HGTV Ben and Erin Napier star in "Home Town."
HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier have launched their latest business venture: a factory in Laurel, Mississippi. According to a press release, it manufactures wooden countertops and butcher blocks.
“Yesterday we finally announced to the world the launch of Scotsman Manufacturing,” Erin wrote on Instagram. “This was a tiny dream deep inside @scotsman.co from childhood: sparked the first time he watched ‘Tommy Boy.’ Then as a teenager, when he saw the shuttered furniture factories of NC where he grew up. Then as we began the work of revitalizing Laurel with our best friends, family and partners Mallorie and Jim Rasberry and Emily and Josh Nowell.”
The trio of couples not only co-own Scotsman Manufacturing Company but also Laurel Mercantile and Scotsman General Store. As the “Home Town” host wrote, their store sells “exclusively American-made wares” and their partnerships “lift up the American worker.”
To mark the occasion, Erin shared a video made five years earlier about “a few local factory heroes” working at Laurel Machine & Foundry. According to People, the factory manufactures goods sold at their stores, such as cast iron skillets.
The video, narrated by Ben, notes that the Laurel Machine & Foundry employs 128 people.
Among them, “Shane is the best welder at the foundry. His brothers work here and so does his dad. Carlos is a minister. John goes to church, most Sundays. Heavy is devoted to his job. Larry’s son played for Laurel High School in the state championship. Charlotte makes the world’s best punchbowl cake. Jerry holds the world record for anvil shooting. And Chuck served in the U.S. Army, The Malloy family has owned the foundry since 1911. One day, Sloane and Henry will be in charge.”
Scotsman Manufacturing Company Created 85 Jobs in Laurel
Scotsman Manufacturing Company created 85 jobs for the area, according to a press release.
“If we are going to be serious about revitalizing small towns, then we have to be serious about creating manufacturing in those small towns,” said Chairman of Scotsman Manufacturing Company, Jim Rasberry, in the announcement.
President and CEO of the Jones County Economic Development Authority, Ross Tucker, told local news outlet WDAM 7, “It will make a significant impact. Those 85 jobs are making above average wages, as it relates to here in the state. So it is a wonderful thing to have that opportunity. And again, have that element here to help blend in with the current manufacturing and everything that’s currently around here.”
Ben First Announced the Factory in December 2021
Ben first announced their Laurel-based factory on Instagram in December 2021.
“We are manufacturing products in the heart of Laurel. Less than 2 miles from my house, in an underserved part of town, a shuttered factory is buzzing back to life,” the 38-year-old wrote.
The “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop” host continued, “The men and women working in our factory have so much pride in these. This will provide jobs and improve the neighborhood. We are still working out the kinks, but this is going to be huge, y’all.”
READ NEXT: The Property Brothers’ Net Worth: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know