Tennessee on Fast Track for Attracting Investment
Published Aug 26, 2008
Novita Technologies in Hendersonville produces parts for the automotive electronics industry.
Some point to the location, others to incentives, still others to a skilled workforce. But whatever the reasons, more companies are finding Tennessee a good place to move their business and an even better place to expand.
Among the most recent expansion successes:
• Telecom giant Verizon Wireless is building a $54 million regional headquarters in Franklin and adding 600 to 700 new employees.
• American Medical Depot is locating its $12.5 million regional headquarters in Millington.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. has opened a $50 million manufacturing plant in Morristown in West Tennessee.
• Eastman Chemical Co. will invest $1.3 billion over the next five years at its Kingsport complex in Northeast Tennessee.
“We’re making it easy for companies to come in, invest, see that the state and local communities support them, and that we have the infrastructure and workforce they need to be competitive,” says Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development.
Mike Incorvaia is president of Novita Technologies, a maker of lighting and sensing technology used in the auto industry, including its patented SideEyes® Object Detection technology.
The company had been based in Springfield, but Incorvaia wanted to relocate when he and other managers bought out previous ownership.
“There’s also a lot of talent in this area, so we assumed we’d have a lot of interest in us,” he says. “The workforce here has been very good to us so far.”
Verizon Wireless’ 180,000-square-foot regional headquarters will open in fall 2008. The company already has a significant presence in Middle Tennessee, operating customer service centers in Nashville and Murfreesboro. Strong efforts by local and state officials, including the governor, sealed the deal, says Alan Willett, director of customer financial services.
“We weren’t approaching our decision from the perspective of who was giving us the most attractive incentives package, but what they did made us feel even better about our decision,” he says.
These successes and the diversity of companies bode well for Tennessee over the long term, notes Kisber.
“The combination of new companies and expansions by existing industries led to record capital investment and job creation [in 2007],” he says.
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Todd Bennett
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