Oak Ridge Today

Photos: Protomet announces 200-job, $30 million expansion

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Protomet-Feb-2-2016

Protomet Corporation on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, announced a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the landlocked company could move to another county—or even another state. The company’s last $6.25 million expansion started in 2013 and was completed in 2014, and it more than doubled the size of the company’s operations. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Protomet Corporation on Tuesday announced a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the landlocked company could move to another county—or even another state. Protomet is now located in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge.

Here are photos from a press conference and the manufacturing floor at Protomet on Tuesday, February 2.

Jeff-Bohanan-Protomet-Feb-2-2016

Jeff Bohanan, Protomet founder and chief executive officer, announces a $30 million, 200-job expansion but says the Oak Ridge-based company is looking at all of its options, including possibly moving to other locations in Roane County, Loudon and Monroe counties, and South Carolina. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Protomet announces $30 million, 200-job expansion, but moving is an option

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Protomet-Walt-Weaver-Feb-2-2016

Protomet Corporation on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, announced a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the landlocked company could move to another county—or even another state. Pictured above is Protomet production associate Walt Weaver. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:35 a.m. Feb. 3.

Protomet Corporation on Tuesday announced a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the landlocked company could move to another county—or even another state.

Protomet is now located in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge.

The company hopes to break ground on the 100,000-square-foot expansion in June and plans to add 200 new jobs during the next five years. Protomet now has 70 workers in a 40,000-square-foot building on eight acres, so the company would more than triple in size.

Besides staying put, Protomet is also looking at sites in Roane County (the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge), Loudon and Monroe counties, and South Carolina. The company is looking at some tracts of land outside Anderson County that are more than 25 acres. Protomet needs about 25-30 acres for the expansion, and right now, it doesn’t have it. [Read more…]

Riverside Grille closed, development sold to Copper Cellar restaurant family

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Riverside-Grille-Closed-Feb-1-2016

The Riverside Grille was closed Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, and developers and businessmen Rick and Ryan Chinn announced the property on Melton Lake Drive has been sold to the Copper Cellar restaurant family. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:20 a.m. Feb. 3.

The Riverside Grille was closed on Monday, and developers and businessmen Rick and Ryan Chinn announced the waterfront development on Melton Lake Drive has been sold to the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants.

It’s not clear which of the Copper Cellar restaurant brands might move into the Oak Ridge restaurant site. Options could include Copper Cellar, Chesapeake’s, Calhoun’s, and Smokey Mountain Brewery, among others.

The Chinns have owned the roughly seven-acre Melton Lake property for 10 years. They have a perpetual easement on it, which is like a long-term lease, from the Tennessee Valley Authority, Rick Chinn said Monday night. The Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants will own the perpetual easement starting this week, including the land, the 12,000-square-foot building, and its parking lots, Chinn said. [Read more…]

Tech 2020 winding down operations; Pro2Serve among its success stories

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Technology-2020-Jan-27-2016

The board of directors for Technology 2020, which is located in Commerce Park in south Oak Ridge, voted Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, to wind down operations after more than two decades. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Tech 2020—a nonprofit organization that counts Pro2Serve, a technical and engineering services firm, as one of its early success stories—announced last week that it is winding down operations after more than two decades.

Facing increased financial pressures, the Tech 2020 Board of Directors voted Tuesday, January 26, to begin an orderly process to wind down their operations, a press release said. The organization has been focused on technology-based economic development activities in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge region.

Tech 2020 once had 12 to 15 employees or more, but it is now down to less than five full-time employees, said Tom Ballard, past Tech 2020 chair and longtime Executive Committee member who was on the founding board. The organization has one building at Commerce Park in south Oak Ridge and manages a second building, an entrepreneurial center, for the City of Oak Ridge.

Tech 2020 was established in 1994 in Oak Ridge with significant grants from BellSouth, now part of the AT&T enterprise, and others, the press release said. The organization’s initial focus areas were telecommunications and entrepreneurship. One of its early creations was Digital Crossing Networks LLC, which is located in downtown Knoxville.

Pro2Serve is another success story, Ballard said. The company went from a home office to the Tech 2020 building to headquarters in the National Energy Security Center in the Oak Ridge Science and Technology Park at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The company now has more than 350 employees. [Read more…]

Second suspect in bank extortion, carjacking plots also pleads not guilty

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Michael Benanti

Michael Benanti

KNOXVILLE—A second suspect has also pleaded not guilty to three alleged bank extortion and carjacking plots that involved bank employees and their family members, including at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge.

One of the suspects, Brian Witham, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday.

The second suspect, Michael Benanti, pleaded not guilty during a Friday afternoon arraignment.

Each man is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 142 years in prison, if they are convicted on all 15 federal charges that they face. The charges include bank extortion, attempted bank extortion, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime. [Read more…]

CVMR, partner agree to concentrate ore in Guatemala, refine it in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By 11 Comments

Michael Hargett and Kamran Khoza of CVMR USA

CVMR President Michael Hargett, left, and Kamran Khozan, chairman and chief executive officer, joined local, state, and federal officials on Friday, March 13, 2015, to announce they’re moving company headquarters from Toronto to Oak Ridge, investing $313 million and adding 620 jobs. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:37 a.m.

CVMR Corporation and Central America Nickel Incorporated have agreed to concentrate three million tons of ore per year in Guatemala and refine the concentrate in Oak Ridge. The refined products could be used in the aerospace and defense industries, and in the manufacturing of car parts, 3D printing and injection molds, and medical instruments and electronic parts.

