systems for electricity networks and digital communications.

A Factory That Changed Its Product

The Jackson plant dates to 1991, when General Cable established operations there. Prysmian acquired General Cable in 2018 and later began changing what the Tennessee factory produced.

In 2022, Prysmian announced a $30 million investment to convert the plant from copper cable manufacturing to optical cable production. The company described Jackson as its first factory to be retooled to make a different product.

Fiber-optic cables contain strands of glass that carry data, supporting high-speed internet connections between communities, businesses and homes. The earlier conversion included training employees to manufacture the new products as telecommunications networks shifted toward fiber.

The latest expansion will increase production of loose-tube and drop optical cables, building on the equipment and workforce developed through that conversion.

Plant manager Chris Trammel told WBBJ that the project would extend the building across more of its 44-acre industrial park property and improve the flow of production. He expects the expansion to double the plant’s output.

Part of a Three-State Manufacturing Expansion

Jackson is one piece of a larger investment across Tennessee and the Carolinas.

Prysmian announced approximately $1.25 billion in projects in August, with roughly 600 manufacturing jobs expected across the three states. The program includes more than $1 billion at its Claremont, North Carolina, campus, where it plans to expand both fiber and optical cable manufacturing.

Another $80 million is going toward optical cable production in Lexington, South Carolina.

The company links those investments to growing demand for broadband connections and data-center infrastructure, including the networks supporting artificial intelligence. The projects cover different stages of production, from making the glass fiber to manufacturing the cables used in communications networks.

For Jackson workers, the latest project extends a manufacturing operation that has already undergone one major technological change.

WBBJ reported that six employees were honored at the groundbreaking for working at the plant throughout its 35-year history. Trammel described the investment as providing “many years of continued production and stability.”

Prysmian directs people interested in Jackson employment opportunities to text JACKSON to 57131 or visit its careers page.