Why Relocate to Maury County? Ask This Successful Company
Why should your company relocate to Maury County? Learn from a company who recently moved to this thriving community in Middle Tennessee and has enjoyed considerable success.
JC Ford Company is a manufacturer founded in California in 1945. The company manufactures large machinery used by food companies such as Frito-Lay, Grupo Bimbo, Snyder’s, Utz Brands and others to produce corn tortillas, flour tortillas, tortilla chips, taco shells and tostadas sold under various brand names in grocery stores and restaurant chains throughout the U.S. and several other countries.
The company relocated to Columbia in Maury County in 2020, where it undertook a $30 million renovation to two existing facilities and created 230 jobs. Scott Ruhe is president and CEO of the family-owned JC Ford, and here, he shares more about the move.
Scott Ruhe
Why did JC Ford relocate from California to Maury County?
A key reason is our employees. California is an expensive state with high taxes, litigation issues and high costs, and we wanted our employees to prosper where they can earn a good salary and live where the cost of living is affordable. We chose Maury County, and our 230 employees are happy here.
What other factors swayed the decision to relocate to Maury County?
Vicinity. Our main markets for customers are Texas followed by Chicago and then the Southeast and Northeast, and California isn’t anywhere near our biggest customers. Maury County puts us right in the center of where we want to be.
How are things going so far in Maury County?
Very well. When we left California, we were generating about $42 million annually in revenue, and we reached $72 million in Maury County in 2023. We expect to reach $80 million in 2025, and our manufacturing plant is booked up through mid-2025 with backlog orders.
How are you achieving success in Maury County?
Our equipment sells for prices ranging from $1 million to $8 million for a single tortilla-making system, and more than 55% of our equipment is sold to customers outside the U.S. – to Europe, Mexico, Central America and the Asian countries. As a result, we are now shipping our products all over the world from Columbia, and JC Ford is already planning to expand our Maury County operation within the next three to five years.
What do you enjoy about working and living in Maury County?
The outdoors are beautiful here, with parks and walking trails and open spaces, and the community appreciates history and a good quality of life. Plus, the excitement of big-city attractions in Nashville is only an hour away, and Nashville International Airport is also only an hour away.
What makes Maury County attractive to other companies thinking of locating here?
The local city and county leaders are very pro-business, the location is great, and the community has welcomed us. Plus, Columbia State Community College is only a few blocks from our manufacturing facility, and the college has plans to add a new technology center that will include manufacturing training. It will be a great asset for Maury County companies, and we look forward to working with Columbia State when it happens.
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