MSS Steel Tubes USA is set to commission a new Tennessee factory to manufacture low-carbon steel components for Nextracker’s solar tracking systems. The Memphis-based facility will manufacture Nextracker steel torque tubes, creating 129 jobs and generating millions of dollars in local economic investment. 

May 18, 2023

MSS Steel Tubes USA, a joint venture of Metalogalva and Soufer, and Nextracker Incorporated, a global market leader in utility-scale solar trackers, have announced the commissioning of a new Tennessee factory to manufacture low-carbon steel components for Nextracker’s solar tracking systems. The Memphis-based facility will manufacture Nextracker steel torque tubes, creating 129 jobs and generating millions of dollars in local economic investment. “We chose Memphis for our first U.S. plant to support Nextracker’s utility-scale solar demand across the Southeast. Memphis has the transportation, infrastructure, and capable workforce necessary to support a solar manufacturing program like this,” said António Pedro Antunes, CEO of Metalogalva Group.

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Nextracker’s dedicated tube mill will feed projects in Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia. Tennessee-based, Silicon Ranch—which pioneered utility-scale solar in the Southeast—is developing many of those projects, having signed a supply agreement for 1.5 gigawatts with Nextracker last year, and another new 3 gigawatt supply agreement today. Nextracker’s collaboration with MSS Steel Tubes USA underscores the Tennessee Valley’s growth as a regional manufacturing hub for the Southeast. As more companies seek to locate their manufacturing capacity in the U.S., Nextracker has already delivered gigawatts of U.S.-made products to solar developers. Today’s announcement shows that Nextracker stands ready for the next generation of utility-scale projects in the Southeast with products manufactured in the Tennessee Valley.