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Six Valley states ranked in top 10 for competitiveness by Site Selection

North Carolina ranked first and Tennessee second in Site Selection magazine's annual ranking of the 10 most competitive states in economic development for 2005. Alabama and Kentucky gained the third and fourth spots. Georgia was number seven and Virginia tied for eighth. Altogether they represent six of the seven states served by TVA Economic Development.

The move of Nissan North America's headquarters to Middle Tennessee was among the magazine's top North American deals for the year. “What makes this deal particularly dramatic is the relocation of 1,300 jobs to Tennessee and the more than 13,000 people who have applied to work at the new headquarters already,” Site Selection stated. The magazine also noted the Denso expansion in Maryville, Tennessee, which received an honorable mention in the top deals category.

Although Mississippi, the seventh stated served by TVA, was not on the top 10 list, the SeverCorr project in Columbus was among the magazine’s top 10 North American deals of the year. Site Selection said concerning the project, “This mini-mill's chosen TVA-certified site in Lowndes County's Golden Triangle Industrial Park beat out 54 sites in the Southeast, including finalists in Arkansas and Kentucky. SeverCorr CFO Eddie Lehner gave full credit to teamwork among all the project financiers and economic development agencies involved.”

View a list of the top 10 states and the criteria used by Site Selection. Also see the top 10 North American deals cited by the magazine.