Mayor urges Piperton industrial board to expand role in recruiting businesses

Mayor Henry Coats urged the City of Piperton Industrial Development Board on Feb. 24 to take a more active role in recruiting businesses and marketing the city to commercial brokers and prospective employers. He framed the expansion of the board’s duties as a way to capitalize on recent industrial growth and local market demand.

Coats said the board is “not being utilized as effectively as he believes it can,” and proposed a concrete marketing package for brokers and prospects that would include demographic data, potential locations with landowner and city contact information, a current retailers list and outreach to commercial brokers. The mayor tied the proposal to recent local activity: he reported the Pyramex MCR addition is complete at over 1,000,000 square feet and said Tuscan Iron has purchased land in Piperton and plans to move from Collierville.

Why it matters: expanding the Industrial Development Board’s role could change how the city markets available commercial land and targets employers, potentially affecting sales tax revenue and local job growth. Coats singled out the Highway 72 corridor as an immediate opportunity, saying it is “estimated that 7,200 employees work within a couple miles of Piperton on 72” and that there is unmet demand for fast‑food restaurants that could generate significant sales tax receipts.

Board members did not vote on new duties at the meeting; the update was presented as information and a proposed set of objectives for the board to consider. The board tentatively scheduled its next meeting for May 26, 2026.