SEIDA Annual Report 2010

SEIDA 2010 INDUSTRIAL RECRUITMENT AND EXPANSIONS

New Locations

17

Capital Investment $488,370,000 Jobs Created/Retained Existing Industry

5136 125

Prospect Inquiries

36

Request for Proposals

34

Prospect Visits

27

SEIDA IS PROUD TO CONNECT E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T PA R T N E R S W I T H P O W E R F U L R E S O U R C E S C R E AT I N G RELIABLE SERVICES. The Southeast Industrial Development Association celebrates another successful year in economic development growth. With opportunities available for training, access to a skilled workforce, great transportation networks and leadership with a vision, companies continue to locate within the SEIDA region. Announcements of new company locations and existing industry expansions made headlines throughout the year. The economic impact over the past year has proven a positive outlook for years to come.

SEIDA staff members are looking forward to another productive year working with local, regional and state economic development partners to assist in future economic growth for the SEIDA region.

Athens Utilities Board ▪ Blue Ridge Mountain EMC ▪ Chickamauga Electric System ▪ Cleveland Utilities ▪ Dayton Electric Department ▪ Electric Power Board ▪ Etowah Utilities ▪ Murphy Power Board ▪ North Georgia EMC ▪ Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative ▪ Tri-State EMC

Regional Resources for Financing Opportunities The State of Tennessee allocated bond financing capacity to county governments as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act (ARRA) of 2009. “ARRA” created two types of Recovery Zone Bond financing vehicles—Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds to benefit private industry projects and Recovery Zone Facility Bonds for publically owned projects.

In conjunction with the Southeast Tennessee Development District, SEIDA sponsored a workshop providing legal expertise for members of government and economic development partners regarding the use of Recovery Zone Bonds as an economic and community development tool. Approximately 30 individuals attended from our three-state region. The training resulted in submission of a request for funding on behalf of the City of Pikeville.

Entrepreneurs and small businesses stimulate job creation, develop crucial innovations in both products and services, and promote the diversification of the economic base. As large businesses downsize, communities must encourage new business startups and design viable support systems for smaller businesses.

SEIDA also hosted a regional information session titled “Where Enterprising Minds Need To Go For The Dough.”

Twenty-eight elected officials and ED partners came to learn about new financial resources available to entrepreneurs.

Regional Conference Sponsorship SEIDA was a proud sponsor of the National ARC conference where some 300 people attended. The two-day conference was held in Rome, Georgia where attendees gained insight on how to create economic opportunities by Investing in a Skilled Future. SEIDA Executive Director Beth Jones served as moderator for the session entitled, Building Green Communities: Campus-Community Partnerships.

Pictured L to R: Commissioner Mike Beatty, Georgia DCA; Kathy Johnson, SEIDA; Leamon Scott, Georgia DCA; James Thompson, ARC Coordinator

Building Automotive Partnerships Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority along with other state and regional economic development agencies hosted a Building Automotive Partnerships seminar to provide companies with strategic information in developing business relationships in the automotive industry. SEIDA was one of eight organizations to sponsor the event attended by approximately 100 people.

Pictured L to R: Laura Sparks, NGEMC; Elyse Cochran, Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority; Kathy Johnson, SEIDA; Diana Bullock, EPB

Following the seminar, individual company representatives met one-on-one with Andreas Geiger, Managing Director of RMG Consultants in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Photo Courtesy of Dalton-Whitfield JDA

Strategic Marketing & Awareness In 2010, SEIDA implemented GIS Planning software to assist with marketing efforts through the creation of a variety of unique maps for industrial prospects.

These custom maps include drive-times from a particular potential site location to existing and/or new customers, new markets tax credit areas, available industrial sites within the region and many others. The following are samples of the mapping capabilities that SEIDA can now offer to inquiring companies and our economic development partners:

Site Selection Activity The SEIDA staff has worked to enhance its sites and facilities database of nearly 350 available properties for industrial recruitment. To position our region to accommodate future growth and development, SEIDA continues to sponsor and host Site Readiness workshops. This past year SEIDA presented Site Readiness and What is an RFP and How to Respond to our regional council of governments.

