INSIDE This Edition - Plateau Partnership Park

CR
M
C
PA OP TO
GE EN W
S I NG E R
14
-1
7
A Voice For Upper Cumberland Businesses
December 2008 | Issue 48
U.C. Incubator program works for Four Lake Authority
CLAUDIA JOHNSON
Editor-In-Chief
Business park plan
moving forward
The Putnam County
Commission and the City
of Cookeville have passed
resolutions authorizing
application for a Certificate of
Public Purpose and Necessity
from the Tennessee Board of
Economic Growth building
finance committee to develop
a business park in Putnam
County. The certificate is
required before the city or
county can issue bonds to
finance the project.
Good news for the Upper
Cumberland during 2008 has
been Corrections Corporation
of America’s construction of a
2,040-bed correctional center
with an estimated total capital
investment of approximately
$143 million at Hartsville in
the PowerCom Industrial Park.
However, there is more
positive news from the
PowerCom Industrial Center,
owned and operated by the
Four Lake Authority
comprised of Trousdale,
Macon, Smith, Sumner and
Wilson counties. The Business
Incubator Program located
inside the park currently
leases 12 buildings totaling
118,430 square feet to 10
entities.
The following is a summary
of graduates and tenants
supplied by the Four Lake
Authority illustrating the
success of the incubator
program.
• A.P. Hicks Ent. Inc. began
operations Aug. 11, 2007, in
the 12,000 square-foot
Power Stores building,
including two mobile trailer
offices located there. This
industry manufactures
mowers for state/county/city
SEE INCUBATOR PG. 25
Good news on the horizon for U.C. manufacturing UCTA names new
director, board
Photos: submitted by Brock Hill
Dutch Craft Sleep
awarded grant
Incumbent Worker Training
grants assist existing
employers with training needs
associated with skills upgrades
for their employees. A grant
for $12,046 has been awarded
to Celina-based Dutch Craft
Sleep Products LLC, which was
featured in the June issue of
the CBJ.
★
Rogers acquires
Tennessee Asphalt
Rogers Group, the nation’s
largest privately held crushed
stone producer and a major
asphalt producer and highway
contractor, has acquired
Knoxville-based Tennessee
Asphalt Company, founded
in 1953. Rogers Group,
headquartered in Nashville,
is celebrating its 100th
anniversary this year and
employs 1,500 people in five
states. It operates numerous
facilities within the Upper
Cumberland.
Initials Interiors
receives award
Initials Interiors Inc., also
known as Mario & Marielena,
has been selected for the 2008
Best of Cookeville Award in
the textile category by the
U.S. Local Business Association
SEE BIZBUZZ PG. 9
Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber President George Halford, Rainer Heumann, State of Tennessee,
Director of European Office, Cumberland County Mayor Brock Hill and Warren County Mayor John
Pelham attended a reception in Berlin at the VW dealership after touring the VW plant in Wolfsburg,
Germany. VW’s American plant will be located in the Chattanooga area and is expected to impact the
U.C. through location of new suppliers and contracts with existing suppliers.
U.C. officials find
opportunity on
Volkswagen trade
mission to Germany
CLAUDIA JOHNSON
Editor-In-Chief
Tennessee’s delegation has
returned from the Governor’s
Trade Mission to Germany,
where state and community
leaders met with Volkswagen
officials and sought to
persuade Volkswagen
suppliers to locate facilities in
Tennessee.
Warren County Mayor John
Pelham, Cumberland County
Mayor Brock Hill and
Cookeville-Putnam County
Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director George
Halford attended from the
U.C.
“Doing business with
German fi rms is process
based,” Hill observed. “This
trade mission was the fi rst
step in that process. The
friendships and contacts we
made during the mission will
be further developed as the
chosen suppliers are
announced by Volkswagen.”
The trade mission was
organized following an
invitation by the leadership
of Volkswagen AG to Gov.
Phil Bredesen to visit the
company’s global
headquarters in Wolfsburg,
Germany. Bredesen met with
Dr. Martin Winterkorn,
chairman, board of
management of Volkswagen
AG, Dr. Jochem Heizmann,
member, board of
management with
responsibility for group
production, and with Frank
Fischer, chief executive
officer of the Chattanooga
production facility.
“I defi nitely was impressed
with what I saw while we
SEE VW PG.25
Tower Ribbon
INSIDE This EditionNorth Patient
Cutting
Friday, Dec. 12, 2008
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
SEE EQUESTERIAN PG. 6
SEE PIES PG. 12
Ruth Dyal has joined the Upper
Cumberland Tourism Association
as the new executive director.
