Oak Ridge Today

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC honored for small business achievement

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From left to right, Ryan Johnston and Lisa Copeland, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Small Business program managers, and Cindy Morgan, senior supply chain manager, receive an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year from Christy Jackiewicz, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. (Photo by CNS)

From left to right, Ryan Johnston and Lisa Copeland, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Small Business program managers, and Cindy Morgan, senior supply chain manager, receive an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year from Christy Jackiewicz, acting director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. (Photo by CNS)

 

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC was recently honored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The company received an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year at the 16th Annual Small Business Forum and Expo.

The Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year award recognizes the tangible, annual, organizational results of a DOE facilities management contractor, Y-12 said in a story posted on its website in June.

“These results are measured in terms of dollars and percentage increases in small business procurement activity, as well as policies, programs, and procedures that promote small business use,” Y-12 said. [Read more…]

LeMond Composites strikes agreement to accelerate commercialization of low-cost carbon fiber

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Greg LeMond, three-time Tour de France champion, celebrated the announcement of LeMond Composites, a new company he co-founded, during a ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12, 2016, at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. The company is expected to make composite bicycles and carbon fiber, and invest $125 million and create 242 new jobs. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

LeMond Composites of Oak Ridge has entered into a global, exclusive 20-year licensing agreement with Deakin University in Australia to commercialize their patent pending manufacturing process to increase production of high performance, low-cost carbon fiber, a press release said.

The licensed process will enable LeMond Composites to commercialize carbon fiber production faster than anyone else currently in the marketplace, the press release said.

“This means LeMond will deliver more of its low-cost carbon fiber faster to industries that benefit from using lighter, stronger materials, like those addressing global energy and transportation challenges,” the press release said.

“Deakin University’s process oxidizes carbon fiber faster, with lower capital and energy costs and greater output of carbon fiber over a shorter period,” said Nicolas Wegener, chief operating officer of LeMond, who negotiated the $44 million dollar deal. “The process requires 75 percent less energy and also reduces the amount of process equipment by 75 percent. These factors make the production of low-cost carbon fiber scalable at a velocity that can keep up with the market demand.” [Read more…]

PetSmart has grand opening, ribbon-cutting on Saturday

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The new PetSmart store at Main Street Oak Ridge is scheduled to open Monday, July 10, 2017, with a grand opening scheduled for Saturday, July 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new PetSmart store at Main Street Oak Ridge opened Monday, July 10, 2017, and it has a grand opening on Saturday, July 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new PetSmart store in Oak Ridge will have a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, July 15.

The new store is located at 203 Main Street, in the new Main Street Oak Ridge.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 8:45 a.m. Saturday. Pets are allowed.

The Oak Ridge store location will feature PetSmart’s new Pinnacle Pet Nutrition section, an expanded collection of pet food products featuring high-protein, natural, grain-free, minimally processed, and raw pet food, a press release said.

“This food type is the fastest growing in the overall pet food category and includes brands such as Only Natural Pet, a natural pet brand featuring holistic, paleo-inspired natural foods and wholesome high-protein recipes that are dehydrated, freeze-dried, and air-dried,” the release said. “PetSmart is the exclusive national retailer for Only Natural Pet.” [Read more…]

PetSmart opened Monday; grand opening scheduled for Saturday

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The new PetSmart store at Main Street Oak Ridge is scheduled to open Monday, July 10, 2017, with a grand opening scheduled for Saturday, July 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new PetSmart store at Main Street Oak Ridge is scheduled to open Monday, July 10, 2017, with a grand opening scheduled for Saturday, July 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new PetSmart store at Main Street Oak Ridge is scheduled to open today (Monday, July 10), and a grand opening is scheduled for Saturday.

The grand opening is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Saturday, July 15. Pets are allowed.