“The joint venture expects to generate over $500 million a year (U.S. dollars) after commissioning and ramp up,” said Kamran M. Khozan, chairman and chief executive officer of CVMR Corporation.

The partnership was announced Thursday. See the press release here.

The announcement said CVMR and Central America Nickel, or CAN, will use CVMR’s proprietary chemical vapor metallurgy technology to concentrate the three million tons of ore per year in Guatemala and refine the concentrate in Oak Ridge, through CVMR and from CAN’s Santa Anita property in Guatemala. [Read more…]

Reminder: Jan. 31 is the deadline for enrolling in health insurance for 2016 under ACA

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

David Vudragovich

David Vudragovich

The deadline to sign up for a health insurance plan for 2016 under the Affordable Care Act is Sunday, January 31. Enrolling by then will provide a plan that starts on March 1.

If you do not enroll by January 31, the only way to enroll in coverage is if you have a special enrollment situation, such as a marriage, divorce, or birth of a child, or change jobs, etc.

Insurance agent David Vudragovich can help you with your health insurance needs. His office is located at 1970 Oak Ridge Highway (also known as Oak Ridge Turnpike and State Route 61), east of Elza Gate in Oak Ridge, at the first stop light in the county headed toward Clinton.

Vudragovich can help with health, life, and supplemental insurance; Medicare; and long-term care and retirement. [Read more…]

Suspect in bank extortion, carjacking plots could face mandatory minimum of 142 years in prison

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a kidnapping and attempted robbery at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:10 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—One of the two suspects in three alleged bank extortion and carjacking plots that involved bank employees and their family members, including at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 142 years in prison, if he is convicted on all 15 charges that he faces, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

Brian Witham pleaded not guilty to the 15 charges—which include bank extortion, attempted bank extortion, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime—during a 20-minute arraignment and initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.

Brian Witham

Brian Witham (Photo courtesy WATE-TV in Knoxville)

A trial has been set for March 29.

Witham’s alleged co-conspirator, Michael Benanti, has an initial appearance and arraignment scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.

The two were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 15 for plots that involved kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton, Tennessee. Benanti, 43, is from Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Witham, 45, is from Waterville, Maine. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge small business wins DOD chemical, biological defense contract

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Omega-Technical-Services-Logo

Omega Consultants Incorporated has been awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, or JPEO-CBD, under the Department of Defense.

There were 17 companies selected for this Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity, or IDIQ, contract consisting of 10 small business awards and seven large business awards. The contract ceiling is $900 million throughout the period of performance.

Omega was the only Tennessee business selected as a prime contractor for this contract award. Omega is also a subcontractor for the Camber Corporation team that received a large business award. The contract award is for three years, with an option for three additional years. JPEO-CBD is the Joint Services single focal point for research, development, acquisition, fielding, and life-cycle support of chemical and biological defense equipment and medical countermeasures. [Read more…]

Tennessee Tool, Engineering expanding, could add 20 jobs over three years

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tennessee-Tool-Engineering-Expansion-Jan-19-2016

Tennessee Tool and Engineering has broken ground on a 10,000-square-foot expansion in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park. The company could add up to 20 new jobs during the next three years. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Tennessee Tool and Engineering Inc. has broken ground on a 10,000-square-foot expansion in Bethel Valley Industrial Park, and the company could add up to 20 new jobs during the next three years, executives said.

The groundbreaking was for the company’s High Pressure Die Casting Division: TTE Casting Technologies Inc. The expansion was announced last week by Greg Palmer, TTE vice president/operations manager.

The expansion is part of a $5 million building and capital investment in Oak Ridge and Anderson County, the company said in a press release. Another expansion is planned for 2018 to include the machining operations at the Emory Valley Road location. The company does not plan to pursue tax abatements. [Read more…]

Evans, city’s retail consultant, to give brief mall update Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Mall

The Oak Ridge City Center, which could be redeveloped as Main Street Oak Ridge, a multi-use project with retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel, is pictured above. Also known as the former Oak Ridge Mall, the L-shaped building is at center. The white building at center left is Walmart, and it is not part of the proposed redevelopment. Neither is the white building at center top, the Cinemark Tinseltown Theater. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Ray Evans, the city’s retail consultant, will give a brief update on Main Street Oak Ridge, the project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall, during a Monday evening meeting.

Evans will give the update during an Oak Ridge City Council meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Monday, January 11, in the Municipal Building Courtroom.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a re-subdivision for the $80 million project on Thursday. City officials said the re-subdivision was a required condition for the closing on the property.

RealtyLink, the new developer, has said they still plan to have some stores open at the site by the Christmas 2016 holiday shopping season. [Read more…]

Planning Commission approves re-subdivision for Main Street Oak Ridge, the mall redevelopment

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Planning Commission Main Street Oak Ridge Jan. 7, 2016

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a re-subdivision for Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development including retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin is standing at right. City staff members and representatives of RealtyLink, the development company, were also present. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge officials on Thursday approved a re-subdivision that was required for the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The re-subdivision includes 10 different lots, including one larger parcel in the center of the 58-acre site and other smaller lots. Officials said the re-subdivision was necessary for financial considerations, and it is a condition for closing on the property.

Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said the city has received notice the remediation is complete on the interior of the mostly empty mall, and construction drawings have been submitted for three buildings expected to receive permits. The new buildings could be erected next to Belk and in the area where Sears is now.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved the re-subdivision in an 8-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday. Planning commissioners present were Chair Stephen Whitson, Vice Chair Austin Lance, Secretary Claudia Lever, and members Charlie Hensley, Sharon Kohler, Jane Shelton, Hans Vogel, and Todd Wilson. [Read more…]