tennessee economic development 2014
DESCRIPTION
Tennessee offers a wide array of advantages to businesses considering a startup or relocation within its borders. The following section offers a brief statistical look at the state, from transportation resources to job training opportunitiesTRANSCRIPT
Advanced manufacturing gains new traction in Tennessee
Tennessee’s musical legacy strikes a chord around the world
Sights Set On Business
Coordinated effort brings jobs, investment to Tennessee
Economic dEvElopmEnt
businessclimate.com/tennessee
TENNESSEE
Tennesse�A GIGABIT Community
MORRISTOWN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE• More than 1,000 acres of developable property available with exceptional utility service
• Logistical advantage with access to I-40, I-81, I-75, I-26, and US 25E
• Home to 12 Fortune 500 companies
• Home to Tennessee Technology Center, one of the largest of 27 technology centers in the State of Tennessee. Programs include: Aviation, Machining, Welding, Industrial Maintenance, Business, Nursing and Industrial Electricity.
• Home to Walters State Community College, serving a 10-county area including 350,000 people, and the college is ranked as a top community college in the State of Tennessee
• No state income tax on wages and salaries
• Regional labor shed of more than 250,000 workers
(423) 586-6382 • www.morristownchamber.com
MORRISTOWN UTILITY SYSTEMSPOWER
• Low cost, high reliability, Smart Grid enabled
• RP3 (Reliable Public Power Provider) Certified
• Experienced commercial/industrial supplier
WATER
• Low cost, abundant supply with Class 3 ISO rating
• Advanced Secondary Carbon Filtration System
• TDEC “Approved” regional water supplier
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• High-speed, low-cost Internet, voice and video
• 100% FTTH fiber-optic infrastructure
• Full array of business solutions
(423) 586-4121 • www.morristownutilities.org
TENNESSEEeconomic developmenT 2014 Edition | VolumE 22
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4256
LivabiLiTy
Heritage in HarmonyTennessee’s rich and varied musical legacy that includes honky-tonk tunes, the blues, rock and roll, and traditional mountain music keeps catching ears and turning heads across the state
auTomoTive indusTry
in tHe Driver’s seatLower costs and ready labor put Tennessee’s automotive sector on a fast track to success
eduCaTion
value aDDeDTennessee Colleges of Applied Technology’s 27 locations serve more than 30,000 students annually and ensure the state’s businesses and industries have a ready supply of skilled workers
Life sCienCes
CliniCal PreCisionFrom research to development to the marketplace, Tennessee is a life sciences innovator
Contents
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 3
direcTor of conTenT | BiLL McMeekin
economic developmenT projecT mAnAger | eMiLy McMACkin
conTribuTing wriTers | John FuLLer, John McBryde,
FrAnCes PuTMAn, GAry WoLLenhAuPT, nAn BAuroTh,
keLLy kAGAMAs ToMkies, PAMeLA CoyLe
conTenT coordinATor | JessiCA WALker BoehM
sTAff wriTer | kevin LiTWin
proofreAding mAnAger | rAven PeTTy
leAd designer | JAke shores
senior grAphic designers | sTACey ALLis,
LAurA GALLAGher, kris sexTon, vikki WiLLiAMs
grAphic designers | JACkie CiuLLA, kACey PAssMore,
MATT WesT
creATive Technology AnAlysT | BeCCA Ary
leAd phoTogrApher | MiChAeL ConTi
senior phoTogrAphers | JeFF Adkins, BriAn McCord
sTAff phoTogrAphers | Wendy Jo o’BArr,
FrAnk ordonez, MiChAeL TedesCo
color imAging TechniciAn | ALison hunTer
inTegrATed mediA mAnAger | JAred LAne
sAles supporT projecT mAnAger | sArA QuinT
sAles supporT coordinATor | ChrisTinA MorGAn
sAles grAphic designer | rACheL LorAnCe
Ad producTion mAnAger | kATie MiddendorF
Ad TrAffic AssisTAnTs | krysTin LeMMon,
PATriCiA MoisAn
web projecT mAnAger | dAvid dAy
web developer i | neLs noseWorThy
web designer ii | riChArd sTevens
web producT mAnAger | John hood
digiTAl projecT mAnAger | JiLL ridenour
digiTAl producTs designer | eriCA LAMPLey
chAirmAn | GreG ThurMAn
presidenT/publisher | BoB sChWArTzMAn
execuTive vice presidenT | rAy LAnGen
senior v.p./sAles | Todd PoTTer
senior v.p./clienT developmenT | JeFF heeFner
senior v.p./operATions | CAsey hesTer
v.p./sAles | JArek sWekosky
v.p./conTenT operATions | nATAshA Lorens
Audience developmenT direcTor | deAnnA neLson
mediA Technology direcTor | ChrisTinA CArden
disTribuTion direcTor | GAry sMiTh
phoTogrAphy direcTor | JeFFrey s. oTTo
web services direcTor | ALLison dAvis
conTroller | Chris dudLey
senior AccounTAnT | LisA oWens
AccounTs pAyAble coordinATor | MAriA McFArLAnd
AccounTs receivAble coordinATor | diAnA iAFrATe
iT direcTor | dAnieL CAnTreLL
execuTive secreTAry | krisTy GiLes
humAn resources mAnAger | PeGGy BLAke
Tennessee Economic Development Guide is published annually by Journal Communications inc. For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by email at [email protected] more informATion on economic developmenT in Tennessee, conTAcT:Tennessee economic and Community development312 rosa L Parks Ave., 11th Floor, nashville, Tn 37243Phone: (615) 741-1888www.tennessee.gov/ecd
visiT Tennessee economic DevelopmenT GuiDe online AT businessclimATe.com/Tennessee
©Copyright 2013 Journal Communications inc., 725 Cool springs Blvd., suite 400, Franklin, Tn 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved. no portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.
Member The Association of Magazine Media
Member Custom Content Council
2014 ediTion volume 22
ExportsLearn how the volunteer state helps companies crack international markets
Advanced Manufacturingdiscover how Tennessee applies skills and technology to develop innovative production processes and advanced materials
Business ClimateFind out why Tennessee is a destination of choice for corporate investment and relocation
OnlineWhat’s on businessclimate.com/tennessee
TabletTake Tennessee with you with a digital edition optimized for tablet viewing.
keep updated and informed on the latest real-time news, developments and information.
Demographics
drill down on the numbers behind the state’s powerhouse economy with a full set of statistics and data.
Top Industries
Learn more about the key industry sectors and top companies that make Tennessee work.
Photo Gallery & Videos
see unique faces, spaces and places presented in a whole new way courtesy of our team of award-winning photographers.
Economic dEvElopmEntTENNESSEE
4 || tennessee
12business CLimaTe
sigHts set on BusinessCoordinated effort brings jobs, investment to Tennessee
16exporTs
outWarD BounDTennessee helps companies crack export markets
All or part of this magazine is printed with soy ink on recycled paper containing 10% post-consumer waste. pleAse recycle This mAgAzine
on The coverThe Hernando de Soto Bridge stretches across the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tenn. Photo by Michael Conti
Contents
7 overvieW
8 DisCover
55 eConomiC Profile
64 gallery
60
50
34
20enTrepreneurs & sTarTups
launCH PaDTennessee programs promote entrepreneurial ambitions
28advanCed manufaCTuring
PreCision inDustryAdvanced manufacturing gears up for growth in Tennessee
38agriCuLTure
aPPetite for exPansionTennessee food production benefits from agricultural heritage
46TeChnoLogy
tennessee on Calldata and customer service operations find ideal conditions in volunteer state
50TransporTaTion
very movingstate offers strong integrated transportation network
60heaLTh Care
small Patients, Big CareTennessee children’s hospitals are renowned for pediatric medicine
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 5 4 || tennessee
A CITY AS UNIQUE AS ITS NAME …
CITY of HoHENwAld ECoNoMIC dEvElopMENT CoordINATor Shelia Carroll | [email protected]
CITY of HoHENwAld MAYor Johnny Clayton | [email protected]
106 N. Court St. | Hohenwald, TN 38462 931-796-6012 T | 931-796-6020 f | www.hohenwald.com
CENTrAllY loCATEd Hohenwald is located within a day’s drive of more than 30 percent of the nation’s population.
Low Taxes | RaiL Line | aiRpoRT seasonaL CLimaTe | Low LaboR CosT
a CommuniTy wiTh DiveRse inDusTRies The perfect place for your business to fit in!
CErTIfIEd dEAl-rEAdY INdUSTrIAl SITES
THrEE-STAr CoMMUNITY
228 Industrial Ave. HoHenwAld
(931) 796-7783 • [email protected] www.hwfab.com
220 Industrial Ave. HoHenwAld (931) 796-4999
www.wedlakeindustries.com
467 Swan Ave. HoHenwAld (800) 284-7437
www.olivertechnologies.com
436 Farm Rd. SummeRTown (931) 964-3561 www.seintl.com
245 Forrest Ave. HoHenwAld (931) 796-3050
www.issc-kanson.com
228 Industrial Ave. HoHenwAld (931) 796-7783
www.bbracecars.com
oliver Fiberglass Products 609 Swan Ave. HoHenwAld (877) 631-1610
www.safesteptub.com/ locations/hohenwald
813 w. main St. HoHenwAld (931) 796-5351
www.ttchohenwald.edu
EnjoyRead the digital edition on your tablet and phone. Click on links within articles for even more information.
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BuSInESSCLIMATE.CoM/TEnnESSEE
you CAn TAkE IT wITh you
1. The right place to grow. The state’s $226.5 billion economy includes major industry clusters in automotive manufacturing, chemical production, biotechnology and health care, logistics, and energy technology.
2. Global positioning. Tennessee is home to 834 foreign-owned companies that have invested more than $24 billion and employ almost 110,000 Tennesseans. The state is also an export leader, sending more than $31 billion worth of Tennessee products around the world in 2012.
3. Innovation destination. Tennessee encourages entrepreneurial companies. Its Launch TN program, a public-private partnership, supports the development of high-growth companies.
4. Revved up on autos. Tennessee was named the top state for Automotive Manufacturing Strength in Business Facilities’ 2013 rankings, the fourth straight year for the recognition.
5. Making things. The state leverages its location advantages, low business costs and workforce development programs to create the right environment for advanced manufacturing and energy technology companies. More than 316,000 workers were employed in the state’s manufacturing sector at the end of 2012, including 196,000 in durable goods.
6. Skills builders. The state’s pool of highly trained workers stays stocked in part through the work of 27 Technology Development Centers. Located around the state, the TTCs offer certificate and diploma programs in more than 50 occupational fields as well as training for business and industry.
7. Appetite for expansion. Tennessee’s agriculture sector generates more than $3.5 billion in receipts each year. The state has more than 14 million acres of farmland and 77,300 farms.
8. Well connected. The state’s transportation network includes access to eight interstates, major river ports, international and regional airports, and rail service that allows for quick shipping to anywhere in the world. Anchored by the FedEx World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee has 16,000 distribution-related businesses that employ more than 244,000 workers.
9. To your health. Home to renowned centers of health including St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee is a leader in the care and treatment of children and adults.
10. The good life. Tennessee offers natural attractions, state parks and cultural offerings including a musical heritage that stretches from Beale Street in Memphis to Music Row in Nashville.