It’s the fourth of eight new stores to open at Main Street Oak Ridge since mid-June. Main Street Oak Ridge is the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. Besides PetSmart, other stores that have opened at Main Street Oak Ridge are rue21, maurices, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. [Read more…]

maurices open at Main Street Oak Ridge

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maurices at Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2017. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

maurices at Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2017. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for maurices, a women’s clothing store, at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, June 23. Here are a few photos and a video by the City of Oak Ridge.

The maurices store is one of eight new stores opening at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. The other seven stores are Dick’s Sporting Goods, Electronic Express, PetSmart, Rack Room Shoes, rue21, T.J. Maxx, and Ulta.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported on the grand openings for Dick’s Sporting Goods and rue21. [Read more…]

New director hired at ORNL Carbon Fiber Technology Facility

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Merlin Theodore, new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. (Photo by ORNL)

Merlin Theodore, new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. (Photo by ORNL)

 

A new director has been hired at the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Merlin Theodore most recently worked in Moses Lake, Washington, where she established a laboratory and promoted organizational excellence at a startup facility, SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, ORNL said in a story published on its website in March. SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber is one of the largest carbon fiber production facilities in the United States, ORNL said.

While at SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, Theodore boosted workflow efficiency by 97 percent and achieved 94 percent cost savings by developing new testing methods to determine sizing concentration on fiber surface, ORNL said. She also played an instrumental role in resolving technical issues for automaker BMW.

Theodore was the first in her family of 11 siblings to pursue graduate studies and then take up a career as a technology innovator. Her path eventually led her to ORNL, the lab said.

Before the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility and SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, Theodore worked for Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Georgia Tech, and Universal Technology Corporation, or UTC, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a research scientist and laboratory manager. [Read more…]

Applewood Apartments: Case that once called for $400,000 fine has been dismissed

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The rear of the Applewood Apartments building at 186 Hillside Road is picture above on Saturday, July 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The rear of the Applewood Apartments building at 186 Hillside Road is picture above on Saturday, July 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 p.m.

CLINTON—A court has dismissed a case that once called for a $400,000 fine against the owner of three now-vacant Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road in Oak Ridge.

Charges against the original defendant, former Applewood Apartments manager Tammy Sandlin, have been dismissed, and she is the only properly named defendant in the complaint, Anderson County Circuit Court Judge Don R. Elledge said in a dismissal order filed Wednesday, June 21.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals had issued an opinion on October 15, 2015, that vacated, or voided, the $406,520 judgement against Applewood Apartments owner Joseph J. Levitt Jr. because he had not been effectively added as a defendant in the city’s lawsuit, Elledge said.

At that time, the Court of Appeals remanded the case, or sent it back to, Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton for further proceedings, “including the filing and serving of an amended complaint or city warrant against Mr. Levitt,” Elledge said in his order to dismiss.

The Court of Appeals decision essentially said that Levitt has to be given a chance to defend himself, Elledge said during a motion hearing in Circuit Court on Friday, June 9. A jury trial had been scheduled for March 9, 2018. The City of Oak Ridge is the plaintiff.

But no amended complaint has been filed by the city since the Court of Appeals decision almost two years ago, and Levitt has never been served with an amended complaint, Elledge said during the June 9 motion hearing. [Read more…]

Pro2Serve receives five-year contract worth up to $49 million to support Oak Ridge cleanup

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Oak Ridge Environmental Management

Professional Project Services Inc., or Pro2Serve, has received a five-year contract worth up to $49 million to provide technical support services to the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. The contract was awarded June 19, the U.S. Department of Energy said in a press release.

“After conducting an extensive nationwide procurement, we are very pleased to continue our partnership with Pro2Serve,” said OREM Acting Manager Jay Mullis. “They’ve been a great asset to our program in the past, and we look forward to their valuable support as we clean and transform the Oak Ridge Reservation.”

