Helix Electric Advanced Fabrication Campus, Hollywood, Alabama

Helix Electric is building its own factory. The California-based electrical contractor broke ground Oct. 27, 2026, on a $45.3 million advanced fabrication campus in Hollywood, Ala., the first phase of a site the company says will reach about 1.2 million square feet across three phases.

That’s an unusual move for a trade contractor, and it says a lot about where electrical work is heading. Helix, which reports more than 3,500 employees and over $1 billion in annual revenue, wants to build more of its scope in a shop and less of it in the field.

Project Scope

Phase one covers more than 300,000 square feet focused on modular builds, with completion targeted for early 2028. The company expects to employ more than 150 people in that first phase, and the Alabama Department of Commerce puts the job count at 160.

The plant will turn out prefabricated electrical components and large modular assemblies. Commerce lists underground duct banks, duct bank risers, hangers, electrical devices and modular electrical skids. Those are the parts that eat up field labor on a data center or a manufacturing job, where crews can spend weeks on duct bank and rack work before a single feeder gets pulled.

The site sits at 29727 U.S. Highway 72 in Jackson County, next to the Kevin Dukes Career and Innovation Academy, a county career and technical school. Helix has pointed to the academy’s training programs as one reason it picked Hollywood. The Tennessee Valley Authority, North Alabama Electric Cooperative and the Jackson County Economic Development Authority worked the recruitment with the state. Jackson County is one of Alabama’s designated Target Counties for rural investment.

Helix hasn’t publicly named a general contractor or architect for the campus.

Why It Matters

Location is the story. Helix built its business in the West, and its operations now run from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. A plant in northeast Alabama puts its fabrication within a day’s truck run of the Southeast’s data center and manufacturing corridors, and close to its East Coast customers.

It also reflects a labor bet. Electricians are the trade data center owners can’t hire fast enough, and prefabrication is the cleanest way to stretch a limited field crew. If Helix can ship skids and duct bank assemblies ready to set, its jobsite headcount drops and its schedule gets more predictable. Competing electrical contractors are watching. A 1.2-million-square-foot buildout doesn’t happen unless the backlog supports it, and Helix isn’t waiting to find out.

Project Team & Details