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M U R F R E E S B O R O
C L A R K S V I L L E
T R I - C I T I E S
C H AT TA N O O G A
K N OX V I L L E
M E M P H I S
Nashville
ten good reasons to live and Work in tennesseeThe voLunTeer sTATe is riCh in TrAdiTion And innovATion
overview
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 7
Discover Tennesseeforeign AccenTsTennessee is a destination of choice for foreign companies investing in U.S. operations. The state is home to 834 foreign-owned companies, including some of the world’s best-known companies that, together, have invested $24 billion and currently employ almost 110,000 Tennesseans.
Japan-based companies have 179 operations in Tennessee, the most of any single nation. Among the major Japan-based employers in the state is tire maker Bridgestone, whose North American operations are based in Nashville.
Automaker nissan has its North American headquarters in Williamson County, a major assembly operation in Rutherford County and a power train operation in Franklin County. Together, the three facilities employ some 6,800 workers.
German-owned companies have a significant presence in the Volunteer State as well. volkswagen, which employs 2,500 workers at its lone North American assembly plant that opened in Chattanooga in 2011, is one of more than 100 German-owned companies in the state. Another is Cosmolab, a manufacturer of cosmetics, including liquid eyeliner, mascara, eyebrow pencils, concealer and lip gloss. The company employs more than 350 people in Lewisburg in Marshall County.
signaTure businesses
8 || tennessee
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 9 8 || tennessee
Gallatin Gets It!
North American HeadquartersCorporate OfficesLargest Gap Inc. Distribution Center in North America
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:James Fenton at Gallatin Economic Development Agency
[email protected] • @jwfent • (615) 428-8179 • www.gallatingetsit.com
Join corporate and North American headquarters, distribution and Tier 1 Automotive suppliers in the most business-friendly location in Middle Tennessee.
Minutes from Nashville and the Nashville International Airport, Gallatin has the location you want and the workforce you need. With Volunteer State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology right here to train your workforce and make sure they stay on top of their game, Gallatin has what you need to be successful.
Gallatin Industrial Center offers green space: • Publicly owned • Zoned industrial • Municipally owned utilities in place • Foreign Trade Zone designation • A city that wants you here
reAdy for iTs close-upIt’s a state of deep musical roots, from Beale Street blues in Memphis to Music Row in Nashville to the roots and Americana heritage of East Tennessee. But the state has a starring role beyond music.
Tennessee is a growing center of film and television production, providing locations for such recent works as the movies Water for Elephants and Deadline. While Tennessee has been home base for numerous television productions over the years, it hit prime time in 2012 with the debut of the ABC series Nashville that features superstars such as Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere and Eric Close.
In 2012, the state revised its incentive program, administered by the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. Under the new program, projects with budgets of more than $200,000 will be eligible to receive grants equal to 25 percent of their qualified Tennessee expenditures. Previously, the combined grant and tax credit system awarded a 17 percent grant and 15 percent refundable tax credit only to productions with budgets over $1 million.
in The spiriT of ThingsTennessee knows a thing or two about distilling whiskey. It is, after all, where the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg makes its family of famous Tennessee whiskeys – with cave spring water flowing at 800 gallons per minute at a constant 56 degrees – at the oldest registered distillery in the United States.
And in Cascade Hollow in Bedford County, george Dickel tennessee Whisky traces its roots to the Nashville merchant who founded the distillery in 1870 after a visit to the area. Though the distillery shut down in the wake of Prohibition, it was rebuilt in 1958 by master distiller Ralph Dupps, who obtained George Dickel’s original manuscripts detailing the recipe and process for making George Dickel Tennessee Whisky.
Tennessee also knows its way around a grape; the state is home to nearly 50 wineries. In 2011, more than 1.25 million pounds of Tennessee-grown grapes of 30 different varieties were purchased by Tennessee wineries to be used in the production of wine.
educATion meeTs enTerTAinmenTThe fire museum of memphis is in the former Fire Engine House No. 1, built circa 1910. This museum’s focus is on fire safety and prevention, with elements that let visitors fight the flames of a burning skyscraper from a snorkel basket, explore the horse-drawn era of firefighting from the horse’s perspective and find escape routes.
The Hands-on science Center in Tullahoma invites kids into an indoor laboratory, where more than 80 exhibits blend science with entertainment. Located in East Tennessee at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the american museum of science and energy is dedicated to exploration through demonstrations and interactive displays.
In Chattanooga, more than 260,000 people visit the Creative Discovery museum each year, designed for children 12 and under to engage in hands-on learning. Interactive exhibits give visitors experiences of everything from sailboats to locks and dams, dinosaur digs, an inventor’s clubhouse, sculpture-making and a performing arts gallery.
71Canadian-owned
businesses operating in Tennessee employing
almost 11,000 people
made hereby The numbers
indusTry
Things To do
210 number of buildings
on the 4,470-acre oak ridge national Laboratory campus
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 11
Sights Set on
Business
business CLimaTe
CoordinATed eFForT BrinGs JoBs, invesTMenT
To Tennessee And keePs The sTATe’s eConoMy sTronG
PronovA soLuTions And GLoBAL Green LiGhTinG Are esTABLishinG neW
FACiLiTies And CreATinG JoBs in Tennessee
Tennessee hAs A $266.5 BiLLion eConoMy ThAT inCLudes nine ForTune
500 CoMPAnies And ConTinues To GroW
Business FACiLiTies nAMed Tennessee ToPs For AuTo MAnuFACTurinG sTrenGTh For The FourTh sTrAiGhT
yeAr in 2013
12 || tennessee
W ith its low business costs, prime location, superior transportation infrastructure and high-quality workforce, Tennessee has created
ideal conditions for business growth, expansion and investment.
Tennessee’s $266.5 billion economy includes major industry clusters in automotive manufacturing, chemical production, biotechnology and health care, logistics, and energy technology. The state is a magnet for investment from international companies.
Among its major advantages is a location within a day’s drive of most U.S. markets; major logistics facilities, including the FedEx hub in Memphis; and an extensive network of highways, waterways and railways. With nine Fortune 500 companies calling Tennessee home, the state is in good company and looking for more companies to join them.
Volunteer State Gains Recognition
Tennessee’s highly favorable business climate is gaining national recognition. Chief Executive magazine named Tennessee one of the top five states in the nation for business in 2012. Site Selection magazine ranked Tennessee eighth among states in
its 2012 Governor’s Cup rankings based on the number of capital investment projects, and also singled out Jackson, Tullahoma, Cookeville, Humboldt, Lewisburg, Shelbyville and Union City for their development projects.
The state has launched a number of efforts to support business growth and investment in Tennessee. A new site certification program, Select Tennessee, will help communities across the state prepare available sites to accommodate major projects. The Tennessee Economic and Community Development Department has partnered with Austin Consulting and The Foote Consulting Group on the program, which sets consistent and rigorous standards upon which companies can rely in making critical location decisions.
“Select Tennessee provides a roadmap to ready sites for potential investment,” says Bill Hagerty, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development. “This program is an innovative new way to take Tennessee to the apex of site locations and show the world that Tennessee is ready for business.”
The fruits of Tennessee’s efforts to create jobs and promote growth can already be seen in the wave of major expansion projects and relocations.
J.M. Smucker Co., makers of several peanut butter and jelly brands, will convert its existing Memphis
memphis is one of tennessee’s centers of commerce and home to logistics giant FedEx.
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 13 12 || tennessee
Chief Executive: Named Tennessee one of the top four states in the nation for business in its eighth annual survey of Best States for Business
Trade & industry development: Named three Tennessee firms and the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development as recipients of its 2012 Corporate Investment & Community Impact (CiCi) Awards, totaling the most investment for any state
Site Selection: Ranked Tennessee ninth for number of capital investment projects in 2012 and in the top 10 among states for best business climates
Business Facilities: Ranked Tennessee No. 1 for automotive manufacturing strength in 2013, the fourth straight year the state was at the top of the list
The Tax foundation: Ranked Tennessee the fourth-best state for local tax burdens for business and fourth-lowest tax burden in the U.S.
business.com: Ranked Tennessee fourth-best state for business startups
Tennessee aCCoLades tennessee at a glance
6,456,243Population in 2012
131,582number of nonfarm businesses
$44,654Average annual nonfarm wage in Tennessee
forTune 500 Companies in Tennessee
company overall rank city revenue
Fedex 63 Memphis $42.7 billion
hCA holdings 82 nashville $36.8 billion
international Paper 107 Memphis $27.8 billion
dollar General 175 Goodlettsville $16.0 billion
Community health systems 184 Franklin $15.0 billion
unum Group 257 Chattanooga $10.5 billion
Autozone 306 Memphis $8.6 billion
eastman Chemical 324 kingsport $8.1 billion
vanguard health systems 391 nashville $6.5 billion
tennessee gDP
2008
2009
2010
2011
$2
48
B
2012
$2
46
.6B
$2
53
.6B
$2
63
.6B
$2
77
B
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production facility to a peanut butter manufacturing plant, an investment of $55.6 million. Smucker expects to have a workforce of 125 employees in Memphis upon completion of the project in 2014.
Renfro Corp., a world-leading legwear manufacturing company, is renovating its Cleveland manufacturing facility in Bradley County. When the $17.5 million renovation is completed, the company will employ an additional 168 workers.
In addition, Bell Helicopter Inc. will undertake a $10.1 million expansion of its Piney Flats facility and create up to 125 new jobs in Sullivan County. Bell officials say the quick response from both the county and the state helped solidify its decision to expand in Piney Flats.
State Boosts Entrepreneurs
A major focus of Tennessee’s economic development efforts has been on helping leading-edge companies in innovative industry sectors, such as life sciences and energy technology, with the support they need to grow and flourish.
In Blount County, life sciences company ProNova Solutions will locate a headquarters facility and
research and commercialization laboratory in Alcoa, where it will develop and produce a new generation of proton therapy systems used in cancer treatment. The $50 million investment will create 525 jobs.
Innovative streetlight manufacturer Global Green Lighting is bringing production of its lamps from subcontractors in China to Chattanooga. The company’s light-emitting diode (LED) street lamps are combined with the latest smart grid metering technology. According to CEO Don Lepard, the company plans to hire as many as 250 people at a new 180,000-square-foot assembly facility in Chattanooga’s Hixson area.
“Our state has a rich history of entrepreneurial success stories, and entrepreneurship and innovation can drive economic growth and create job opportunities for our citizens,” Hagerty says. “Tennessee is a top-10 state when it comes to research and development expenditures, and we are focused on leveraging our state’s extraordinary R&D assets, commercializing new technologies and growing innovative companies right here in the Volunteer State.”
Story by John Fuller
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OuTWARD BOuND
exporTs
$8.6billion
Canada
$4.2billion
Mexico
$706million
Brazil
tennessee’s top 10 export Destinations, 2012
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 17 16 || tennessee
Tennessee heLPs CoMPAnies CrACk exPorT MArkeTs ThrouGh neW ProGrAMs And sTATe iniTiATives
$898million
united kingdom
$1.3billion
Belgium
$2.2billion
China
$1.8billion
Japan
$914million
Australia
$792million
Germany
$920million
netherlands
Other than equipment it had shipped to Canada, Quintek Measurement Systems in Knoxville was never a big player in the export business.
Founded in 1995, Quintek makes precision X-ray-based equipment used to get precise measurements of tree rings and the density of wood products. The company has only two employees and three partners, and it hires local subcontractors to help make the product.
“We’re not a big company, so we don’t sell a lot of equipment,” says Carol Dawson, Quintek president. “Our machines run between $45,000 and $60,000, so we don’t have a high volume. They’re mainly used by the forest service to look at tree rings.”
