News

Project announcements

Gerdau Ameristeel, a metal recycler and manufacturer of fabricated steel, announced a $20 million investment to upgrade its Knoxville facility, including an $8.2 million warehouse. In addition to TVA, the state of Tennessee, KUB, and local governments provided assistance.

Reily Foods Co., which produces JFG coffee, Luzianne Tea, and other products, announced it will expand its Knoxville operation with a new coffee-roasting facility. The expansion will retain 160 jobs and add an additional 16 at the Knoxville facility, which is located within the city’s Empowerment Zone. The $12 million project will add 33,000 square feet to the existing facility.

Caremark Rx Inc., a leading pharmacy-benefits manager, announced plans to open a state-of-the-art call center in Nashville that will employ 375 workers. The 94,000-square-foot facility, expected to begin operations in mid-July, will employ about 600 people when it reaches full capacity in two to three years. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen credited the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the city of Nashville, TVA, and others for their collaborative efforts in recruiting the Caremark facility.

Tennessee Bun Co., a woman-owned business that supplies sandwich buns to restaurants, is expanding its Nashville production facility. The expansion will add 160 new jobs, 22,000 square feet of production/office space, and 72,000 square feet of cold storage. The company is a major supplier of buns to McDonald’s in the Southeast. Corporate revenues following the expansion are expected to rise to about $50 million, up from $27 million in 2004.

Circadence Corporation, a software development company, will open a research and development facility in Tupelo, Mississippi. The facility will house product development for Circadence’s WARP technology, customer support, and product testing, and will serve as the advanced R&D center for all future software development. This high-tech network protocol company will create about 100 jobs, with future growth potential.

Mississippi State University will partner with AEA Technology of Great Britain to establish an R&D facility in Mississippi. The facility will produce portable power in support of space, defense, and homeland security technologies. Initially, 25 jobs will be created, with growth to 100 jobs anticipated in three years. Research and development will take place at MSU in Starkville and manufacturing at the Golden Triangle in Lowndes County, Mississippi.

Mohawk Industries recently announced plans to add 700,000 square feet of warehouse space to its distribution center and a 600,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for the company’s growing line of hard-surface flooring. The expansion will keep 485 jobs in Gordon County and create an additional 130 jobs during the next five years. The facility is served by TVA’s distributor customer North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation.

Colormasters plans to expand its Albertville, Alabama, facility, creating an additional 75 jobs. The company is a leader in the printing and construction of plastic bags and other flexible packaging products for a variety of industries across North America.

Topre America Corporation will make a a $15 million investment in Cullman County, Alabama. The manufacturer of metal stampings is building an additional manufacturing and assembly plant that will add 80 jobs.

Hydro-Gear will open a manufacturing plant in Princeton, Kentucky, to produce transaxles for lawn and garden equipment. The plant will initially employ 150 workers and plans to expand in the future. Hydro-Gear acquired a spec building that had been vacant for seven years; it expects to be in production by November 2005.

Whitepath Fabtech, an HVAC manufacturer, moved to Fannin County, Georgia, with help from TVA Technical Services. TVA provided site evaluation and analysis to demonstrate the suitability of the site for the company’s needs. Whitepath will create 25 jobs immediately and begin operating at 25 percent capacity. It anticipates eventually running 75-employee shifts as the market allows.