The Oak Ridge-based company provides a wide suite of services to DOE’s Environmental Management program locally, the press release said. They are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the cost, schedule, and technical approach for upcoming and current cleanup projects. They also assist with engineering, project planning, project management, cost estimating, and schedule and cost analysis. [Read more…]

They evaluated Oak Ridge, but Protomet will expand in Loudon County

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Jeff Bohanan, founder and chief executive officer of Protomet in Oak Ridge, announced a $30 million expansion in Loudon County on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Jeff Bohanan, founder and chief executive officer of Protomet in Oak Ridge, announced a $30 million expansion in Loudon County on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Protomet Corporation evaluated a site in south Oak Ridge for a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the company will expand in Loudon County instead, officials said Tuesday.

The good news for Oak Ridge: The current operations will remain here. And all Protomet operations will still be in East Tennessee, said Jeff Bohanan, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.

Protomet had announced in early 2017 that it needed more manufacturing space to add new production capabilities and increase the company’s output.

The initial plan was to expand with a 100,000-square-foot building on the west side of the existing facility on Larson Drive in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge. Protomet acquired a 19.7-acre parcel next to its current facility from the U.S. Department of Energy, with the purchase going through the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

Protomet immediately began testing that site, spending about $60,000 on architectural and engineering fees, Bohanan said Tuesday. The idea was to add the new building at the same location as the current one.

But, “at the end of the evaluation, it was clear we could not do the expansion the way it was designed on that land,” Bohanan said. [Read more…]

Dick’s Sporting Goods now open in Oak Ridge

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Dick's Sporting Goods is now open at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the new store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Dick’s Sporting Goods is now open at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the new store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods is now open at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the new store had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. A grand opening featuring former University of Tennessee football player Derek Barnett is scheduled for this weekend.

The store, roughly in the area where Sears used to be between Walmart and the U.S. Post Office on South Tulane Avenue, is 35,000 square foot. It sells equipment for team sports, footwear, apparel, hunting and fishing gear, and bicycles and fitness equipment, said Brian Johnson, community marketing manager for Dick’s Sporting Goods.

The store offers top national brands and in-store services such as a glove steamer, a gate analysis for runners and walkers, an archery lane to test bows, and bow stringing, Johnson said.

There are about 62 employees, both full-time and part-time, Johnson said.

He said many Oak Ridge customers shopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods in West Knoxville.

“Now they’ve got it here,” Johnson said. “Oak Ridge is a thriving market. Oak Ridge is an outdoor community.” [Read more…]

Panda Express now open in Oak Ridge

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Panda Express opened on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge in May 2017. (Photo by Mike Mahathy)

Panda Express opened on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on May 18, 2017. (Photo by Mike Mahathy)

 

Panda Express opened in Oak Ridge in May. Here are a few photos of the new restaurant by Mike Mahathy.

The Panda Express restaurant is in the area where Ruby Tuesday used to be on South Illinois Avenue. The area also includes space for a few retail shops.

The former Ruby Tuesday restaurant was demolished in October.

Panda Express, a fast casual Chinese restaurant, is on the one-third of the subdivided Ruby Tuesday property that is closest to the Subway on South Illinois Avenue. The developer is Rudd Seeley Wallis LLC. That’s the Nashville company that developed the shopping center on South Illinois Avenue that includes Chipotle and Aspen Dental. [Read more…]

rue21 now open in Oak Ridge

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The new rue21, a teen fashion retailer, opened at Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 15, 2017. (Photo by Parker Hardy)

The new rue21 store, a teen fashion retailer, opened at Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 15, 2017. (Photo by Parker Hardy)

 

The first new store is open at Main Street Oak Ridge.

rue21, a teen speciality apparel retailer, had its grand opening on Thursday. The grand opening of the store was scheduled to include free giveaways to the first 100 customers.

rue21 is near Belk at Main Street Oak Ridge. That’s the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

There are seven other new stores also expected to open soon. maurices has announced it will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its women’s clothing store at Main Street Oak Ridge on Friday, June 23. maurices is next to rue21. [Read more…]