But then came a change in the climate, both the one associated with business and the one having to do with the planet. An increasing number of climatologists and researchers began asking about Quintek’s equipment, since one of the ways to study climate trends is by the intricate inspection of tree rings.
“It has evolved to being used for climatology now,” Dawson says. “There are a lot of universities and research facilities around the world that are becoming more aware of that piece of equipment.”
As a result, Quintek’s export business grew from minimal to what has become in the last few years about two-thirds of its revenue. The company’s equipment is going to places like South America, Australia, Eastern Europe, Mexico, Indonesia and China.
A Growing Business
Quintek may be a small sliver of the pie, but it represents the growing export trade that Tennessee companies have experienced in the last decade. The state’s total export volume more than tripled in that time, and in 2012 some 6,400 Tennessee businesses employing 80,000 workers exported more than $31 billion worth of products around the world. The state ranked as the 15th-largest exporting state in the U.S. that year.
“Exports are very important to the state, more so than most states,” says Dr. Steven Livingston, senior research associate at Middle Tennessee State University’s Business & Economic Research Center and editor of its Global Commerce: Tennessee and the International Economy publication.
“Tennessee is unusually manufacturing-intensive and has much of its industry – automotive and chemical, especially – in export competitive sectors of the
economy,” he says. “As a state, we tend to be more invested in large, more mature industries, and these are reliant on exports. However, export growth is also important to the rise of new industries. Exports bring the kind of market scale that allows for new product development and industry growth.”
new initiatives
To help enhance export opportunities, particularly for small and medium-size Tennessee companies, Tennessee Economic and Community Development has launched an international strategy that targets key markets around the world and includes opening state Export Development Offices in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany and China.
It is a follow-up to the ECD’s TNTrade export program that was initiated in 2011. The program will evolve to offer export assistance in key markets, education and networking opportunities using resources provided by a Small Business Administration State Trade and Export Program (STEP) grant. The opening of the international offices will help Tennessee’s small and medium- size companies navigate the exporting process.
These initiatives “are really important,”
Livingston says. “The word needs to get out, especially to smaller and medium-sized state firms. Since exporting is associated with business growth, employment and higher pay, it’s a good public investment and money well spent.”
Leigh Shockey of Drexel Chemical can tout the importance of the state’s export business and the need for state initiatives. She is president of a Memphis-based company that makes a full line of agricultural chemicals. The company has rights to approximately 500 product labels: 240 EPA-registered agricultural chemicals and 260 other specialty products.
Shockey, who also chairs the Tennessee District Export Council, knows the value of doing business internationally.
“Our export business varies a little from year to year, but roughly about 15 percent of our business is export,” she says of Drexel. “For a U.S. company, that’s a pretty healthy percentage. Anything above 10 percent is really, really good.”
Story by John McBryde
discover more about Tennessee’s exports and related programs at businessclimate.com/tennessee.
Launch Pad
enTrepreneurs & sTarTups
Tennessee ProGrAMs BoosT enTrePreneuriAL AMBiTions And heLP CreATe innovATive sTArTuP CoMPAnies
W hen college football season kicked off in fall 2013, Stadium Stock Exchange got in the game.
The Nashville-based startup company isn’t looking for action on the gridiron, but in the equally competitive world of finance. SSE’s fantasy college football stock market game allows players to buy and sell fictional stock in college teams, predicting whether they will outperform or underperform expectations.
“We’re launching here in the heart of college football,” says creator William Schreiber, a Vanderbilt University senior from Birmingham, Ala. Schreiber had the idea for the company after seeing the explosive popularity of fantasy leagues centered
around the NFL and other sports leagues and realizing there was a void at the college level.
In January, SSE was accepted into the Entrepreneur Center, a business accelerator in Nashville. There, Schreiber was able to connect with investors, mentors and business advisers who could help him get his company off to a good start.
“I love sports, and I’m a developer, but I don’t know everything about the business side,” Schreiber says.
Building Better Entrepreneurs
The Entrepreneur Center is just one of many resources and programs available across Tennessee designed to promote entrepreneurship and bring promising innovation to the market.
The Entrepreneur Center is one of nine business accelerators in key areas of the state under the
20 || tennessee
oversight of Launch Tennessee, a nonprofit agency created last year by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and the former Tennessee Technology Development Corp. to promote and support entrepreneurs.
“People are realizing entrepreneurship can be a quicker path to controlling your destiny,” says Charlie Brock, president and CEO of Launch Tennessee.
That’s what happened with Hal Cato, a former nonprofit executive who launched his program, Zeumo, this year. Zeumo is a social media program connecting kids and their schools, communities and potential colleges. His experience at the Entrepreneur Center provided avenues to capital that made his business possible.
“I was accepted into the Entrepreneur Center in Nashville in January 2012 and moved out in May 2012,” Cato says. “Within four weeks of moving out, I had crossed the $500,000 mark in angel funding and was well on my way toward building a product for the 2012-13 school year.”
Public and Private Support
Launch Tennessee operates the INCITE (Innovation, Commercialization, Investment, Technology and Entrepreneurship) co-investment fund, offering venture capital funding to emerging Tennessee businesses. The nearly $30 million INCITE fund, backed by an award through the U.S. Treasury Department Small Business Credit Initiative, is expected to leverage private-sector investment of up to $300 million to accelerate growth in Tennessee’s innovation companies. So far, the fund has invested about $10 million in Tennessee companies.
Entrepreneurs are still reaping benefits of the TNInvestco program, which kicked off in 2009, offering tax credits to venture capital funds with a history of providing “seed money” to new small businesses.
While Launch Tennessee operates as a public/private enterprise, another initiative working closely with Launch Tennessee is Startup Tennessee, a private-sector program to help new companies and support entrepreneurs. Part of the Startup America Partnership, the Tennessee program is led by Michael Burcham, who also heads Nashville’s Entrepreneur Center.
“Our focus is on the day-to-day,” says Burcham, president of Startup Tennessee.
In 36 months, Burcham says, Startup Tennessee has worked with 50 companies, trained 300 mentors and provided $20 million in seed and angel investment funds to new businesses.
A model for the World
In June 2013, the two-day Southland Southern Culture and Technology conference brought together more than 500 entrepreneurs from across the Southeast to Nashville, where they met and networked with angel investors and venture capitalists. Delegations from cities like Charleston, Tampa and Cleveland, and groups from as far away as Saudi Arabia, are traveling to Tennessee to learn from its entrepreneurial programs.
With no personal state income tax and a low cost of living, Tennessee offers a number of advantages for entrepreneurs. World-renowned research institutions such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee and St. Jude Children’s Hospital are catalysts for innovation, and public and private higher education institutions throughout the state offer a wealth of intellectual resources and a well-educated workforce.
“We are helping our entrepreneurs get access to capital through more investment, and we are building a healthy, statewide ecosystem,” Brock says.
Story by Frances Putman Photography by Michael Conti
Charlie Brock is president and CEo of launch tennessee, a state initiative to promote entrepreneurship.
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 21 20 || tennessee
Launch Tennessee is a public-private partnership, funded in part by the state, to support development of high-growth companies. under the leadership of President and Ceo Charlie Brock, LaunchTn oversees nine business accelerators in the state and serves as a connector between entrepreneurs, mentors, researchers and investors. in addition to hosting events to bring the groups together, LaunchTn helps entrepreneurs develop business plans, set a course for growth, and find funding from angel investors and venture capitalists. Learn more at www.launchtn.org.
accelerating Business
1. northeastAccelnowwww.accelnow.comlocation: Johnson Cityservices: entrepreneur assessments and other tools, training, coaching, mentoring, access to capital, office space, networkingTarget verticals: healthcare iT, Medical devices, Chemical/Biological, Advanced Manufacturing
2. easterneast Tennessee regional Accelerator coalitionwww.etrac.orglocation: knoxvilleLed by the university of Tennessee’s Anderson Center for entrepreneurship & innovation, a network of more than 40 organizations is coordinating effor ts to support early-stage companies in a 16-county region.
3. southeastco.labwww.colab.islocation: Chattanoogaservices: offers numerous accelerator and business planning programs and services, as well as the Will This Float? business pitch competitionTarget verticals: Consumer Products, smart Grid, B2B software, Public safety, Cloud Computing, Big data, retail and Creative enterprise
4. upper cumberlanduc success nowwww.ucsuccessnow.comlocation: Crossvilleservices: Mentoring, office and light manufacturing space, access to capital, resource coordination, business-building programsTarget verticals: Light Manufacturing, senior Care, Web Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing
5. northern middle Tennesseeentrepreneur centerwww.entrepreneurcenter.comlocation: nashvilleservices: screening of concepts, three cohorts each year for acceleration (about 40 companies), classes for entrepreneurs, mentoring, and a range of assistance and services for startupsTarget verticals: health Care, Technology, digital Media, social enterprise
6. southern middle Tennesseesouthern middle Tennessee entrepreneur centerwww.smtec.comlocation: Tullahomaservices: Mentoring, demo day, access to capital, office space, networking, distance learning, Tennesseed Camp programs and the autoxlr8r programTarget verticals: Automotive Technology, Aerospace and defense,
Advanced Manufacturing, Green energy Technology, digital Media, iT, Law enforcement, Bio-Agriculture
7. northwest Tennesseeentrepreneur center for northwest Tennesseewww.ntecconnect.comlocation: Martinservices: Mentoring, training, access to capital, business grants for technology, equipment, working capital
8. southwest Tennesseestartup entrepreneur development centerwww.startupedc.comlocation: Jacksonservices: entrepreneur assessments, training, coaching, mentoring, access to capital, office space, networkingTarget verticals: healthcare iT, Medical devices, Technology
9. west Tennesseegreater memphis Accelerator consortiumwww.memphisaccelerators.comlocation: Memphisservices: Mentorship, access to capital, office space, networking, cohort-based acceleration, rolling acceleration. Consortium includes the zero to 510 Medical device Accelerator and the seed hatchery.Target verticals: information Technology and Medical devices
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8 . JAC K S O N
7. M A RT I N 1 . J O H N S O N C I T Y
3 . C H AT TA N O O G A
6 . T U L L A H O M A
2 . K N OX V I L L E4 . C R O S S V I L L E
9. M E M P H I S
5 . N A S H V I L L E
22 || tennessee
sTarTup
Data DrivennAshviLLe sTArTuP sTrATAsAn MAkes inroAds in heALTh-CAre AnALyTiCs
in 2012, Jason Moore was invited to the White house, along with a handful of entrepreneurs from around the country, and recognized for his innovative ideas in technology.
Moore is the founder and Ceo of stratasan, a nashville-based company that provides advanced analytics of health-care data that includes demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and geographic information. Maintaining more than 1 billion health-related records from federal, state, local and private data sources in a cloud-based system, the company provides instant access to various clients such as hospitals, surgery centers, pharmaceuticals, health plans, physicians’ offices and even communities.
“With the information we provide, they can make better health-care decisions,” he says.
Moore started stratasan in 2010 with J. Tod Fetherling and Brian dailey. The company was the first selected for the nashville entrepreneur Center’s incubator program, originally receiving funding through the Tninvestco program that promotes venture investment in promising Tennessee startups. in 2011, the company also joined with startup Tennessee, part of the startup America Partnership, and in all it received approximately $1.5 million in funding.
“There are lots of opportunities available in Tennessee, and we got the tools we needed to tell our story,” Moore says.
The company now has 18 full-time employees and is profitable, operating with a positive cash flow.
“our biggest success has been taking a new product to market and working with a varied client base, while building a great team,” Moore says.