“This region has so much
to offer,” said Dyal. “We have
everything from outstanding arts
to breathtaking, unspoiled natural
beauty, and most importantly,
friendly people that make every
visitor feel welcome. I’m delighted
to have the opportunity to
represent and promote this area.”
The purpose of the UCTA is to
increase the economic impact of
tourism in the 14 county region
of the Upper Cumberland. These
counties include Cannon, Clay,
Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress,
Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett,
Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, Warren
and White. The organization is
made up of local businesses,
governments, chambers of
commerce and individuals.
UCTA also serves as a promotion
vehicle for the region, working
cooperatively with the state and
other organizations to promote
the Upper Cumberland region.
Dyal, a native of Germany, has
been an active member of the
community since moving to the
Upper Cumberland in 2002. Most
recently she served as coordinator
of the Upper Cumberland Quilt
Festival and Quilt Trail 2000.
“With significant professional
experience in international
relations and a record of
community service, Ruth will help
the Upper Cumberland Tourism
Association expand its presence in
the region served,” said Suzanne
Williams, UCTA Chairman.
Community
Family Day
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
SEE FLUTY’S PG. 14
SEE AGRIBUSINESS PG. 19
The Proven Choice
931-528-2541 • One Medical Center Boulevard • Cookeville, TN 38501 • crmchealth.org
CUMBERLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL
705 NORTH DIXIE AVE
COOKEVILLE, TN 38501
COOKEVILLE TN 38501
PERMIT NO. 76
December 2008
www.ucbjournal.com
INCUBATOR
From page 1
and contract highway mowing and
employs four.
• Armster Reclaimed Lumber located
to a 12,000 square-foot building
plus one adjoining acre in Village 2
on Aug. 13. The company salvages
and re-manufactures lumber with a
home office in Connecticut,
employing four.
• Covenant Displays, after eight years
as an incubator tenant, graduated in
2003 to a new location in Lebanon.
The company produces special order
acrylic display stands, primarily for
the religious bookstore market. This
family-owned business employs six.
• Cowan & Sons Woodworking
graduated from the incubator nine
years ago, moving to a permanent
location in Red Boiling Springs. The
company manufactures cabinetry for
the high-end residential market.
This family-owned and operated
business employs 17.
• ElecMech Salvage Inc. located to a
4,000 square-foot building in May
of 2005. This family enterprise that
began in Cumberland Gap employs
three. They rehab switch boxes and
other heavy electrical equipment.
Owner Mitchell Gibson is looking to
expand.
• General Spring continues to operate
after a Chapter 11 reorganization in
1992. They currently employ 19 and
occupy two buildings totaling
36,000 square feet.
• North Central Recycling, a regional
trash recycling entity for the North
Central Tennessee area, utilizes
Trousdale County inmate labor.
Since 1994, NCR occupies a 16,000
square-foot building and continues
to provide a valuable service for the
Four Lake region.
• Piedmont Galleries Inc., a high-end
furniture producer, is in the process
of locating its second facility to a
4,000 square-foot building in
Village 2. Its home office is in
Fairview. They employ two.
• Smith County Industrial Coatings,
an incubator graduate of 16 years,
continues to thrive at its permanent
location in Gordonsville. Current
employment is 15.
• Victory Truck Lighting located to a
4,000 square-foot building in April
2006. This company began as
SOLAS Inc. with two family owners
and employees selling new and used
heavy equipment and truck parts to
businesses and small owner
operators. After the death of one of
the owners in the Feb. 5 tornado, the
remaining owner has re-organized
under the name of Victory Truck
Lighting and specializing in LED
and incandescent truck lighting and
accessories.
• Southern Debindery occupies two
4,000 square-foot buildings where
they recycle out-of-edition
textbooks. The Lebanon-based
company employs three.
• State of Tennessee/Division of
Geology leases a 4,000 square-foot
building for the storage of rock/core
samples gathered in the region. A
tenant since 2000, this division of
the state’s Department of
Environment and Conservation
studies, analyzes and records the
core fi ndings for future reference.
• Sunfresh Farms moved to a
permanent location on the Wilson
County and Smith County line 11
years ago. This family-owned and
operated fi rm produces, packages,
markets and ships vegetables and
berries for regional markets. They
currently employ 15.
• Volunteer Adhesives, which moved
to Lafayette four years ago,
continues to thrive. A producer of
special order industrial adhesives,
the company employs 20.
