April 10, 2008 |
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Goodman Expands, Celebrates 40 YearsGovernor Phil Bredesen today congratulated Goodman Company on the announced expansion of its Fayetteville, Tenn. plant. The expansion will add 300 new jobs to the area and represents a $7.2 million capital investment by Goodman, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products for residential and light commercial use. "Goodman's decision to expand its Fayetteville plant reflects the business-friendly climate we have worked hard to create," said Governor Bredesen. "I am grateful to the company's leadership for their continued investment and confidence in the work force and the economy of Tennessee." The Fayetteville plant is expanding its production line to include HVAC equipment for the light commercial market and will manufacture units with a cooling capacity of three tons to 25 tons.
"Governor Bredesen's vision for our state is to create higher skilled, better paying jobs for all Tennesseans," said Matt Kisber, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. "The additional jobs created by Goodman's expansion will be a strong boost to the region's economy and is a testament to the quality of the local work force." Goodman is one of Fayetteville's largest employers with more than 1,500 current employees at its Wilson Parkway facility. "We are proud to call Lincoln County home and are looking forward to adding jobs and increasing our production offerings. It is an exciting time for our company, and we're glad to be growing in this community," said Goodman Vice President of Operations Bill Miller. Goodman Company, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of Goodman Global, Inc., is the second-largest domestic unit manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products for residential and light commercial use. For more information, visit www.goodmanglobal.com. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development works routinely with existing businesses to improve and expand their presence in the state. For more information, visit www.tnecd.gov.
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Tennessee Quick FactsMonroe County is home to Fort Loudoun, the first permanent English settlement in present-day Tennessee. The settlement was established along the Little Tennessee River in 1756-57. Source:
Schedule AlertApril 11 To request ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber to speak or attend an event, please contact Jennifer Alward at (615) 253-1852 or jennifer.alward@state.tn.us FeedbackWe invite your thoughts on the ECD Hot Sheet. Please click here to contact ECD Communications with any questions, concerns or suggestions you may have. |
News BriefsBusiness Development
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Back Row: Small Business Administration Tennessee District Director Clint W. Smith. Front Row: (left to right)BERO East Tennessee Enterprise Specialist Ronald Wade, KOSBE Executive Director Aundrea Wilcox, Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips, and Kingsport Chamber President and CEO Miles Burdine. |
ECD's BERO helped forge a partnership between Kingsport officials, the Small Business Association and the Kingsport Office of Small Business Development and Entrepreneurship with the goal of further strengthening and expanding small business development in the area.
The result was a Strategic Alliance Memorandum signed by Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips, Kingsport Chamber President and CEO Miles Burdine, KOSBE Executive Director Aundrea Wilcox and SBA Tennessee District Director Clint W. Smith at the inaugural Kingsport Chamber Fourth Friday Breakfast and Business Meeting on March 28.
"This alliance would not have come about so soon without the help of BERO and Mr. Ronald Wade, BERO East Tennessee Enterprise Specialist. Mr. Wade was instrumental in helping us forge the partnership with SBA, which has been a goal of ours since we began working closely with BERO in 2006," said Wilcox.
The Cannon County Historic Chamber of Commerce's Carolyn Motley has invited BERO to an informal talk about small business on their early morning radio program on 1540 WBRY. Listen in at 1540 am WBRY at 7:45 am on Thursday, April 24.
Save the dates for the upcoming workshops in Clarksville, Cookeville and Chattanooga on how to do business with the government. Attendees will learn valuable tools and insights to enable them to more successfully work with federal, state and local governments and agencies.
WHAT: Doing Business with Federal, State and Local Governments
WHEN: April 22, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. with a Federal Procurement Session from 2-3 p.m.
WHERE: Wingate Inn, 251 Holiday Dr, Clarksville, Tenn.
WHO: Small business, woman-owned, minority-owned and rural businesses interested in working with the government.
The workshop is free of charge, but reservations are required and seating is limited. To register contact Stacy or Katie at 931-221-7816. For more information click here.
WHAT: Doing Business with Federal, State and Local Governments
WHEN: May 6, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
WHERE: Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, One West First Street, Cookeville, Tenn.
WHO: Small business, woman-owned, minority-owned and rural businesses interested in working with the government.
The workshop is free of charge, but reservations are required. To register contact the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce at 931-526-2211.