To find out more about stratasan, visit www.stratasan.com.
– Frances Putman
Can you imagine …a world without children?
We Can’t.Call 1-800-996-4100 to help.
www.stjude.org
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 23 22 || tennessee
Tennessee is the heart of the South’s surging automotive industry. With major assembly operations for Nissan in Smyrna, GM in Spring Hill and Volkswagen in Chattanooga,
the state is a hub for automotive production.Business Facilities magazine named Tennessee
the top state in its Automotive Manufacturing Strength ranking for 2013, the fourth straight year that recognition has gone to the Volunteer State.
Tennessee’s lower business costs, availability of skilled labor and position within a day’s drive of 76 percent of major U.S. markets add up to an attractive location.
“Multiple interstate systems and railways allow close access for proximate supplier-to-supplier and supplier-to-OEM relationships,” says John Bradley, senior vice president of economic development for the Tennessee Valley Authority, a publicly owned electric utility that serves several states including Tennessee. “The state’s business-friendly environment further complements this location advantage, and the workforce is heavily skilled in the automotive process. Almost every county is impacted by presence of either an original equipment manufacturer or auto supplier.”
Ready to Work
Indeed, automotive production accounts for more than one in every three manufacturing jobs in the state.
In the Driver’s
Seat
auTomoTive indusTry
LoWer CosTs And reAdy LABor PuT Tennessee’s AuToMoTive
seCTor on A FAsT TrACk To suCCess
24 || tennessee
Gm is making a $350 million investment at its Spring Hill facility in maury County that will add hundreds of jobs.
24 || tennessee businessclimate.com/tennessee || 25
1. Tennessee 2. Alabama3. Kentucky
4. Indiana 5. Ohio
The presence of domestic and foreign automotive assembly operations has also drawn increased investment by Tier I and Tier 2 suppliers.
Among them is Lexington, Tenn.-based Manufacturers Industrial Group, which supplies welded assemblies and fabricated metals to the auto industry. The company, which has six facilities in Tennessee, is one of the largest minority-owned companies in the nation.
MIG frequently taps into state programs to train workers. Tennessee has invested $81 million since 2006 in programs to train auto industry workers.
“There’s a lot of support there to help fund the cost to train new employees and upgrade their skills,” says Andre Gist, president of MIG. “We’ve done it several times; it’s a pretty simple process.”
A well-trained, f lexible workforce means manufacturers can be competitive in the regional and international marketplace.
“Labor costs are important, and we compete very
well there,” says Tom Ferguson, president and CEO of the Greene County Partnership economic development organization. “We are a right-to-work state and that reduces the possibility of unions.”
Other factors make Tennessee competitive on a number of fronts, attracting investment that in years past would have been made in the Midwest.
“A lot of the automotive industry has moved from the ring around Detroit to the Southeast, and things like the cost of living, property taxes and insurance are very favorable here,” says Alan Bridwell, director of the Northeast Tennessee Valley Industrial Association. “International companies are looking at the bottom line where they can optimize their investment.”
Building on Success
The state has more than 900 auto manufacturing and parts operations that employ more than 105,000 workers, and that number is on the increase.
Nissan in fall 2012 announced it would add a third shift at its Smyrna manufacturing operation, the first time it has had a third shift since it opened in 1983. The company has added 2,000 jobs there since 2011.
GM has announced investments totaling $350 million that will create 1,800 jobs at its Spring Hill manufacturing complex in Maury County. The former Saturn facility will make two new midsize vehciles for GM.
Other major recent successes include:U.S. Tsubaki Automotive LLC plans to expand
the company’s Portland facility with a $1.9 million investment that will create 70 new full-time jobs. Tsubaki supplies power transmission products for many engine and transmission applications to many automotive manufacturers.
International Automotive Components plans to expand its Dayton operations, creating 50 jobs and investing in manufacturing equipment. The company supplies automotive components and systems, including door and trim systems and instrument panels.
Established in 1998, manufacturers industrial Group employs about 1,400 people in lexington, Chattanooga and Athens.
Source: Business Facilities
top five states for automotive manufacturing strength
26 || tennessee
driven to Succeed
902Auto manufacturers and suppliers in Tennessee
105,700employees in Tennessee’s auto sector
$6 billionAuto industry payroll in Tennessee
34%Jobs in the state’s manufacturing sector tied to the automotive industry
$1.1Bvalue of auto-related investments in the state in fiscal year 2012-2013
“There’s a lot of support there [in Tennessee] to help fund the cost to train new employees and upgrade their skills.”
andre gist, president of mig
Andre Gist is president of lexington-based auto supplier miG, which has six facilities in the state.
TPR Federal-Mogul Tennessee planned an investment of $31 million in a new facility to manufacture engine components in Lawrenceburg. The joint venture between TPR America Inc. and Federal Mogul will produce cylinder liners for aluminum block engines and will include foundry, machining and warehouse functions.
In Morristown, automotive components manufacturer Otics USA Inc. has expanded and created 67 new jobs with an investment of $24.8 million, the third expansion for the operation since it opened there in 2001.
The welcoming business climate makes it an easy decision to continue investing in Tennessee locations.
“They’re very supportive of new and expanding businesses here,” says Charlotte Jennelle, general manager of Otics USA. “I see a more diligent effort to bring businesses into the community to get people working.”
Story by Gary Wollenhaupt Photography by Jeff Adkins and Michael Conti
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 27 26 || tennessee
PREcISION INDuSTRy
Tennessee’s AdvAnCed MAnuFACTurinG seCTor GeArs uP For GroWTh And CreATes
neW JoB oPPorTuniTies
advanCed manufaCTuring
The manufacturing industry is Tennessee’s comeback kid. Though the state has a vibrant
automotive sector that accounts for one in three factory jobs, Tennessee’s advanced manufacturing sector is not built on the car alone.
With its location advantages, low business costs and workforce development programs, the state
has created an ideal climate for advanced manufacturing location and expansion.
More than 316,000 workers were employed in the manufacturing sector in the state at the end of 2012, including 196,000 in durable goods.
“There is a full portfolio of manufacturing-based businesses here, from high-volume automated lines to leading businesses in the energy sectors to raw material providers and training centers to
support the developing workforce,” says Dr. Bill Minehan, president of AdTech Ceramics Co. in Chattanooga and chairman of the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association (CRMA).
In addition to holding workshops on topics related to manufacturing, CRMA provides a network for companies to communicate and respond to regional issues that may affect their business.
28 || tennessee
AdTech Ceramics, which manufactures custom hermetic packaging solutions for high-reliability microelectronic applications, is just one of the companies thriving in Tennessee’s advanced manufacturing sector.
The state has seen major investments in Tennessee facilities from some of the world’s most popular and best-known brands, including Electrolux in Memphis, Eastman Chemical in Kingsport, Carrier in Collierville, Delta Faucet in Jackson and Renfro in Cleveland.
Whirlpool: A Century in tennessee
Tennessee has proven its manufacturing worth many times over for Whirlpool Corp., which in spring 2012 opened the world’s largest premium cooking plant in Cleveland in Bradley County.
“Among the many reasons Whirlpool chose to build this
facility here were the 100-plus years of success with the proven workforce, and great cooperation from Cleveland, Bradley County and the State of Tennessee,” says Dicky Walters, plant leader of the Cleveland division at Whirlpool’s North America region operations.
Whirlpool received support including tax incentives, roadway and infrastructure improvements, and training grants. The new Whirlpool facility is expected to be LEED Gold Certified.
“In addition to the building design, there is state-of-the-art equipment and processes essential for us in building the high-quality product that we produce,” Walters says.
Electrolux Plant Robotics
Electrolux is pushing the advanced manufacturing envelope at its new 750,000-square-foot plant in Memphis.
“The automation will be on the level of the automotive industry and include robotics exclusive to
us,” says Eloise Hale, spokesman for Electrolux USA. “We are also creating a strong R&D lab to develop consumer-driven cooking innovations. The robotics and automation have been designed to be flexible to allow us to easily accommodate the changing cooking needs of consumers as we alter how our products are assembled.”
With the opening of its Memphis operation, Electrolux will build all of its ovens – it manufactures one out of every three sold in America – in the United States.
Hale says Memphis was an ideal location because it leverages existing resources, including teams in Middle Tennessee, where Electrolux has a second cooking plant, R&D labs and regional suppliers.
“Memphis also offered a number of advantages – labor, excellent logistics and improved access to our key markets and customers,” she says.
tennessee’s manufacturing sector numbered more than 316,000 workers at the end of 2012.
28 || tennessee businessclimate.com/tennessee || 29
Whirlpool operates a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Cleveland, tenn., that opened in 2012.
university of Tennessee (Knoxville, Chattanooga, memphis, martin): Ranked 31st in top 200 research universities; invested $153.8 million in projects in 2011.
oak ridge national Laboratory (oak ridge): U.S. Department of Energy’s largest lab; contains some of the world’s top supercomputers.
vanderbilt university (nashville): Received $587.2 million for sponsored research, plus $370 million from National Institutes of Health in 2011.
st. Jude Children’s research hospital (memphis): Dedicated to finding cures for childhood diseases.
fedex institute of Technology (memphis): Supports research to commercialize inventions.
simCenter: national Center for Computational engineering (Chattanooga): Focuses on next-generation technologies in computational modeling, simulation and design.
r&d Leader
maJor Tennessee manufaCTurers by empLoymenT
company city employees
eastman Chemical kingsport 8,000
electrolux springfield 2,700
Carrier Corp. Collierville 2,500
Alcoa inc. Alcoa 2,400
smith & nephew Memphis 1,725
Whirlpool Cleveland 1,527
The Trane Company Clarksville 1,500
Medtronic sofamor Memphis 1,500
Triumph Aerostructures LLC nashville 1,100
Wright Medical Arlington 1,100
American ordnance Milan 800
delta Faucet Company Jackson 800
Alstom Power inc. Chattanooga 600
30 || tennessee
Resources for manufacturing
Tennessee is leading the way with several public-private partnership initiatives focused on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines to ensure a supply of skilled workers for advanced manufacturers.
The Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM) at Northeast State at Kingsport offers academic coursework in areas such as General Technology, Chemical Process Operations and Electrical Technology, and customized training for regional manufacturers is also available.
“RCAM works closely with manufacturers to create training programs to meet their specific needs,” says Jeff McCord, vice president for economic and workforce development at Northeast State at Kingsport.
McCord notes a number of recent successes for RCAM that include apprenticeship training for Domtar Paper Co., advanced welding training for Jacobs Field Services, instrumentation and control training for production operators at BAE Systems, programmable logic controller (PLC) training for Eastman Chemical and hands-on training for electrical test equipment at Portola Packaging.
In Minehan’s experience, the Tennessee Valley is a great place to do business for many reasons.
“Chattanooga has a history of entrepreneurial spirit, which has created many thriving businesses and legacies and a culture for success,” he says.
Story by Nan Bauroth Photography by Michael Conti
read more about Tennessee’s advanced manufacturing sector at businessclimate.com/tennessee.
Clarksville
Unparalleled QUality of lifeNew Liberty Park and Clarksville Marina,
award-winning greenways, outdoor festivals and markets, blueways and waterways for boating,
and more than 30 city parks
www.cityofclarksville.com
City Hall • one public Square • Clarksville, tn 37040 • (931) 648-6128
VibrantMore than $2 Billion
in retail sales
growingOne of Tennessee’s
fastest growing cities
30 || tennessee
32 || tennessee
The reshoring wave that is bringing manufacturing once sourced overseas back to the united states is having an impact in Johnson City.
