Companies Find Big Success in Small Tenn. Towns
Published Apr 07, 2006
Construction is booming in Portland, where three new industries are opening new major distribution centers.
Location, cooperation and private-sector involvement have helped make Portland one small town that walks tall when it comes to economic development.
The first four months of 2006 brought three major industry announcements to this picturesque town of 10,000 residents, long known for its springtime strawberry festival.
“There’s a whole group of ingredients that go into making the community attractive to companies that are looking to build,” says Johnny Hayes, CEO of the Forward Sumner Economic Council.
“Having schools in place, infrastructure in place and housing at all different price ranges so that workers can live in the county – those are some of the things that are key.”
In January 2006, Federated Department Stores – one of the nation’s largest retailers – announced a 595,000-square-foot distribution center for Portland. Federated operates about 950 department stores and about 720 bridal and formalwear stores in 49 states under such well-known names as Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Marshall Field’s, Hecht’s and Filene’s.
Also in January 2006, Gastite – a division of the Titeflex Corporation – said it would relocate its Massachusetts manufacturing and distribution operation to Portland. Gastite manufactures corrugated stainless-steel piping for natural gas and liquefied propane gas. Plans call for the creation of 150 new jobs initially.
And just three months later, Olhausen Billiards Manufacturing Inc. – manufacturer of one of America’s largest and most popular brands of pool tables – announced plans to relocate its headquarters from San Diego to Portland.
“We have experienced tremendous growth over the past few years and at this point in our business, moving to Tennessee makes a lot of sense for us,” says Olhausen CEO Gregg Hovey. “The Portland/Robertson County area has the right business environment, and the community has been extremely cooperative and welcoming.”
Olhausen’s new 250,000-square-foot facility is expected to create more than 130 new jobs.
Rural Tennessee sites are becoming increasingly attractive to businesses looking to reduce operating expenses and increase quality-of-life factors for workers and company executives.
Location is a major factor in many of these relocation decisions.
“It’s no secret that the logistics of shipping product from New England to states west of the Rocky Mountains is a major challenge,” says Duane Shooltz, Gastite vice president and general manager.
“Relocating to the middle of the country will dramatically improve our logistics, shrink our freight costs and result in more timely deliveries to supply houses and job sites everywhere, especially in the Midwest, the Southwest, the Mountain region and the West Coast.”
Other notable projects announced for rural Tennessee locales in early 2006 included a call center for Sky Angel satellite television near Cleveland, a Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste manufacturing facility in Morristown, and an $11.5 million expansion of VIAM Manufacturing in Manchester.
The fact that adjacent cities and counties are now working cooperatively to showcase their combined assets has also contributed to the notable upswing in rural development.
The municipality of Portland straddles the border between Robertson and Sumner counties. The city extended gas, water and sewer services to the Tennessee/Kentucky Industrial Park, which is in Robertson County and is owned by a private developer. Such a combination of locations and jurisdictions could potentially be fraught with conflict, but that was far from the case this time.
“Cooperation between the state, the city of Portland, and Sumner and Robertson counties has been excellent,” Portland Mayor Ken Wilber says.
“Larry Collins, who developed the site, was willing to put up some buildings on spec. He’s done a good job of making industrial tracts available.”
Other factors in Portland’s favor include its proximity to Interstates 65, 40 and 24.
“In Portland, you are within a day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population,” Wilber adds.
Other businesses in the Tennessee/Kentucky Industrial Park include Logi Industries’ tire warehouse and distribution facility and Petals, a manufacturer of artificial flower arrangements.
Tennessee Stampings, a metal fabrication plant near downtown Portland, is also a success story, with an expansion in the works.
“I guess you could just say Portland is in a really good place for business right now,” Wilber says.
Story by Renee Elder
Photo by Brian McCord
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