News

Tennessee wins 2009 Gold Shovel award

June 16, 2009 – The State of Tennessee has been honored with the 2009 Gold Shovel award by Area Development magazine. The award is presented annually to the state that achieved the most success in job creation and economic impact over the previous year. Area Development is one of the leading corporate site selection magazines.

Tennessee earned the award thanks to the $3 billion in new investments that will create high-value jobs in manufacturing, automotive assembly, semiconductors, and other fields. The award is based on a number of weighted factors, including jobs created, amount of investment, number of new facilities, and diversity of industries.

The magazine also cited Volkswagen's decision to build a $1 billion plant in Chattanooga as its top job creation and investment project of 2008.

In addition, four other states in the TVA service area were honored by the magazine. Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia received 2009 Silver Shovels in the 5 to 10 million population category. Alabama earned a Silver Shovel in the under 5 million category.

Read the full story at Area Development Online.