Mullican Flooring, the country’s second-largest manufacturer of hardwood flooring, opted in 2012 to increase its u.s. production by moving a large segment of its engineered manufacturing from Asia to a newly renovated facility in Johnson City. in addition, the company is moving its entire corporate headquarters in Johnson City into its new plant, a 309,000-square-foot facility located on 24 acres. The move and expansion represent a $12 million investment in Washington County throughout the next three years.
neil Poland, president of Mullican Flooring, says he believes his company is on the front end of a trend by u.s. manufacturing firms to shift jobs back to the united states. The high-quality workforce available in Johnson City played a key role in the company’s decision. Management at the company notes that when consumers purchase products made in the united states, the distributor can fairly guarantee they will receive whatever they need because there is usually inventory at
the time the order is placed, and this helps bring jobs back to the u.s.
All of Mullican Flooring’s solid domestic products have always been manufactured in the united states, but with the move from Asia, it introduced its first engineered collections made entirely in this country.
At present, the company’s Johnson City plant employs 130 people, and the new product line expansion will add another 164 jobs. Mullican Flooring also operates plants located in norton, va.; ronceverte, W. va.; and holland, n.y.
– Nan Bauroth
Bringing It Back homeMuLLiCAn FLoorinG reshores ProduCTion To Tennessee PLAnT
made in ameriCa
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 33 32 || tennessee
tCAts are a major source of skills training for tennessee workers and employers.
34 || tennessee
Value Added
eduCaTion
Tennessee CoLLeGes oF APPLied TeChnoLoGy MeeT WorkForCe needs ThrouGhouT sTATe
To say that the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology across the state
are tailored to industries would be only a partial description.
The fact is, says the TCAT’s vice chancellor, their programs are actually designed by the very industries they serve.
“Each program has an advisory committee made up of industry leaders in a specific field,” says James King, who has been vice chancellor for the TCAT since 1999 and has worked with the colleges since 1983. “So business and industry have input in designing the curriculum for that specific center.”
Careers and Skills
The TCAT (formerly known as Tennessee Technology Centers) opened in 1965 with 19 campuses and a concept to have a tech center within 50 miles of every resident in the state. The TCAT system now has grown to 27 locations stretching from Memphis to Elizabethton. The colleges have an 80 percent completion rate and an 85 percent placement rate, both of which are higher than the national averages for similar institutions.
Under the governance of the Tennessee Board of Regents for some 30 years, the TCATs have a total enrollment of around 30,000 students, who range from teenagers seeking a career path to
experienced workers learning new skills.
“About 20,000 are full- or part-time students, and 10,000 are what we call special-industry students,” King says. “They’re already employed and just coming back for specific training. They’re constantly upgrading because it seems things change almost daily nowadays.”
The main goal for all the colleges is to create a strong and skilled workforce for a particular community. The manufacturing or business needs of, say, Jackson or Livingston will differ from those in Crossville or Pulaski, and TCATs work to meet those specific training needs.
“Industry can benefit in a couple of ways,” King says. “First
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 35
of all, there’s a trained workforce coming out of school to meet the particular needs of that community. And the second thing is, if you have an employee who’s weak in a particular area, you can have him or her focus on that area.”
outstanding Asset
The TCAT in Jackson has established a relationship with ARJ Manufacturing, a metal stamping operation that produces parts for automotive seat frames and tracking systems, to help train its employees in tool-and-die machinery. The workers attend classes at the Jackson TCAT during the day and work the second or third shifts or weekends at ARJ.
“It’s a great arrangement,” says Jeff Sisk, director of the Jackson TCAT, which has 23 programs and an enrollment of around 600 students. “It fulfills a need for this company to have a pipeline of these really highly technically skilled employees.”
Pat Reagan, tooling manager for ARJ, also sees it as a crucial first step in helping to ensure that tool-and-die workers aren’t a dying
the tennessee College of Applied technology in Jackson offers 23 training programs.
tennessee Colleges of applied technologyThe 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (all except Chattanooga are free-standing institutions) are the state’s premier providers of workforce development. The TCATs and their 818 employees provide services for workers to obtain the technical skills and professional training necessary for advancement in today’s job market.
Elizabethton
morristown
Harriman Knoxville
Jacksboro
Athens
Chattanooga
mcminnville
murfreesboro
Shelbyville
Pulaski
Hohenwald
Whiteville
Crossville
Covington
nashvilledickson
Crump
Paris
mcKenzie
newbern
memphis
JacksonRipley
oneidalivingstonHartsville
36 || tennessee
breed. As someone who has done this type of work for nearly 35 years, he says the needs for tool-and-die machinists will remain for years to come.
“I want to show that tool and die is not just a greasy, grubby job, but is a highly technical, sought-after field,” Reagan says. “It’s a well-paid trade and a good living.”
The partnership with the Jackson TCAT is helping to that end. “I’ve been pleased,” Reagan says.
Mike Davis would echo that for the Crossville TCAT, which averages 275 to 300 students per session. Director of engineering for Flowers Baking Co. of Crossville, Davis says the TCAT there is “an outstanding asset.”
Many of the industrial maintenance students from the college have gone on to work for the Crossville bakery, which is a subsidiary of Flowers Foods, a Thomasville, Ga.-based company that produces a variety of fresh and frozen breads, snack cakes and other bakery products.
“It’s good to have the pre-training background they provide us,” Davis says. “They help me tremendously because there’s a shortage of people who are qualified to do what we do. Without the TCAT, I couldn’t even imagine what position that would put us in.”
Story by John McBryde Photography by Michael Conti
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digiTaL magazine
Value Added
EDUCATION
TENNESSEE COLLEGES OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY MEET WORKFORCE NEEDS THROUGHOUT STATE
T o say that the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology across the state are tailored to industries would be only a partial description.The fact is, says the TCAT’s vice chancellor, their programs are actually designed by the very industries they serve.“Each program has an advisory committee made up of industry leaders in a specific field,” says James King, who has been vice chancellor for the TCAT since 1999 and has worked with the colleges since 1983. “So business and industry have input in designing the curriculum for that specific center.”
Careers and SkillsThe TCAT (formerly known as Tennessee Technology Centers) opened in 1965 with 19 campuses and a concept to have a tech center within 50 miles of every resident in the state. The TCAT system now has grown to 27 locations stretching from Memphis to Elizabethton. The colleges have an 80 percent completion rate and an 85 percent placement rate, both of which are higher than the national averages for similar institutions.Under the governance of the Tennessee Board of Regents for some 30 years, the TCATs have a total enrollment of around 30,000 students, who range from teenagers seeking a career path to
experienced workers learning new skills.“About 20,000 are full- or part-time students, and 10,000 are what we call special-industry students,” King says. “They’re already employed and just coming back for specific training. They’re constantly upgrading because it seems things change almost daily nowadays.”
The main goal for all the colleges is to create a strong and skilled workforce for a particular community. The manufacturing or business needs of, say, Jackson or Livingston will differ from those in Crossville or Pulaski, and TCATs work to meet those specific training needs.“Industry can benefit in a couple of ways,” King says. “First
Students enrolled in TCATs throughout the state can learn metal fabrication techniques.
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 35
34 || tennessee
36 || tennessee
Appetite for Expansion
agriCuLTure
38 || Tennessee
Tennessee’s Food ProduCTion seCTor hAs deeP rooTs in sTATe’s AGriCuLTurAL heriTAGe
owned by david Richesin, Cherry Brook Farm in Philadelphia, tenn., produces soybeans, corn and other crops.
businessclimATe.com/Tennessee || 39
tn agriculture By the numbers$3.5 billionAnnual farm cash receipts
$1 billionvalue of agriculture exports
77,300Farms in Tennessee
140Average farm size in acres
$586 millionvalue of cash receipts for cattle, the state’s leading commodity
1,000Companies in Tennessee involved in food manufacturing
34,000Workers employed by food manufacturers in the state
Tennessee is rapidly earning a place at the table as a leading food producer, and the state’s thriving
agriculture industry is showing no signs of slowing down.
With its excellent soils and favorable climate, the Volunteer State enjoys more than a $3.5 billion yield from its agricultural commodities annually, including more than $1 billion in exports. Tennessee’s transportation and workforce assets have also helped the state become a food production powerhouse.
“Food production has been a growing phenomenon for Tennessee for the past decade and is now an important part of the state’s economy,” says Dr. Burton English, professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Roots in Agriculture
The state’s food production industry is aided by Tennessee’s strong agricultural heritage. With more than 77,300 farms and more species of trees than any other state, Tennessee’s agriculture and forestry sector continues to grow. Cattle and calves, broilers (chickens), nursery products, soybeans, and corn are the leading agricultural commodities.
Tennessee’s food production sector has more than 1,000 companies, employing more than 34,000 workers. A full menu of well-known food brands are based in the state or have major food-making facilities there. Among them: McKee Foods Corp., maker of Little Debbie snack cakes; bean producer Bush Brothers & Co.; Perdue Farms; Tyson Foods Inc.; and Sara Lee Corp.
Food manufacturing expansions and new investment in the state have numbered
the Bush’s Beans Visitor Center in Chestnut Hill includes a museum, store and restaurant.
40 || tennessee
1.Bush’s
Baked BeansWith a production facility in knoxville, Bush Brothers & Co. creates baked beans, grillin’ beans, refried beans
and hominy, and other varieties.
2.smucker’s
J.M. smucker Co. manufactures peanut butter in Memphis for brands such as Adams Peanut Butter, Jif and
smucker’s natural Peanut Butter.
3.oberto Brandsoberto Brands’ nashville facility
produces a variety of meat snacks.
between 20 and 50 each year over the past decade, adding about 1,000 new jobs annually and pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into Tennessee’s economy. Several recent expansions testify to this broadened food production sector in the state.
Smucker Jells in tennessee
J.M. Smucker Co., maker of several peanut butter and jelly brands, is converting its existing Memphis production facility to a peanut butter manufacturing plant, resulting in the investment of $55.6 million. Smucker expects to have a workforce of 125 employees in Memphis upon completion of the project in 2014.
“We considered a number of strategic alternatives for how best to support the long-term growth of our peanut butter business,” says Maribeth Badertscher, vice president of corporate communications for Smucker. “By investing in Memphis, we can
leverage our existing facilities, infrastructure and highly skilled workforce to operate a state-of-the-art peanut butter facility in support of our peanut butter brands. We greatly appreciate the support we have received from the state and city of Memphis and look forward to our continued presence in the Memphis area.”
Leclerc Foods is enlarging its Kingsport facility. The Canadian food manufacturer is expanding one of its existing lines and adding a new production line for granola bars and baked bars, a $15.7 million investment that will create 40 new jobs.
Agrana Fruit US Inc., a leader in fruit preparations for the dairy industry, says it will expand production lines at its Centerville facility due to the growth of its yogurt business. This will be an investment of approximately $10 million and will create 64 new positions at the Hickman County plant. Imperial Food Services will
locate a manufacturing plant in Marshall County, representing an investment of $3 million by the company. The project will create 48 jobs.
Oberto Brands, a national meat snacks leader, opened a new production facility in Nashville in summer 2013, bringing more than 300 jobs to the area.
“Local and state agencies were very supportive of our expansion in the region and conveyed a strong sense of partnership and desire to have Oberto in the community, which ultimately won us over,” says Tom Ennis, Oberto chief executive officer. “The local community has welcomed us with open arms and we’re thrilled to be part of such a thriving business environment.”
