By Dave Vieser. Southwire Co., based in Carrollton, Ga., has purchased ABB’s cable manufacturing plant in Huntersville for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was completed on July 31, and gives Southwire control of a 240,000 square foot plant which produces high-voltage and extra high-voltage underground transmission cable.

“The Huntersville plant will be part of Southwire’s energy manufacturing division,” said Southwire spokesman Gary Leftwich. “We will continue to make many of the products the plant previously manufactured, and most of the Huntersville employees have become part of the Southwire family.”

An official open house complete with plant tours has been scheduled for Sept. 10.

Leftwich said that as Southwire’s market share in the extra-high-voltage and high-voltage cable business expands, they plan to expand production at the facility.

The ABB plant in Commerce Station is only three years old and features state-of-the-art technology for producing underground transmission cables, ranging from 230kV to 400kV. The cables are used to distribute large amounts of electricity and renewable energy, including wind and solar energy.

Southwire, with 80 workers,  is one of two plants operating at the 20-acre industrial complex located east of Highway 115 in Huntersville. The other is Pactiv, a food packaging company with six plant locations throughout North Carolina. They have 320 workers in Huntersville.

Commerce Station generated $1,488,474 in property taxes in 2014.

Southwire comes to the Lake Norman region with a strong reputation for community involvement. For example, their “12 for Life” program, one of several company run education partnerships has been adopted by the State of Georgia and the White House as a model for programs seeking to encourage potential high school dropouts to stay in school and graduate.

“Southwire is a U.S.-based manufacturer expanding on U.S. soil,” said President Stu Thorn. “We look forward to sharing our vision of corporate sustainability with our new neighbors in Huntersville.”