Business in Tennessee Had Active Year
Published Apr 07, 2001
It was a notable achievement by any standard. In 2000 Tennessee recorded a record $7 billion in private capital investment from new and expanding companies. As a result, more than 34,000 new jobs were created.
But 2000 was just the latest in a series of record years for investment. In 1999 the total was $6 billion, up from $5 billion the year before.
“Our outstanding private investment growth in 2000 is the direct result of a statewide team working hard to earn expansions and new business locations that are providing high-paying, high-quality jobs to Tennesseans,” says Economic and Community Development Commissioner Alex Fischer.
The following is a rundown of some of the major capital investments during the last year that have contributed to yet another period of record growth in Tennessee.
West Tennessee
Memphis
One of the biggest pieces of news to come out of Memphis in 2000 was from International Paper Co. (IP) – the world’s largest paper and forest products company. The company announced plans to spend a total of $66 million to build a third “tower” at International Place on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis and expand into two additional buildings at Willow Lake Business Park. The new facilities will accommodate 950 new employees, which the company plans to add within the next three years. They will join a workforce that already tops 3,000 locally.
The 10-story, 213,000-square-foot Tower III, costing $46 million, is under construction and is expected to be completed by April 2002. IP, which has its operational headquarters in Memphis, already fully occupies a duplicate building at the site and leases 88,000 square feet in another. The company currently has 362,000 square feet at the Willow Lake site. Southwind Information Technology Center serves as a third IP campus in Memphis.
International Paper recently merged with Champion International Corp., and that was cited as a major reason for the expansion. IP started out with one building and 450 employees in Memphis in 1987.
Among relocating companies, Memphis and Shelby County scored with Submitorder.com, adding 971 jobs in its $79.3 million fulfillment center; Saleslink, an e-commerce company that created 353 jobs with its $25 million investment in a 415,000-square-foot facility; Mimeo.com, adding 350 new jobs via a $25 million investment in a printing plant; and Super American Tissue, spending $66 million on a plant that will hire 450.
Other announcements of note in 2000 included expansions by Hewlett-Packard, which is spending $25 million on an 800,000-square-foot distribution center that adds 502 new jobs; United Stationers, putting $26.8 million into a 270-employee distribution center; Medtronic Sofamor Danek, with a $5.4 million investment creating 235 additional distribution jobs; Varsity Spirit, putting about $11 million into a headquarters and distribution complex that together will employ 460; and the $20 million expenditure of W.W. Grainger for a 250,000-square-foot distribution center where 200 more people will work.
The Memphis MSA as a whole added 12,289 new jobs and 14.8 million square feet of space as a result of total investment of about $1.8 billion.
Jackson
In a recent issue of Expansion Management magazine, Jackson was ranked 29th in the nation among the publication’s 50 “Hottest Cities.” The rankings were based on a survey of more than 75 site selection consultants who were asked for their choices of the best cities for expanding or relocating manufacturing companies.
In 2000, the Jackson Sun newspaper created its own headline with its decision to spend $10.8 million on a new 22,000-square-foot building and new presses. Bruce Hardwood Floors also made news, announcing it was expanding operations to include a new finishing line requiring 200 more workers. The expansion adds 45,000 square feet and represents about $10.5 million in new capital investment. In addition, Davidson Titles is expanding into a new 34,000-square-foot headquarters and book distribution facility at a cost of $1.6 million.
Around West Tennessee
ERMCO, a supplier of electrical distribution transformers and components to utilities, is spending $25 million in Dyersburg on a facility that will eventually employ 300.