Story by John Fuller Photography by Jeff Adkins
hungry yet? Get your fill of Tennessee food production at businessclimate.com/tennessee.
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businessclimate.com/tennessee || 41 40 || tennessee
cLINIcAL PREcISION
FroM reseArCh To deveLoPMenT To The
MArkeTPLACe, Tennessee is A LiFe sCienCes innovATor
Life sCienCes
Every day, the 47,000 life sciences and biotechnology companies in the United States
and the 1.4 million people who work for them are engaged in bringing new discoveries to the market that improve the health, safety and well-being of people around the world.
While some industries have struggled over the last few years,
the U.S. life sciences industry has grown an average 3.5 percent each year during the past decade. And some of that growth has come from the vibrant and diverse life sciences sector in Tennessee, which draws on the state’s long legacy of health-care innovation.
More than 1,200 life sciences companies operate in the state, according to Life Science Tennessee, an nonprofit, statewide organization that supports and promotes the industry. Those
companies employ approximately 38,000 people and pay an average wage of $75,000 per worker.
Tennessee’s life sciences companies are engaged in everything from producing medical devices to making pharmaceuticals to research into nutraceuticals to advancing biofuels development. Major life sciences clusters in the state include research and testing laboratories, medical device manufacturing, and
42 || tennessee
located in memphis, Gtx develops products to treat breast, prostate and other forms of cancer.
AcTive life sciences
1,200Life sciences companies in
Tennessee
38,000 Life sciences
workers in the state
75,000 Average annual
salary for Tennessee life
sciences workers
$471M national institutes of health funding to Tn life sciences
groups in 2010
pharmaceutical production.The pharmaceutical sector employs
22 percent of all life sciences workers in the state. More than two dozen pharmaceutical companies have Tennessee operations, including globally known players such as Bayer, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.
Supporting life Science
Tennessee’s life sciences industry is supported by the presence of world-class research institutions, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory near Knoxville, Vanderbilt University in Nashville and St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Life Science Tennessee also works with various private companies and state organizations to support, promote and grow the industry.
“Clearly, life sciences is a specialized area and many members of this community in the state felt it was important to provide a forum for us
to come together to discuss common challenges and issues, like regulatory issues,” says Dr. Sam Lynch, founder, former president and CEO of BioMimetic Therapeutics, located in Franklin, and current chairman of Life Science Tennessee’s board of directors.
In addition, the organization has provided a forum for the industry and its partners to educate the public on life sciences and offers programming and activities to meet the special needs of life sciences members.
The life sciences sector continues to generate significant investment in Tennessee. In Knoxville, ProNoval Solutions is rolling out a two-phase project at the Pellissippi Place technology research and development park. The company, which is developing proton therapy technology for use in cancer treatment, will build a 30,000-square-foot office and research building and a 40,000-square-foot assembly and test area in the first phase. In the second phase, it plans a 120,000-square-foot
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 43 42 || tennessee
building. Total investment is expected to reach $50 million and create 525 jobs.
The company’s ProNova SC360 system, designed to be a smaller, lighter and more energy-efficient proton therapy solution, is expected to begin shipping in 2015. The system features include 3-D
anatomical and functional imaging at the isocenter, 360-degree treatment of the patient, and an efficient workf low that mimics traditional radiation therapy.
In Memphis, a $5 million investment in 40,000 square feet of new office and manufacturing space by orthopedic therapies and diagnostic tools manufacturer Bioventus will add 44 jobs to its 130-person Memphis workforce. The company, established in May 2012, is
a joint venture of device manufacturer Smith & Nephew and investment firm Essex Woodlands.
Pathways to discovery
GTx, a Memphis-based drug discovery and development company, is focused on small molecules that selectively modulate the effects of estrogens and androgens for cancer treatment and care, as well as other serious medical conditions. One of its first products is currently in Phase III clinical trials.
“One thing unique about us is that our pipeline is generated from our labs in Memphis,” says Mark Hanover, the company’s president. “We have the brain power to discover and develop compounds in our own shop.”
Hanover says Tennessee’s life sciences business environment is conducive to attracting and growing new companies.
“There is access to capital and collaborations with other companies and research organizations,” he says. “Most life science companies don’t have revenue to start with, so having that access is conducive to doing business here.”
Hanover also says the state is an attractive location for potential new employees.
“They appreciate the quality of life,” he says. “They don’t have to commute two hours to work, and paychecks stretch a lot more here.”
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals in Nashville has a workforce of more than 100 that acquires, develops and commercializes branded prescription products and focuses on underserved niche markets. A.J. Kazimi, Cumberland’s CEO, says one reason the company has
Jericho Sciences recently relocated to Cumberland Emerging technologies’ life Sciences Center in downtown nashville.
“Great academic research, an entrepreneurial spirit that we enjoy, a strong health-care community and a sustainable business climate are all helpful in building the industry.”
A.J. Kazimi, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals’ CEO
44 || tennessee
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been successful is its strategy to obtain and market late-stage technology, which it has been able to do, in part, thanks to unique collaborative partnerships such as Cumberland Emerging Technologies (CET).
CET is a joint initiative between Cumberland, Vanderbilt University and Tennessee to identify innovative products in development and advance them from the laboratory to the marketplace.
In addition to working with university and other researchers looking for corporate partners to develop innovative research projects, CET also has created a business incubator, the CET Life Sciences Center, in downtown Nashville that provides laboratory and office space, equipment and infrastructure for early-stage biomedical companies.
“We have many favorable conditions for life science companies,” Kazimi says. “Great academic research, an entrepreneurial spirit that we enjoy, a strong health-care community and a sustainable business climate are all helpful in building the industry.”
Story by Kelly Kagamas Tomkies
Photography by Michael Conti
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CLINICAL PRECISIONFROM RESEARCH TO DEVELOPMENT TO THE MARKETPLACE,
TENNESSEE IS A LIFE SCIENCES INNOVATOR
LIFE SCIENCES
E very day, the 47,000 life sciences and biotechnology companies in the United States and the 1.4 million people who work for them are engaged in bringing new discoveries to the market that improve the health, safety and well-being of people around the world.While some industries have struggled over the last few years,
the U.S. life sciences industry has grown an average 3.5 percent each year during the past decade. And some of that growth has come from the vibrant and diverse life sciences sector in Tennessee, which draws on the state’s long legacy of health-care innovation.More than 1,200 life sciences companies operate in the state, according to Life Science Tennessee, an nonprofit, statewide organization that supports and promotes the
industry. Those companies employ approximately 38,000 people and pay an average wage of $75,000 per worker.Tennessee’s life sciences companies are engaged in everything from producing medical devices to making pharmaceuticals to research into nutraceuticals to advancing biofuels development. Major life sciences clusters in the state include research and testing laboratories, medical device
Located in Memphis, GTx develops products to treat breast and prostate cancer, as well as other forms of the disease.
ACTIVE LIFE SCIENCES
1,200Life sciences companies in Tennessee
38,000 Life sciences
workers in the state
75,000 Average annual salary for
Tennessee life sciences workers
$471M National Institutes of Health funding to TN life sciences groups in 2010
manufacturing, and pharmaceutical production.The pharmaceutical sector employs 22
percent of all life sciences workers in the state. More than two dozen pharmaceutical companies have Tennessee operations, including globally
known players such as Bayer, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.Supporting Life Science
Tennessee’s life sciences industry is supported by the presence of world-class research institutions, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory near Knoxville, Vanderbilt University in Nashville and St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Life Science Tennessee also works with various private companies and state organizations to support, promote and grow the industry.“Clearly, life sciences is a specialized area and many members of this community in the state felt it was
important to provide a forum for us to come together to discuss common challenges and issues, like regulatory issues,” says Dr. Sam Lynch, founder, former president and CEO of BioMimetic Therapeutics, located in Franklin, and current chairman of Life Science Tennessee’s board of directors.In addition, the organization has provided a forum for the industry and its
partners to educate the public on life sciences and offers programming and activities to meet the special needs of life sciences members.The life sciences sector continues to generate significant investment in Tennessee. In Knoxville, ProNoval Solutions is rolling out a two-phase project at the Pellissippi Place technology
research and development park. The company, which is developing proton therapy technology for use in cancer treatment, will build a 30,000-square-foot office and research building and a 40,000-square-foot assembly and test area in the first phase. In the second
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 43
42 || tennessee
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 45 44 || tennessee
TeChnoLogy
Tennessee on call
dATA And cusTomer service operATions find ideAl condiTions in Tennessee And puT down rooTs
In Spring Hill, IBEX Global’s new call center is adding space, hundreds of employees and Tier 2 technical service.
In Johnson City, Festiva Hospitality Group expects to exceed its projections of hiring 100 people in the first 18 months.
U.S. Solutions Group created more than 500 jobs when it combined call center operations in Virginia into a Bristol location. Sprint relocated its call centers not far away – another 600 jobs. Agero opened a new roadside assistance call center in Clarksville in late 2012, with 500 jobs to be phased in over two years.
No doubt about it, companies are calling on Tennessee. Nearly 200 data and call centers now operate in Tennessee and employ more than 34,000 people.
Competitive electric power rates, high reliability and capacity, dual feed capability and suitable sites make the state attractive for call and data center locations. Advantages include digital and fiber-optic networks throughout the state, accessibility to labor and a low risk for natural disasters.
Connecting to Workforce
Workforce quality has been phenomenal, says Mike Ross, Festiva’s call center director. He knew Johnson City and the region’s labor pool and knew a call center for the North Carolina-based company would flourish.
The company operates from 3,500 square feet of space with ample room for growth, Ross says.
Festiva Hospitality Group, based in Asheville, N.C., is a vacation ownership company with nearly 40 resorts and a fleet of luxury catamarans.
“It is a very, very strong labor pool,” Ross says. “There are literally thousands of people walking around the Tri-Cities trained to do what we do.”
Call and data center executives frequently cite Tennessee’s strong labor pool and collaborative approach, at both state and local levels, as primary drivers in their decisions to open or relocate call centers.
data Sites identified
The Tennessee Valley Authority is part of the mix, too. TVA hired Chicago-based Deloitte Consulting to identify and evaluate locations for data centers in its seven-state service area. Twelve of 20 sites in the first phase, potential locations for multiscale data sites, are in Tennessee.
In March 2013 the first metro-area primary data center site made the list, in Corridor Park in Knoxville. A metro site must have at least 10 acres, five megawatts of power capacity and diverse fiber optic feeds available. Deloitte designated the 10.6-acre site “primary ready for development.”
Other designated sites include locations in Athens, Morristown, Lenoir City, Cookeville, McMinnville, Tullahoma, Jackson, Fayetteville, Maryville and the Antioch community in southeast Nashville.
Power and Internet connectivity are important factors for call centers, says Richard Venable, CEO of NETWORKS – Sullivan Partnership, an economic development organization in Northeast Tennessee. Kingsport, Bristol and Bluff City are in Sullivan County.
“You have to be wired,” Venable says. “The entire county here is very well wired.”
Bristol, for example, is a 1 Gig City, with BTES (Bristol Tennessee Essential Services) investing in citywide fiber optic capacity. Both Sprint and U.S. Solutions Group have settled in to their new Bristol call centers and are in growth mode, Venable says.
