One of the country’s largest direct response advertising companies is expanding into Franklin, investing $8.5 million and creating 160 new jobs in the city over the next five years.

Gov. Mark Warner, in a visit to the city Wednesday, announced that the California-based Money Mailer will open a new printing, packaging and direct mailing operation in an existing shell building in the Pretlow Industrial Park.

The foundation of Money Mailer’s business is an oversized envelope stuffed with coupons representing more than 195 types of local businesses said Beth Swade, a spokeswoman for Money Mailer.

The company also mails more than 120 million envelopes and services to about 30,000 advertisers each year, she said.

The Franklin plant will print, insert and distribute direct mail advertising packages and materials for Money Mailer’s franchises on the East Coast.

The company will make a $2.5 to $3 million investment immediately and begin recruiting its first 30 employees within the next two weeks, Swade said. Production will begin by mid-April.

Warner awarded Franklin a $225,000 grant from the Governors Opportunity Fund to help with the project.