Ashley Furniture Industries will hire 60 people at a new plant in Verona.

Gov. Phil Bryant made the announcement Tuesday during his State of the State speech, with Ashley CEO Todd Wanek attending.

Based in Arcadia, Wis., Ashley employs more than 3,000 people in the northeast Mississippi towns of Ecru and Ripley.

The Mississippi Development Authority will provide $165,673 in federal community development funds to improve roads for Ashley.

MORE: Ashley Furniture Careers

Ashley will use a 275,000 square-foot building formerly occupied by Morgan Fabrics. The company plans to make sleepers and mattresses there, as well as distribute replacement parts and support customers.

Wanek said in a statement that Ashley chose the site because it's close to other Mississippi operations, is connected to a railroad and is located in a foreign trade zone.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.