“We’ve got a trainable, willing workforce with a good work ethic. In Northeast Tennessee we have a good record for training for technical and manufacturing jobs,” Venable says. “We find that companies don’t have to search a long time for employees.”
more Hiring
In Middle Tennessee, IBEX, formerly TRG Customer Solutions, had 150 employees in training in spring 2013 and planned to hire 620 more by the end of July. The new facility, at the Workforce Development and Conference Center at Northfield in Spring Hill, opened in 2011 with 300 customer-care representatives.
A business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, IBEX has centers across the globe to support customers in
u.S. Solutions Group is expanding its facility in Bristol, tenn., where it plans to create 128 new jobs.
48 || tennessee
worKiT nashviLLe
With 800 or more open iT jobs in a quarter, nashville needs more tech talent and a regional, public-private marketing effort is working to get them. The cornerstone of the Workit nashville program is the workitnashville.com website, an iT jobs marketplace and platform for all iT job openings in the region. Applicants can post their resumes for companies to consider. Middle Tennessee’s tech industry is projected to grow 4.4 percent a year.
Jackson
Murfreesboro
ClarksvilleJohnson City
Chattanooga
Knoxville
Memphis
Nashville
of deloitte Consulting’s top 20 locations for data centers are in Tennessee
Primary Data Center sites in tennessee
Tennessee’s nearly 200 data and call center operations benefit from competitive power rates and high reliability and capacity.
60%
34,000people are employed by data and call centers in Tennessee
telecommunications, banking, finance and other industries. The company also expects to increase its physical footprint in Spring Hill by 50 percent. IBEX has cited quality-of-life features at the Northfield building as draws.
The Nashville region is not saturated with call centers, making employees more available. But it
could get competition. When an area lands such a project and it does well, others follow. Venable, in Sullivan County, is counting on it.
“The fact that these (U.S. Solutions and Sprint) are doing well will not go unnoticed,” he says.
Story by Pamela Coyle Photography by Michael Conti
= 1,000
= data Center site
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 49
Very Moving
TransporTaTion
50 || tennessee
An intEGRAtEd tRAnSPoRtAtion nEtWoRK, inCludinG tHE FEdEx WoRld HuB, mAKES tEnnESSEE A loGiStiCS lEAdER
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 51 50 || tennessee
In the vernacular of transportation and logistics, there’s a new word to learn: quadrimodal. It refers to a region that offers the four top transportation infrastructure options – rail, river shipping, air cargo and road shipping.
Another term, aerotropolis, was coined in the mid-2000s by University of North Carolina professor John Kasarda to describe an urban plan in which the economy centered around an airport drives office, industrial and retail development.
Here’s a synonym for both: Memphis.“No city in the South, or very few in the
entire United States, offers the deep resources in infrastructure that Memphis has with regard to rail, river shipping, air cargo and road shipping,” says Mark Herbison, senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Memphis Chamber.
Herbison points out that most large Southern cities might be served by one Class I rail carrier, sometimes two and sometimes none. Memphis is served by five railroads: Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.
“Those five railroads have collectively invested more than $1 billion in their facilities over the past
10 to 15 years, which has positioned Memphis to be the second-most robust rail center in the country, with only Chicago ahead of us,” Herbison says. “Memphis gets a lot of new business every year because of our vaunted rail presence.”
old man River
Its ideal location along the Mississippi River has allowed Memphis to welcome 150 manufacturing facilities that do business at the port site. Besides barge traffic, transportation infrastructure at the port includes a 2 1/2-mile BNSF intermodal rail facility. Norfolk Southern is currently constructing a huge intermodal complex for loading and unloading thousands of freight-carrying trucks each day.
Anchoring the region’s logistics powerhouse is Memphis International Airport, the busiest air cargo facility on the planet thanks largely to the FedEx World Hub headquartered there. The region’s highway system includes the intersection of Interstates 40 and 55, one of the busiest trucking corridors in the country. More than 400 trucking companies have corporate operations near that intersection, and the city is adding new highways such as I-69 and an I-269 outer loop.
the fleet of aircraft at the FedEx World Hub in memphis makes more than 10,000 arrivals and departures on a monthly basis.
52 || tennessee
6 Commercial airports
74 Public/general aviation airports
Covers 862.8 acres alongside the Memphis International Airport108 gates for wide body planes, 44 gates for narrow body planes and 44 gates for small “feeder” planes
As the evening sort begins at the Fedex World hub, Fedex planes land at the rate of one every 90 seconds, which equates to 40 planes every hour.
fedex World Hub: memphis
1,092 Miles of navigable waterways and port terminals on the Cumberland, Mississippi and Tennessee rivers
Six Class I rail carriers and 22 shortline railroads
airports
42miles of conveyor belts
4,000day-shift employees
8,000night-shift employees
8interstates
“Distribution has long driven the growth of Memphis, but the past two to three years have seen the city reemerge as a manufacturing center that is bringing even more companies to the metro area,” Herbison says. “Transportation continues to be our biggest industry and will always be huge thanks to the strong infrastructure system that Memphis has in place.”
logistics Powerhouse
Beyond Memphis, Tennessee remains a logistics leader because of its strategic geographic position and access to major U.S. markets. Its transportation network includes eight interstates, several river ports, international and regional airports, and extensive rail service that makes Tennessee a logistics force. In fact, 16,000 distribution-related businesses that employ more than 244,000 workers operate in the Volunteer State.
One logistics company that takes advantage of the state’s transportation pipeline is Access America Transport, a Chattanooga-based company that connects trucking operations with businesses that want to ship products in the fastest, most cost-effective way.
“We have 4,500 customers, such as Anheuser-Busch, Caterpillar and Starbucks, that call us to find the most efficient and professional way to truck their goods from point A to point B,” says Chad Eichelberger, president of Access America Transport. “In 2012, our company posted $360 million in sales, and we project $550 million for 2013.”
The company, named to Forbes’ list of America’s Most Promising Companies for 2013, announced expansions that will mean 450 additional jobs at its Chattanooga facility and 100 more jobs at its Knoxville facility.
Eichelberger says Access America Transport doesn’t own any trucks. Instead, the company consists of hundreds of logistics experts who set up contracts with thousands of trucking companies looking to offer the best prices and most productive means for shipping over the road for corporate clients.
“The roads are what we’re all about, and this state certainly has one of the best highway systems in America,” he says. “With great access to Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Louisville and on and on, all kinds of freight gets moved every day in and out of Tennessee.”
Story by Kevin Litwin Photography by Michael Conti
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 53 52 || tennessee
T E N N E S S E EDiscover Rhea County
Come see what we have to offer.
John Payne, Executive Director107 Main St. • Dayton, TN 37321
(423) 775-6171 • (423) 775-7653 Faxwww.rheacountyetc.com
EcONOMIc PROfILE
State Population
2000:
5,689,2762012:
6,456,293change:
13.5%
Incomeper capita income:
$24,197 median household income:
$43,989 persons per household:
2.5
Major Population Centers 2012nashville-murfreesboro:
1,726,693memphis:
1,341,690Knoxville:
848,350chattanooga:
537,889
Major Employerseastman chemical co., 10,000southern Tennessee medical center, 9,300covenant Transportation group, 5,000davidson hotel co. llc, 5,000
b&w, 4,750nissan north America inc., 4,400baptist memorial, 4,000locheed martin energy research, 4,000mcKee foods corp., 3,795Technicolor home entertainment, 3,500
1. government: 15.5%2. construction: 3.9%3. manufacturing: 11.5%4. retail: 11.8%5. wholesale: 4.4%6. Transportation, warehousing
& utilities: 5.3%7. information: 1.6%8. financial Activities: 5.0%9. professional & business
services: 12.7%10. educational & health
services: 14.5%11. leisure & hospitality: 10.1%12. other services: 3.8%
Major Employment Sectors(as % of nonagricultural jobs)
1
2
3
4
567
8
9
10
1112
Source: TN Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 55 54 || tennessee
music City Roots, a weekly concert series, takes place at the loveless Barn in nashville and is broadcast live on the radio.
56 || tennessee
HERITAGE IN HARMONy
Tennessee’s MusiCAL LeGACy keePs FindinG neW eArs
And GAininG noTiCe Around The GLoBe
LivabiLiTy
Tennessee strikes a chord with music fans of several different genres, thanks to a diverse scene
that includes honky-tonk tunes, the blues, rock and roll, and traditional mountain music.
But the Volunteer State’s growing reputation as a music center isn’t drawing just fans – industry professionals and
talented musicians are also continuing to put down roots in Tennessee.
Still a close-knit community of musicians and executives, Nashville’s music scene is growing rapidly. To keep Music City’s industry veterans connected, Leadership Music was founded in 1989.
Leadership Music contributes to Tennessee’s music community by creating a more vibrant and
vital environment, educating, inspiring and unifying a community of leaders who are the heart and soul of the entertainment industry, according to Debbie Schwartz Linn, executive director of Leadership Music.
The nonprofit organization offers an eight-month program annually to 45 to 50 established members of the music industry,
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 57
such as current and former heads of record labels, top executives, artists, songwriters and record producers.
During the program, participants delve deeper into the industry through monthly meetings, seminars and visits to music-related businesses.
“Following the template established by Leadership Nashville [a program for established community leaders], we elected not to be a leadership training program, but rather to concentrate on those who had already proven themselves to be leaders or emerging leaders in their profession by offering them an environment to learn on a much deeper level, [to obtain] a greater understanding of various parts of the music industry and find solutions to issues that would benefit the music industry as a whole,” Linn says.
Striking a Chord
Tennessee’s musical history is celebrated and preserved through the state’s many music-focused festivals and events.
The Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, which, appropriately, takes place in the East Tennessee city known as the Birthplace of Country Music, is an annual event that draws more than 45,000 people and includes three days of live music.
One of the state’s most popular attractions, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, is held in Manchester, just an hour outside of Chattanooga. Drawing more than 80,000 fans, the four-day event features 150 acts performing on 10 different stages. Murfreesboro in Middle Tennessee is home to the Uncle Dave Macon Days Festival. Celebrating traditional music and dance, the three-day event takes place in historic
LisTening Tour
Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion: Bristol
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival: Manchester
CMA Music Festival: Nashville
Riverbend Festival: Chattanooga
Old Time Bluegrass & Fiddler’s Jamboree: Holladay
Fiddlers & Fiddleheads Festival: Unicoi
Memphis Music & Heritage Festival: Memphis
Beale Street Music Festival: Memphis
Rossini Festival: Knoxville
Sewanee Summer Music Festival: Sewanee
the Zac Brown Band performs at lP Field in nashville during the CmA music Festival, which takes place each summer.
58 || tennessee
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Cannonsburgh Village.Memphis hosts the Beale Street
Music Festival, while Nashville has the CMA Music Festival and the Ryman Auditorium, where top performers have graced the stage for more than 100 years.
Steeped in Soul
Memphis, known as the Home of the Blues, is also a Tennessee music hot spot. Among its many famous music establishments are Sun Records, where Elvis Presley recorded, and Stax Records, where several hit recordings were made during the 1960s and early ‘70s, such as Sam & Dave’s Soul Man and Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody.
The recording studio was in Soulsville, USA, which is near downtown Memphis and was once a bustling center of music and culture. After Stax Records was forced into involuntary
bankruptcy in 1975, the neighborhood began to decline, but, thanks to the Soulsville Foundation, things are looking up.
The foundation, established in the late 1990s, operates three subsidiary organizations in Soulsville, USA, at Stax Records’ original site. The campus includes The Soulsville Charter School, Stax Museum of American Soul Music – the first and only soul music museum in the world – and Stax Music Academy.