Elsewhere in the western part of the state, Slimfast Nutritional Products’ expansion in Covington will mean 113 new jobs; Tyson Foods Inc. is creating 500 new jobs at its poultry plant in Union City; and a new office supplies distribution center owned by Swartz Paper will employ 125 in Dresden. In Hardeman County, Alliant Kilgore Flares Co. is expanding in Toone, adding 130 new jobs; auto sealing components maker Manufacturers Industrial Group is creating 300 jobs with its expansion in Lexington; a new plant being built in Camden by Dana Corp. to make silicone sealants for auto engines brings 200 new jobs to that community; a new 300,000-square-foot grocery distribution center will mean 300 new jobs in Brownsville, thanks to Drescher Corp.; and in Ripley, two auto parts companies – SR of Tennessee and Tennessee Electroplating – are adding 100 jobs, each through expansion.
Middle Tennessee
The 10-county greater Nashville area recorded more than $2.3 billion in capital investment in plants and equipment, along with 35,000 new jobs in 2000. The $2.3 billion represents nearly one-third of the $7 billion total investment in the state during 2000.
But elsewhere in Middle Tennessee, local economies were on the move as well, as aggressive efforts by community leaders combined with state resources resulted in the creation of more jobs and a general expansion of the economic base.
Metro Nashville/Davidson County
The site selection industry publication Expansion Management recently ranked Metro Nashville/Davidson County as the sixth best city in the nation for expanding or relocating corporate operations. About 75 site selection consultants were polled and asked to consider factors such as business environment, workforce quality, operating costs, worker training programs and other forms of measurement.
The Nashville area saw major relocations and expansions in a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, corporate headquarters, back-office operations and national distribution centers. Not only has the region become a hot spot for high-tech manufacturing with companies such as Dell, but it is also emerging as a technology center, attracting research and development and programming operations such as the 102,000-square-foot Sprint PCS Application Development Solutions Center, which will employ 400 computer programmers by late 2002. Deloitte & Touche and Caterpillar Financial are other examples of the trend.
In 2000 Nashville also saw a number of other relocations and expansions. Notable among the new companies was IBP Inc., which is investing $60 million in a 365,000-square-foot meat-processing plant in Goodlettsville that will have 1,400 employees.
Among the other companies relocating to Nashville were Auction Broadcasting Co., taking an 80-acre Davidson County site and creating 200 new jobs in the auto-auction business; plumbing supplier Barnett Inc., hiring 80 people for a 200,000-square-foot distribution center; Visual Bible Inc., relocating its headquarters to Nashville and employing 105; Engine Controls Distribution, a manufacturer that will employ 350 workers; Universal Care, which will have a workforce of 150; and retail consultant Vention Inc., with 100 workers.
Expansions included the $2 million enlargement of Solutech Inc.’s network operations center; the $1 million, 32,000-square-foot addition to Bridgestone/Firestone’s offices and distribution center; an 80,000-square-foot increase in Communications Test Design Inc., resulting in 40 new jobs; a $4 million, 20,000-square-foot expansion of the O’Charley’s restaurant commissary operation; Ryder Integrated Logistics’ addition of 263,000 square feet of distribution space; and the 24,000-square-foot expansion of the XO Communications office.
Rutherford County
The second fastest-growing county in the state over the past 10 years, Rutherford saw its population jump from 118,570 in 1990 to 182,023 in 2000, an increase of 53 percent. There was big growth in each of its municipalities, including Smyrna, home to the 5.2 million-square-foot Nissan North America Inc. plant, which continues to receive plaudits for being the most productive car and truck plant in North America. Located on a 778-acre site, the plant builds the Nissan Altima midsize sedan, the Xterra SUV and the Frontier pickup.
Now Nissan is upgrading the Smyrna facility to expand production capacity to 500,000 units per year by 2004, up from the current 450,000. A total new investment of $1 billion will be split between the Smyrna operation and Nissan’s engine/transaxle factory in Decherd (see “Around the Midstate”), with a total of 2,000 new jobs resulting. Also in Smyrna, LOGISCO Inc. moved into a 500,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center that employs 200.
The Hollywood Video chain established a 100,000-square-foot, 90-employee distribution center in La Vergne, which also saw Store Opening Solution, a company that makes kits that provide everything a retail store needs to set up shop, lease an additional 290,000 square feet, while toys and games retailer Noodle Kidoodle moved into 250,000 square feet of distribution space.
