Oak Ridge Today

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…]

Two people have minor injuries after two fires this month

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A fire was reported in a storage room at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A fire was reported in a storage room at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two people were injured in fires in Oak Ridge this month, although the injuries were reported to be minor.

The first fire was reported at 515 Utica Circle in central Oak Ridge at about 3:33 p.m. Friday, March 3. One adult was taken by an ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, said Sergeant Jeremy Huddleston of the Oak Ridge Police Department. The fire was extinguished by the Oak Ridge Fire Department.

ORFD Battalion Chief Eric Rackard said a stove eye that had been left on in the second-floor apartment started a fire in grease in a pan. The resident tried to bring the pan outside to throw it outside, but the grease was burning too much for the resident to be able to handle the pan properly, Rackard said.

The fire burned the resident’s arm, Rackard said. The injuries were described as minor. The fire was deemed to be accidental.

The second fire was reported at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday. That fire started in a storage room, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate sale of DOE land to IDB, which sold to Protomet, for economic development

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Protomet Corporation is pictured above in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Officials are celebrating the sale of federal land east of Oak Ridge National Laboratory that could be used to help an industrial company expand.

The 20-acre parcel had been owned by the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. The property is adjacent to the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge and west of Protomet. The company had sought the property for a planned expansion.

The parcel was sold to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, or IDB, on October 20.

The IDB, which served as a conduit, then sold the land to Protomet. The company is evaluating the site as one option as it plans for a $30 million expansion that could add 200 jobs over a five-year period. [Read more…]

After acquiring more land, Protomet evaluating Oak Ridge for $30 million expansion

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Protomet Corporation is pictured above in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Jeff Bohanan

Protomet Corporation has purchased about 20 acres of former federal land on Bethel Valley Road in south Oak Ridge, and the company is evaluating that property as one option as it plans for a $30 million expansion that could add 200 jobs over a five-year period.

On Tuesday, Protomet founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bohanan said the company prefers to stay in Oak Ridge, but there is no guarantee. The 19.47-acre parcel on Bethel Valley Road will have to be cut and filled, and drainage will have to be redirected, Bohanan said. It’s not clear yet how much that work might cost.

Protomet needs about 100,000 square feet for its expansion, which was announced in February. Protomet now has 70 workers in a 40,000-square-foot building on eight acres, so the company could more than triple in size.

“The new facility will dramatically increase Protomet’s capacity and capabilities for the customers it serves,” Bohanan said. “We have already started purchasing equipment for the new facility, and some of it is already in use at our current facility.”

Protomet bought the Bethel Valley Road land from the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board for $103,000 on October 20. The property, which was previously owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, is west of Protomet and east of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“This is a big step in our ability to evaluate this site as an option,” Bohanan said. [Read more…]

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

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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.

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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)

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

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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…]

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

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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…]

Power outages affect several hundred; two cars crash into snow plows

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Lafayette Drive and Icy Roads

Lafayette Drive is pictured above on Tuesday morning at the intersection with Laboratory Road in central Oak Ridge. (Photos by Daniel Powers)

 

Several hundred customers were affected by power outages overnight but most lost power for less than an hour, and two cars crashed into city snow plows, making one of the plows unusable for now, officials said.

There were no reports of injuries in the few minor crashes that occurred overnight.

Officials continued to urge drivers to stay off roads unless absolutely necessary. Some of them remain covered in ice, and vehicles that are required to travel, such as postal vehicles and Oak Ridge Public Works trucks, are using chains or studded tires.

Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs said the largest power outage was in an area around Montana Avenue and West Outer Drive at about 6 p.m. Monday. It affected about 440 people, but only lasted about 45 minutes, according to preliminary information, Suggs said. [Read more…]

IDB to discuss contract on Bethel Valley lot, agreement with Chamber

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The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board on Monday will discuss a contract to purchase a lot in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park and an agreement with the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The IDB meets at 4 p.m. Monday in the Municipal Building Training Room.

Protomet Corp. breaks ground on $6.25 million expansion

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Protomet Expansion Groundbreaking

Protomet breaks ground Friday on a $6.25 million expansion in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park. Pictured above from left are Operations Director Andrew Jenkins and Engineering Director Matt Reid of Protomet; LeRoy Thompson, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development regional director; Protomet President Jeff Bohanan; Sherry Browder, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership chair; Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan; and David Wilson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board chair.

Protomet Corp. broke ground on Friday on a $6.25 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in Bethel Valley Industrial Park, allowing the company to more than double its space, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and expand production.

The expanded facility, which could be complete by the end of the year, will have more  than 40,000 square feet, and it will bring more than 30 jobs to Oak Ridge, a press release said. It is the second multi-million dollar investment at the company’s Oak Ridge site. [Read more…]

Groundbreaking for Protomet expansion on June 14

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Protomet Corp. is having a June 14 groundbreaking ceremony for a $6.25 million expansion that will more than double the size of its current manufacturing space.

The expansion will add 30 jobs to Protomet, and it is the second multi-million dollar investment in the company’s Oak Ridge facility, a press release said. [Read more…]

Council approves Protomet tax break, ends recycling rewards program

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A five-year, 100 percent tax break for parts manufacturer Protomet was approved in a 4-1 vote by the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

The tax break could be used to help Protomet more than double the size of its 15,000-square-foot plant in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and add 20-30 workers.

Also Monday, the City Council agreed in a voice vote, with no objections, to end the RecycleBank Reward Program and determine later what to do with the savings of $0.84 per household per month. The savings are expected to add up to about $124,000 each year. [Read more…]