Prysmian plans 136 new Lexington jobs

Wire and cable manufacturer Prysmian will invest $80 million in its Lexington plant and create more than 130 jobs, the Kentucky-based company said Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Prysmian North America announced the expansion a day after the Lexington County Council unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance extending tax incentives to the company in an economic development initiative codenamed Project Ribbon.

“Prysmian has been a valued part of South Carolina’s manufacturing industry, and we are pleased to see the company continue to invest in our state,” Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement. “This expansion will bring approximately 135 new jobs to Lexington County and create new opportunities for South Carolinians.”

Ordinance 26-09, which requires a third and final reading before it takes effect, states that Prysmian’s expansion will add 136 full-time jobs in Lexington County.

The company announced a total investment of more than $1 billion in three U.S. sites that’s expected to create a combined total of 600 manufacturing jobs.

Prysmian also pledged $1.02 billion to double the size of its fiber manufacturing facility in Claremont, North Carolina, adding 300 jobs there; $48 million to create 85 jobs at its cable operations plant in Claremont; and $100 million to double the footprint of its plant in Jackson, Tennessee, adding 100 jobs.

"This investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting the growth of the U.S. demand for advanced digital solutions,” Prysmian North America CEO Andrea Pirondini said in a news release. “We are one of just three U.S. manufacturers of fiber and optical cables, and now we are committing more than a billion dollars to new innovative solutions and transformational capacity growth.”

In July, Prysmian signed a $6.29-billion agreement with Molex, a Koch Inc. company, to supply optical cables for data centers. The company said its investments in South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee are “part of Prysmian’s global commitment to more than double domestic optical cable and fiber capacity – including the glass preforming stage.”

Prysmian’s $80 million addition to its plant at 700 Industrial Drive in Lexington will expand its capacity to manufacture FlexRibbon fiber-optic cable, the company said.

Citing “significant economic benefits to the county and surrounding areas,” Lexington County’s ordinance provides a negotiated fee in lieu of taxes and a special-source revenue credits arrangement to induce Prysmian to expand in Lexington.

“The capacity expansion and related agreements build on Prysmian’s strong position in the data center construction market, where the company already supports both digital and energy connections,” the company said in its release. “They also mark an important step into the ‘inside’ data center space, bringing Prysmian’s premium fiber and cable solutions closer to where data is processed and delivered.”

Prysmian said it hopes to position itself for growth “as companies modernize infrastructure to improve data performance and energy efficiency, adapt to AI-driven changes in data center design and increase fiber density.”

Prysmian North America operates more than 50 locations and has 9,000 employees with roughly $9 billion in annual sales.

The company bills itself as “a benchmark player creating solutions for energy and digital connections, delivering major electrical transmission projects, modernizing power grids and unlocking renewable energy, electrification and digital connectivity worldwide.”

Parent company Prysmian employs 34,000 people worldwide with 109 production facilities and 30 research and development centers in more than 50 countries. Listed on the Italian stock exchange, Prysmian reported about 20 billion euros ­— or roughly $23.056 billion ­— in 2025 revenue.