Williamson County
The results from the 2000 census show that Williamson County, the state’s wealthiest county, is also its fastest-growing county, posting a 56 percent population gain during the final decade of the 20th century. From 81,000 residents, it grew to 127,000. Its historic and charming “small town” of Franklin now has a population of more than 41,000, having grown an astounding 108 percent in the ’90s. It’s now the 10th-largest city in the state. The county’s other major city, Brentwood, grew to 23,345 residents.
Rich in headquarters and other white-collar office operations, Williamson saw new investment of $9.1 million in 2000 through expansions by companies such as Gambro Healthcare as well as the relocation of Benefit Consultants Inc.’s corporate headquarters from California, with 300 people being hired to staff it.
Around the Midstate
Saturn Corp. continued to make news in 2000 with its announcement that it would build a new $500 million engine factory at its Spring Hill plant to build General Motors’ “global” four-cylinder engine, with the first units to be produced in 2003. It will be accomplished through a 450,000-square-foot expansion of the existing powertrain portion of the plant, which will comprise 4.8 million square feet following the addition.
Combined with Saturn’s recent decision to spend $1 billion at Spring Hill to prepare for building SUVs and possibly other vehicles in the future, the engine plant expenditure brings Saturn’s total investment to $6.5 billion since the company first came to the Midstate in 1985.
The Nissan engine and transaxle plant in Decherd will triple in size and add about 1,000 jobs to the current 300 when a 500,000-square-foot expansion is completed in June 2002. It’s part of the $1 billion Nissan North America Inc. is spending at its two Middle Tennessee plants (see Rutherford County section). The Decherd facility will start building six- and eight-cylinder engines the company does not build currently in North America.
Dunlap is the site chosen for a 170,000-square-foot plant to produce steel tubing components for the auto industry. Built for Seymour Tubing Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Pipe of Japan, it will cost $25 million and will create 140 jobs initially, then perhaps 400 in the long run.
In Shelbyville, Calsonic North America Inc. is expanding its exhaust systems plant, creating 600 new jobs. Commercial printer R.R. Donnelley said it would expand in Gallatin, meaning 175 additional jobs. In Portland, National Catalog Corp. and Imperial Fabricating are growing, adding 475 jobs between them.
In Crossville, a company that makes porcelain stone flooring is adding a second plant. Crossville Ceramics has had a plant there since 1986 and has about 430 employees.
In Clarksville, SPX Contech/Metal Forge launched a $17 million expansion, and ceramic tilemaker Florim USA started an expansion costing $13.5 million. In Columbia, Mackie Automotive Systems spent $5 million to expand and add 210 jobs. TKA Plastics Inc. announced that it would build an auto parts plant in Fayetteville costing $12 million and hiring 200. Electrolux Home Products North and CEI Co. Ltd. are expanding in Springfield, the former adding 400 new jobs and the latter 150. Stardust Cruisers Inc. is building a new plant employing 240 in Celina. Carthage is getting 150 additional jobs as a result of Overstreet-Hughes’ expansion, and Tri-State Distribution is adding 100 jobs via a $2.85 million expansion in Sparta.
East Tennessee
Chattanooga
The renaissance continues in this southeastern Tennessee city of 150,000 (450,000 in the MSA), and the national media are paying close attention. Numerous articles and broadcasts have recently been devoted to downtown Chattanooga’s virtual rebirth, a demonstration of what can be accomplished when local investment, leadership, vision and broad community consensus come together to make things happen.
Chattanooga and Hamilton County are seeing a surge in commercial development, as well as in tourism. In 2000, about $201.7 million was invested in relocations and expansions that created 1,861 new jobs.
Notable among the companies putting their dollars into Hamilton County was Atlanta-based Nordic Refrigerated Services, which announced that it would invest $12.5 million in a new frozen food and distribution facility, creating 90 new jobs. Two major insurance companies announced expansions: Unum Provident added 300 news jobs with its $600,000 expenditure, while CIGNA’s expansion, costing $4 million, adds 175 jobs. Also expanding, at a cost of $10 million, was trucking company Covenant Transport, creating 600 new jobs.
