Home manufacturer opens in Lexington
Lexington Homes takes up where Fleetwood left off

by BRAD RILES
DBJ Contributing Writer

Lexington Homes begins its business journey as it literally builds from the ground up.

The Lexington-based company celebrated its grand opening Nov. 9, which featured a ribbon cutting by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

“On behalf of all Mississippians we are very proud to be affiliated with such an outstanding organization,” said Barbour in a Holmes County Herald article. “Having Lexington Homes locate in Holmes County is not only good for the Delta, it's good for all of Mississippi.”
Max Yates, executive vice president of BankPlus in Lexington, said the recent addition of such a major corporation to a rural community provides instant economy growth and job stability for area residents.

With around 75 employees, Lexington Homes expects those numbers to grow to around 200 by 2005.

“A number of the people who are going to work there have been traveling out of the county, fairly far distances for the incomes to provide for their families,” Yates said. “With a local business, it will hopefully improve their quality of life as well as the local economy.

“They will be working here and spending more of their money here as opposed to somewhere else wherever they work. It will open up opportunities for the local restaurants.”

The addition of Lexington Homes also bodes well for the entire state as it shows smaller Mississippi towns are on the upswing.

“If we keep local, rural communities vibrant and healthy it puts less demands on state taxpayers to fund the burdens of dying communities,” Yates said.

Lexington is familiar with the home manufacturing business as it was home to three separate Fleetwood Homes’ plants, the first one opening in 1969, according to Yates.

Fleetwood Homes, a Fortune 500 company, was a major contributor in the community’s economy and left a lot of people jobless when it left years later. However it did provide people with the mindset needed to work in the home manufacturing business and helped pave the way for Lexington Homes.

About 10 or 15 local investors basically put forth their own money and negotiated a deal with Fleetwood Homes to purchase one of their plants, Yates said.

He added that the investors then brought in individuals who had previous home manufacturing business to operate and oversee the plant’s upbringing, including Mike Sullivan, sales manager.

“The business environment in Lexington coupled with the skilled workforce makes this an ideal location,” Sullivan said. “The fact that this project is privately funded by local investors speaks highly of the number of individuals responsible for a new industry that will provide good jobs for our community.”

Sullivan is familiar with the territory as he was previously employed by Fleetwood before his current stint at Lexington. Overseeing operations at Lexington Homes is Harold Weaver, general manager.

While it is still in its infant stage, sales have already started to take off at the Delta-based plant that specializes in affordable housing, Yates said.

“Their goal is to build about three units per day,” he added. DBJ