The Four Lake PowerCom Industrial
Center currently has a total 336,000
square feet of warehousing/
manufacturing space available for
lease, including 12 buildings with
4,000 square feet, 15 buildings with
16,000 square feet, and one 32,000
square-foot building. In addition, there
is a new 54,000 square-foot spec
building available for sale or lease.
Contact Donna Arrington at 100
West Main Street in Hartsville, call
(615) 374-4607 or visit www.fourlake.
org.
Carbon monoxide poisoning kills workers
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a major
source of injury and accidental death
both in and outside of the workplace. In
2007 five people were hospitalized in
a single exposure. In 2005 two people
died from carbon monoxide exposure by
running propane buffers, both of which
occurred in the workplace.
According to non-workplace statistics
from the Tennessee Department
of Health in 2006, there were 11
unintentional deaths due to carbon
monoxide poisoning and approximately
150 people suffered carbon monoxiderelated injuries. In 2007 six more people
died as a result of carbon monoxide
poisoning in Tennessee.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless,
odorless, tasteless gas and is one of the
most common industrial hazards. Mild
exposure can cause nausea, dizziness or
headaches. Severe poisoning can result
in brain damage, heart damage or even
death.
Poisonous gas is produced by the
incomplete burning of any material
containing carbon, such as gasoline,
kerosene, oil, propane, coal or wood.
Forges, blast furnaces and coke ovens
produce carbon monoxide, but one of the
most common sources of exposure in
the workplace is the internal combustion
engine, such as small gasoline-powered
engines and tools, and gasoline- or
propane-powered forklifts.
Employers can lower the risk of
exposure to employees by following a
few simple safety rules:
• Install an effective ventilation
system to remove carbon monoxide.
• Maintain appliances and equipment
in good order (preventive maintenance).
• Consider switching from fossil-fuel
powered to battery-powered equipment.
• Ensure compressors used to supply
breathing air are equipped with a high
temperature alarm or carbon monoxide
alarm, or use compressors that are not
oil lubricated.
• Install carbon monoxide monitors
or regularly test the air in areas where
carbon monoxide is generated.
• Only use gasoline-, propane- or
diesel-powered engines in a wellventilated area.
• Instruct workers in the hazards,
signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide
exposure.
For more information on carbon
monoxide poisoning and workplace
safety, call TOSHA consultative
services at 800-249-8510. It’s free and
confidential.
VW
From page 1
were at the current facility in
Wolfburg,” Pelham said. “I was
also impressed with our delegation
and how we represented the state
and the region.”
Following the visit to Wolfsburg
on Oct. 22, the 41-member
delegation held briefi ngs about
Tennessee for the automaker’s
supplier community in Dusseldorf
on Oct. 23, Frankfurt on Oct. 24
and Munich on Oct. 27. Pelham
said he, Halford and Hill had
numerous conversations during
these Invest in Tennessee forums
in which they talked about the
benefits of the Upper Cumberland
as a whole and their own
communities specifically.
“I consider it a great privilege to
represent the Upper Cumberland
region of our state,” Hill said. “We
have a talented workforce and
quality education and training
facilities. We are just what these
German fi rms are looking for in
Tennessee.”
Pelham said he was also able to
discuss Warren County’s inclusion
in the Chattanooga Foreign Trade
Zone and the benefits it affords to
companies locating in the county.
He said when he learned that a
delegation from Alabama was to
arrive in Germany upon the
Tennessee group’s departure, he
was reminded that Tennessee is
not without competition for the
jobs and opportunities associated
with Volkswagen’s presence.
“There is a brief window of
opportunity for all of us, one to
two years, to locate industry that
will build their plants in our
communities or for our existing
industries to land potential
contracts,” Pelham observed.
Bredesen has said he hopes the
state can generate several
thousand related jobs on top of
Volkswagen’s initial 2,000 in the
region within a 100-mile radius of
the coming site at the Enterprise
South Megasite in Hamilton
County.
Pelham said company officials
are aware of the economic
challenges facing the United States
and expressed no plans to change
their commitment to locating here.
“Companies are still excited
about coming to the United
States,” Pelham said. “VW
encourages its larger suppliers to
locate around its plant in the
industrial park, but outlying
communities have the chance to
land Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers.”
Volkswagen plans to be the third
largest car manufacturer in the
world by 2018, when the company
expects to sell 1 million cars.
“I’m excited,” Pelham admitted.
“A lot of times opportunities are
sensationalized, but this is not the
case. There is potential for all of
us.”
All delegation representatives
are following up with the German
company officials they met and
continuing to network within the
region to keep the momentum
going.
“Regardless of the eventual
outcome, our region will be
impacted positively by the VW
location in Chattanooga,” Hill said.
25