Knoxville
The business community in Knoxville has been taking on more and more of a high-tech persona in recent years, and the announcement by KNOLOGY Inc. in January 2000 that it was investing $75 million to construct a broadband network in Knoxville helped perpetuate that trend. KNOLOGY – which provides telephone, cable TV and Internet access service – plans to hire at least 100 people for the new operation.
Cell phone companies U.S. Cellular Corp. (500 new jobs) and Cricket Communications expanded their operations, as did Matsushita Electronic Components, cable TV provider Comcast Communications, nuclear-medicine scanner maker CTI and information retrieval specialist Nova Information Systems.
“Old economy” industries also made news, as auto parts distributor Eagle Automotive Inc. announced that it would move its corporate headquarters from Denver to Knoxville, adding about 35 new jobs. Atlantic Research Corp., also in the auto parts business, is expanding and adding 230 new jobs. Consolidating accounting operations and creating 50 new jobs locally is Kimberly-Clark. Meanwhile, the Knoxville News-Sentinel made its own news, announcing that it would spend $45 million to build a new office/production facility.
Knox County saw total capital investment of $318.5 million in 2000, up from $205.6 million in 1999.
Around East Tennessee
A paper-machine building that will be as long as three football fields is one of the highlights of the $475 million modernization announced by Williamette Industries that will basically rebuild its paper mill in Kingsport. The project will take at least three years to complete. The city is also the site of a new $2.5 million communications equipment plant being built by Intellithought Inc. that will employ 120 and Royal Ordnance North America’s new 180-employee plant.
Elsewhere in the Tri-Cities, Marley Mouldings announced a new plant in Bristol that will have 400 workers. Meanwhile, Fairfield Marketing and Exide Corp. are expanding there. In Johnson City, the new Alliance Data Systems plant will employ 120, while Siemens adds 240 jobs through expansion.
Groundbreaking was held last December for phase one of DTR Tennessee Inc.’s $10 million plant in Tazewell, which will make rubber products for the automotive industry. Within five years, 500 people will be employed in the 300,000-square-foot facility.
Johns Manville invested $48 million in equipment at its fiberglass-roofing plant in Etowah, which is also where Consolidated/Metro announced a new metals machining plant costing $10 million. In Greene County, a new 300,000-square-foot plant operated by Vistawall added 400 jobs, while the Wal-Mart distribution center added 320 through expansion.
Marriott International chose an Alcoa address for its new $5 million business services division headquarters, which by the end of 2001 will have 250 workers. In Oak Ridge, Tennessee Tape & Label is building a new plant where 135 will be employed, and Internet Pictures Corp. is adding 100 new jobs.
Maryville got the news that Denso Manufacturing is spending $155 million and adding 400 jobs, while Standard Aero Alliance Inc. is putting $16.2 million into an expansion, creating 300 jobs. In Clinton, Eagle Bend Manufacturing is growing, adding 150 workers, and 90 new workers will build truck bed liners for Bodyguard Inc., expanding to the tune of $6.5 million. Hartco Flooring is growing in Oneida, adding 160 jobs; LaFollette gets 365 new jobs as Thermador adds to its plant; and Maxum Marine in Dandridge is adding 125 more jobs.
Duracell and Cormetech are expanding in Cleveland for a total of 300 new jobs, while Derby Industries is building a new plant there and hiring 125. Precipitator Services Group in Elizabethton is expanding, adding 200 jobs; frozen baked goods producer J.W. Allen & Co. is adding 125 jobs by expanding in Morristown; Cooper Standard Automotive will hire 150 more workers in Surgoinsville; Valmont Poles is hiring 150 for a new aluminum utility pole plant in Jasper; and Dayton gets 250 new jobs due to La-Z-Boy’s expansion.
Story by Jim Sparks
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