Site selection activity for the past year is as follows: Number of Website Hits Regional Profiles

264,274 5,060

Site and Building Searches

5,823

Financing Product Searches

2,171

Blairsville Airport Regional Park Union County, Georgia

Cherokee County, North Carolina

Industrial Grant Applications 

A FastTrack application for $405,000 to replace the City of Dunlap’s Sewer Pump Station serving north Dunlap and including two industrial parks

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A FastTrack application on behalf of Bradley County totaling $2.2 million to assist site prep for Amazon.com

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A FastTrack application on behalf of Marion County totaling $60,000 to assist O’Neil Color and Compounding’s proposed expansion

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A FastTrack project totaling $6.5 million to assist with site preparation for Whirlpool Corporation in Bradley County

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An EDA application totaling $400,000 on behalf of Bradley County to assist with Whirlpool Corporation’s planned rail spur construction

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Wacker’s $64.3 million endowment grant for construction of a hyperpure polysilicon plant in Bradley County

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An EDA application totaling $724,000 on behalf of the City of Chattanooga to assist with Volkswagen methane gas project

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An EDA application totaling $750,000 to assist with fiber to industrial parks in McMinn County

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TVA SOC Grant Application for cannery project in Bledsoe County

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TVA SOC Grant Application for $10,000 to assist with signage for industrial park in Dunlap/Sequatchie County

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ARC Grant Application to assist with relocation of utilities for existing industry in Chattooga County

High-Speed Growth Communities in the SEIDA region are taking the lead in their commitment to assist in opportunities for job creation by ensuring businesses and households have highspeed broadband Internet access.

EPB rolled out the fastest broadband network in the United States, and TVA designated Athens, Tennessee as one of the state’s top 12 locations for a data center.

North Georgia telecommunications improved broadband capabilities and received funding to support a 260-mile broadband network throughout the Appalachian region.

USDA Rural Development Business Lending Funds Tennessee’s state director for USDA Rural Development, Mr. Bobby Goode, announced that the Southeast Tennessee Development District will be receiving $750,000 in funds from USDA for relending to new and expanding businesses within the 13 county region served by the District and the Council of Governments. Mr. Goode was the keynote speaker at the joint annual meeting of the Development District and the Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency on November 5 where he presented the traditional “big check” signifying the award to the Development District’s Board Chair, Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis, and the agency’s Executive Director, Beth Jones.

Called the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) funds, they will be matched with existing EDA Revolving Loan funds for a total loan pool of $937,500. The IRP funds expand the Development District’s ability to participate in projects in the rural portion of Bradley County and in Catoosa County Georgia. Currently, EDA Revolving Loan Funds are not eligible for use in those areas.

The IRP application competed with others submitted nationwide, and was the only IRP award in Tennessee during the year.

Route to Greater Things Ahead Transportation is a key initiative to providing greater access to companies and their suppliers within the region. The Southeast Industrial Development Association continues to be actively involved working with local, state, federal and regional partners to move Corridor K to the top of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s priority list. Completion of Corridor K will help generate economic development, supplement the interstate system and provide access within the region as well as to markets in the rest of the world!

The Corridor K (Chattanooga to Asheville Highway) Project final report remains available electronically on the SEIDA website at www.seida.info.

Small Business Development Center The Chattanooga/Hamilton County Business Development Center is one of the county’s oldest, most successful business incubators, helping thousands of small businesses get off the ground.

Bids for the renovation of the Business Development Center were let and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 26.

Construction was expected to start in October. Mr. Gil Patterson from the Atlanta Regional Office of the U.S. Economic Development Administration participated in the groundbreaking event.

Regional Sustainability With growth in the solar energy sector and its array of renewable energy enterprises, the SEIDA region is embracing sustainability. The region is gaining recognition as a pivotal player in the alternative energy sector, creating a reputation to lure more environmentally minded businesses. Existing businesses are capitalizing on the region’s interest in sustainability and finding ways to reduce energy and water use through recycling and reuse.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the US Department of Transportation and US Environmental Protection Agency, made available $100 million for competitive grants to support the preparation of Regional Plans for Sustainable Development. Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia Region came together to apply for a Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Economic Social Grant.

Environmental

In the News 2010 New Locations and Expansions

2010 Major Announcements ▪ Amazon New Locations (2) ▪ Costco New Location ▪ Chattanooga Seating (Hollingsworth & Magna) New Location ▪ Chattem Expansion ▪ Convergys Corporation Expansion ▪ EPB’s Fiber to the Home Project ▪ Faurecia New Location ▪ Gestamp ▪ Honigsberg & Duvel ▪ IBI Power Expansion ▪ Magna Exteriors and Interiors New Location ▪ M-Tek, Inc. New Location ▪ Montara & Mueller ▪ Nissin Brake Georgia 10 Year Anniversary Celebration ▪ Security by Design ▪ Southern Tool Steel Expansion ▪ Thyssen Krupp New Location ▪ Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) New Location ▪ Whirlpool Expansion

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