WHAT: Doing Business with Federal/State/Local Governments
WHEN: May 22, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
WHERE: DRC (Development Resource Center) at 1250 Market Street, Chattanooga, Tenn.
WHO: Small businesses, woman- owned, minority-owned and rural businesses interested in working with the government.
BERO is partnering with the Knox County Purchasing Supplier Diversity Program to host the first Knoxville Small Business Expo April 22 in celebration of National Small Business Week. The event will give small business owners the opportunity to discuss financing needs one-on-one with lenders. Business owners will also be able to speak with resource partners, procurement agencies and staff from the Small Business Administration. Session topics will include working capital loans, rural loans, export working capital loans, government contracting and surety bond financing.
The expo will be from 12-7 p.m. at the Knox County Health Department, located at 140 Dameron Avenue in Knoxville. There is no charge for the event. For more information, call (865) 215-5754 or (615) 736-7427.
| Mayor David Shumaker, left, accepts a plaque from ECD's Stanley Harrison. |
Bristol just received a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Community Rating System (CRS) insurance class rate increase from a Class 9 to a Class 8. This class rating change will result in a premium reduction for all property owners with flood insurance of 10 percent, resulting in a projected $8,600 annual savings in premiums to Bristol residents. Bristol is only one of eight Tennessee communities, out of the total 332 NFIP participating communities, with better than a Class 10 rating. Other communities include Athens, Carthage, Elizabethton, Gatlinburg, Knox County, Knoxville and Metro Nashville/Davidson county. Each increase in class saves NFIP policy holders 5 percent for up to a potential savings of 45 percent annually.
Mayor David Shumaker, during last weeks City Council meeting, accepted a plaque presented on behalf of FEMA from Stanley Harrison, the states's CRS Coordinator for the NFIP. For further information concerning participation in the NFIP's-CRS program, contact Stanley Harrison at (423) 434-6476 or by e-mail at stanley.harrison@state.tn.us.
Union City and Collierville were both featured in the April 2008 edition of Southern Living. Union City is represented by photograph of Kiwanis Park and its fountain, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Entrepreneurs were also featured in the section, including Joann's formals, dress designer Paige Burcham and Suedell's designer clothing and home furnishings. The businesses are located in the downtown commercial district and were recruited by Main Street Union City.
In Collierville, The Silver Caboose restaurant has been located on the town square of downtown since 1996, and is a third generation Smith family-owned business. Southern Living found the Silver Caboose to have great service. "The service is so friendly you'll feel like a member of the family," the article read. The owner of this establishment, Mary Jean Smith, is an active member of the Main Street committee and is a Downtown Collierville Diplomat.
Tennessee Main Street was represented at the Annual National Main Street Conference last week in Philadelphia by 17 local Main Street Directors. They attended educational sessions - over 60 were offered - and study trips around the Philadelphia area with 1600 other attendees from around the country. Educational sessions addressed such topics as: "Entrepreneurship and Diversity"; "Town and Gown: the University and Main Street"; "Keys to building strong retail"; "Old Buildings for Young People: Using Art and Preservation to Engage the Next Generation"; and "Mapping Main Street on the Map and in Three Dimension," which highlighted Google Earth Project development and usage in our own town of McMinnville.
Tennessee Main Street Programs and community representatives in attendance were: Bristol, Cleveland, Columbia, Cookeville, Dandridge, Dyersburg, Fayetteville, Franklin, Gallatin, Jackson, Johnson City, Kingsport, Lawrenceburg, McMinnville, Murfreesboro, Rogersville, and Union City. Also joining these local Main Street Programs at the conference were: Assistant Commissioner Rick Meredith, BERO Director, Michelle Proctor; and Tennessee Main Street Program Director, Kimberly Nyberg.
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UPI:
"UT Gets $65M to Build Kraken Supercomputer" The University of Tennessee received a $65 million grant from the National Science Foundation to build the Kraken supercomputer NSF said the state-of-the-art supercomputer will enhance the computational power of the TeraGrid, which the foundation described as "the world's largest, most powerful and comprehensive distributed cyberinfrastructure for open scientific research. |
News-Sentinel: "All Systems Go for Sysco"New $37 million distribution center set to open in May Knoxville's newest company calls it a next-generation facility.
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