Jefferson County commissioners learned during their committee meeting Tuesday that a new auto supplier is going to the Jefferson Metropolitan industrial park in McCalla, which is called JefMet and owned by the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority.

Development attorney Warren Matthews of Burr Foreman joined representatives of Mobis US Alabama to seek tax abatements from the commission as the firm looks to add more than 120 jobs to JefMet McCalla. Mobis expects to spend nearly $16 million to establish the operation.

“Mercedes is transitioning a lot of their fleet to electric vehicles,” Matthews said. “They are going to be the front and rear axle manufacturers for those vehicles.”

The attorney said Mobis has about 900 employees in Montgomery who support the Hyundai plant there. “They’re dedicated to Hyundai,” he said. “Now they’re branching out to another entity. It’s kind of exciting for Alabama to see that kind of growth.”

Steve Ammons, chairman of the commission’s economic development committee, said Mobis is moving into a JefMet McCalla property that is owned and leased by Graham and Company.

“Mercedes was using that property,” Ammons said. “Mobis is going to move in there and put all their equipment in. They’re going to be spending a lot of money putting their equipment in and getting things going.”

Ammons said he’s happiest about the average wage of $23 an hour that will be paid to workers.

Mobis likely will be on the commission agenda again this month. After considering tax abatements Thursday, jobs incentives likely will be considered at the next meeting.

“For more than 50 jobs that make over $50,000 a year, we provide $2,000 per job,” Ammons said. “They have to prove and certify that over a period of years. They have to have those people in place for a year in that job before we provide the incentive.”