While the museum preserves the past and draws more than 60,000 visitors annually, TSCS and SMA are focused on the next generation. The charter school, open to students in grades six through 12, pairs college-preparatory coursework with music education to pave the way for success. SMA also uses music to inspire kids, offering after-school and summer programs.
“Our kids go on to do big things,” says Kirk Whalum, the Soulsville Foundation’s chief creative officer. “One hundred percent of the charter school’s seniors have been accepted into college this year, and that’s a huge thing for an impoverished neighborhood.”
Story by Jessica Walker Boehm Photography by Michael Conti
and Jeffrey S. Otto
the Stax music Academy in memphis has served more than 2,500 students since it began in June 2000.
HERITAGE IN HARMONYTENNESSEE’S MUSICAL LEGACY KEEPS CATCHING EARS AND TURNING HEADS ACROSS THE STATE
LIVABILITY
T ennessee strikes a chord with music fans of several different genres, thanks to a diverse scene that includes honky-tonk tunes, the blues, rock and roll, and traditional mountain music.But the Volunteer State’s growing reputation as a music center isn’t drawing just fans – industry professionals and
talented musicians are also continuing to put down roots in Tennessee.Striking a Chord
Still a close-knit community of musicians and executives, Nashville’s music scene is growing rapidly. To keep Music City’s industry veterans connected, Leadership Music was founded in 1989.Leadership Music contributes
to Tennessee’s music community by creating a more vibrant and vital environment, educating, inspiring and unifying a community of leaders who are the heart and soul of the entertainment industry, according to Debbie Schwartz Linn, executive director of Leadership Music.The nonprofit organization offers an eight-month program annually to 45 to 50 established
Music City Roots, a weekly concert, takes place on Wednesdays at the Loveless Barn in Nashville and is broadcast live on the radio.
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 57
56 || tennessee
businessclimate.com/tennessee || 59 58 || tennessee
Small Patients, Big Care
health care
Tennessee children’s hospiTals are renowned for pediaTric research, TreaTmenT
Pediatric hospitals in Tennessee provide good medicine to their young patients, thanks in large
part to excellence in research and delivery.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis was the first institution in America established for the sole purpose of conducting research and treatment of catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer, and today is globally recognized as a leader in pediatric cancer treatment. The hospital has 78 inpatient beds and treats more than 250 outpatients each day. And no family ever pays St. Jude for anything.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University
was nationally recognized in 10 specialty areas by U.S. News & World Report in its 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. The hospital treats health issues ranging from colds and broken bones to heart disease and cancer.
“We have one of the largest pediatric cardiology departments in the United States and one of the largest intensive care nurseries in the nation,” says Luke Gregory, CEO of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
“Also on our campus is the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center that is hosting some of the most advanced research in the world for the treatment of autism,” Gregory says.
The nursing staff at Vanderbilt has earned Magnet designation by the American Nurses Association, the only national award to
recognize nurses as integral team members in influencing positive patient outcomes. Less than five percent of hospitals in America are recognized with Magnet designation.
The Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has also received accolades for its research programs in pediatric urology and diabetes, and Parents magazine ranks the medical center as one of the top overall children’s hospitals in the country for 2013.
“Our research is also a leader in vaccine research for illnesses such as f lu, malaria and other major infections,” Gregory says. “The Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt continues to advance in all areas in our quest to always provide top care to young people ages 0-18.”
Surgeons at the 152-bed East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville performed nearly 11,000 surgeries in 2012.
60 || Tennessee
Excellent Hospitals Statewide
Other top children’s hospitals around the state include East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, which serves 16 counties and accommodates more than 65,000 annual emergency room visits, and the 69-bed Niswonger Children’s Hospital in Johnson City, which serves 200,000 children in a four-state, 29-county region and is home to a St. Jude Affiliate Clinic. Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga provides the highest level of care for premature or sick newborns with its Level III neonatal intensive care unit, while Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis was recognized in five specialty
areas by U.S. News & World Report in its 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings.
“We have experienced a big increase in patient volume over the past decade, which has resulted in the construction of a beautiful hospital where we now practice medicine,” says Jonathan McCullers, pediatrician in chief at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. “Now we are taking the next step to be a regional children’s hospital as well as an academic health center that is very similar to what Vanderbilt embraces. Not only will we deliver clinical care, but actively work to improve how the clinical care is delivered through research and medical training. Le Bonheur is looking in the next five
to 10 years to be among the top 10 children’s hospitals in the nation.”
McCullers, a pediatric infectious disease doctor with a pedigree in research, says in the next few years Le Bonheur will add 40 new faculty members in research programs that embrace the academic health center model.
“One of my missions is to help in the academic transformation of the entire faculty that serves our hospital,” he says. “Soon our research efforts will be advancing to world-class status in the areas of pediatric obesity, pediatric asthma and developmental disabilities like premature births and autism disorders.”
Story by Kevin Litwin Photography by Michael Conti
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memphis
Photo courtesy of st. Jude children’s research hosPital
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Health Care in memphis and nashvillememphis• le bonheur and st. jude
are two cutting-edge medical research children’s hospitals in Memphis.
• The city is considered a leader in the biosciences and biotechnology, including medical device manufacturing.
• Four of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies have operations in Memphis – glaxosmithKline, johnson & johnson, pfizer and merck (schering-plough).
• Memphis is home to the new university of Tennessee-baptist research park, a major bioscience research facility.
nashville• The health-care sector within
nashville features more than 250 health-care companies and 300-plus professional services firms.
• The industry annually contributes nearly $30 billion and more than 200,000 jobs to the local economy.
• Globally, 56 health-care companies headquartered in nashville generate $70 billion in revenue and more than 400,000 jobs.
• Based in nashville are vanderbilt university medical center and hospital operators community health systems and hospital corporation of America.
Continue learning about Tennessee’s health-care industry and its hospitals and care centers at businessclimate.com/tennessee.
People for ProgressFentress County Tennessee
Clarkrange Regional Business Park Located within 500 miles of the most populated areas in the U.S., and only 13.1 miles from Interstate 40, the Clarkrange Regional Business Park is centrally located between Nashville (109 miles), Knoxville (85 miles) and Chattanooga (106 miles).
Jamestown Business Park The Jamestown Business Park, located at 240 Commerce Drive in Jamestown, Tenn., has an available 60,000-square-foot building for lease. The park is an industrial park, which also has 70-plus acres available. All infrastructure is in place – electric, water, sewer, natural gas and paved roads. The park is located a half-mile from U.S. 127 and 32 miles north of Interstate 40.
Contact Walt Page, Executive Director at 931-879-9948.
114 Central Ave. W. P.O. Box 1294
Jamestown, TN 38556
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gaLLery
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Dive into CHattanoogaThe Tennessee Aquarium, located on the banks of the Tennessee river in downtown Chattanooga, is one of the state’s most popular attractions.
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steP BaCk in time in Cookeville
The cookeville depot museum includes the 1913-era 509 steam engine, originally used for passenger and freight. The museum also features railway artifacts and replicas of the city’s former layout.
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get CultureD in JaCksonThe carnegie center for Art and history in downtown Jackson includes local history exhibits and a contemporary art gallery.
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Four Lake authority
Nashville’s Northeast PartNers
Macon, Smith Sumner, Trousdale
and Wilson Counties
tennessee CentraL
• interstate 40 and 65 Corridors
• 31 industrial Parks
• tennessee College of applied technology
• Volunteer state Community College
• reliable Power by tVa
• nashville international airport
• Foreign trade Zone
• Population: 336,000
• Future Cumberland river Port
702 McMurry Blvd.
hartsville, tn 37074 615-374-4607
[email protected] www.fourlake.org
5th most affordable U.S. metro (Kiplinger 2010)
Top regional university
Retail, residential, medical hub for metro of 600,000
EPA air quality attainment Tennessee’s first Green City
Strategic location: Interstate, rail crossroads
Two-day shipping radius to 65% of the
U.S. population
Washington County: Jewel of the Mountain South
www.thewcedc.com 855-885-3685
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learn aBout tHe arts in memPHis
The memphis college of Art has a strong public outreach program that encourages arts participation.
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Ad Index 72 BakerrealtyCompany
2 Blountpartnership
45 Carnegiehotel
54 Chattanoogaarea ChamBerofCommerCe
31 CityofClarksville
18-19 ClevelandBradleyCounty ChamBerofCommerCe
33 deCosimo
70 fourlake regionalindustrial developmentauthority
10 gallatineConomiC developmentagenCy
70 generalmotors
45 greeneCountypartnership
6 hohenwald/lewisCounty eConomiCdevelopment
37 JointeConomiC&Community developmentBoard ofwilsonCounty
C4 knoxvilleChamBer
15 mauryCountyChamBer &eConomiCallianCe
1 memphisareaChamBer ofCommerCe
63 metropolitannashville internationalairport
C2 morristownutilitysystems
32 networks sullivanpartnership
54 northwesttennessee regionaleConomiC developmentgroup
Ad Index (cont.) 72 pulaski-giles CountyeConomiC developmentCommission
55 rheaCountyeConomiC &tourismCounCilinC.
63 theindustrialdevelopment BoardoffentressCounty
C3 theroaneallianCe
32 tullahomaareaeConomiC developmentCorporation
23 vpBuildings
70 washingtonCounty tennesseeeConomiC developmentCounCil
Industrial Real Estate for the
Tennessee Valley Region
Established in 1982, Baker Realty Company has become the leading industrial brokerage
firm in the Knoxville and East Tennessee region. Baker Realty Company’s experience,
knowledge and contacts within the East Tennessee market have continued
to grow and include expertise in the multitenant warehouse, bulk distribution,
manufacturing and industrial development real estate markets.
Our industrial services include:
Regional Market Analysis
Property Acquisition & Disposition
Tenant & Buyer Representation
Site & Building Selection
Specialized property types include:
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Manufacturing & Heavy Industrial
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Rail & Barge Served Sites
Contact us today for more information on available properties
and business advantages of our region.
1487 Amherst Rd. Knoxville, TN 37909 (865) 450-2999 tel
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www.bakerrealtycompany.com
visit our advertisers
Baker Realty Company www.bakerrealtycompany.com
Blount Partnership www.pellissippiplace.com
Carnegie Hotel www.carnegiehotel.com
Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce www.chattanoogachamber.com
City of Clarksville www.cityofclarksville.com
Cleveland Bradley County Chamber of Commerce www.clevelandchamber.com
Decosimo www.decosimo.com
Four Lake Regional Industrial Development Authority www.fourlake.org
Gallatin Economic Development Agency www.gallatin-tn.gov
General Motors www.gm.com
Greene County Partnership www.growingreene.com
Hohenwald/Lewis County Economic Development www.lewisedc.org
Joint Economic & Community Development Board of Wilson County www.doingbiz.org
Knoxville Chamber www.knoxvilleoakridge.com
Maury County Chamber & Economic Alliance www.mauryalliance.com
Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce www.memphischamber.com
Metropolitan Nashville International Airport www.flynashville.com
Morristown Utility Systems www.morristownchamber.com
Networks Sullivan Partnership www.networkstn.com
Northwest Tennessee Regional Economic Development Group www.northwesttn.com
Pulaski-Giles County Economic Development Commission www.gilescountyedc.com
Rhea County Economic & Tourism Council Inc. www.rheacountyetc.com
The Industrial Development Board of Fentress County www.forwardfentress.org
The Roane Alliance www.roanealliance.org
Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corporation www.thinktullahoma.com
VP Buildings www.vp.com
Washington County Tennessee Economic Development Council www.thewcedc.com
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