GRAVES COUNTY, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday announced Mayfield Consumer Products (MCP) would invest over $33 million and bring over 500 full-time jobs to Graves County as the company rebuilds following last December's EF-4 tornado.

Leaders at the candle and home fragrance manufacturing company have already made sizeable progress on a 40,000-square-foot expansion, Beshear said during Thursday's Team Kentucky update. An additional 63,000-square-foot expansion will boost MCP's footprint at Hickory Industrial Park to 300,000 square feet.

The project will consolidate Graves County operations after last December's deadly tornado outbreak demolished the Mayfield candle factory. Company leaders expect the expansion to complete by 2023, officials said.

“Following last year’s devastating storm in Western Kentucky, we are glad to see jobs returning to the area,” Gov. Beshear said. “This reinvestment by Mayfield Consumer Products is good news for Graves County and the surrounding region as they work to rebuild and recover from the deadliest tornadoes in our state’s history.”

Founded in Mayfield in 1998, MCP is a family-owned company retained by the Propes family. The company currently employs 160 people in Western Kentucky, making products for many top global brands including Bath & Body Works.

“We dearly love this community and its citizens,” said Mary Propes, founder of MCP. “MCP’s resolve to rebuild here and to play a central role in helping to restore the place we call home has been a top priority since the morning of Dec. 11, 2021."

Mayfield Mayor Kathy O’Nan noted the company’s resilience in rebuilding following last year’s storm.

“The Propes family certainly has the people of Mayfield and Graves County in their hearts, and this expansion is just one of many steps in the process of economic healing as our community moves forward," O'Nan said.

Eight workers who survived the candle factory collapse filed a class action lawsuit in March, alleging false imprisonment and defamation of character. The workers claim they were not allowed to leave work and that they were poorly trained for emergencies.

In a statement, MCP spokesperson Chris Talley said, "MCP intends to defend against the allegations in the complaint, including the allegations made against its supervisors on duty that night, who acted heroically in the face of the challenges presented."