Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County secures Tennessee College of Applied Technology facility

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission learned Monday night that the county has been chosen by the state to be the next home of a Tennessee College of Applied Technology—or TCAT. TCATs are training facilities aimed at improving the skill levels of members of Tennessee’s workforce and are seen by potential industries as great training grounds for potential employees.

Anderson County Economic Development Association President Tim Thompson told commissioners Monday that his organization and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce have been working hard on securing the facility for more than a year and that the county had beaten out Blount County.

Thompson credited the owners of the former Hensley’s IGA grocery store in Andersonville and SL Tennessee in the I-75 Industrial park for their roles in making the TCAT a reality. The Hensley owners have agreed to donate the vacant 20,000-square foot store to the state to renovate and use as a temporary training facility for a period of about two years. The temporary facility will be needed while the state builds the new College of Applied Technology on a seven-acre parcel of land donated for the project by SL Tennessee. [Read more…]

3M will invest $135 million, create 100 jobs at Clinton manufacturing facility

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Food Lion Distribution Center and 3M Company Manufacturing

The 3M Company purchased the former Food Lion Distribution Center on J.D. Yarnell Industrial Parkway in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton on Friday. 3M paid roughly $14.4 million for the 772,00-square-foot building on 160 acres, and the company will use it to make products for the oil, gas, and automotive industries. (Photo courtesy Tim Thompson/Anderson County Economic Development Association)

 

Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Note: This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 8.

NASHVILLE—The 3M Company has purchased the former Food Lion distribution center in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton and will use it to manufacture products for the oil, gas, and automotive industries. The company is expected to invest $135 million and create 100 new jobs in Anderson County.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty joined 3M Company officials in Nashville to announce the company’s investment on Friday afternoon.

3M purchased the 772,000-square-foot building on 160 acres on J.D. Yarnell Parkway in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park for roughly $14.4 million. The sale closed on Friday, said Tim Thompson, president of the Anderson County Economic Development Association. [Read more…]

Clinton gives land to SL Tennessee for expansion, will receive fire station donation

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SL Tennessee

SL Tennessee is on Frank L. Diggs Drive in the Clinton I-75 Industrial Park.

Note: This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. July 29.

CLINTON—The Clinton City Council voted unanimously Monday to make an exchange with SL Tennessee.

SL Tennessee was given more than 52 acres after the auto parts manufacturer announced plans to invest $80.5 million to build a 250,000-square-foot plant in the Clinton I-75 Industrial Park. The building, SL Tennessee’s fifth expansion since locating in Clinton in 2001, will manufacture automobile headlights and tail lamps for General Motors.

In exchange, after construction is complete, the company will donate between $200,000 and $250,000 to the city to build a new fire station in the industrial park.

Anderson County Economic Development Association Director Tim Thompson approached the council during a special-called meeting Monday morning to propose the deal. No one from the public came forward to speak on the proposal. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge asks for county land on Emory Valley Road for sewer system tank

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Emory Valley Equalization Basin

Oak Ridge officials have asked Anderson County to consider donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for a sewer system holding tank.

Oak Ridge officials have asked Anderson County to consider donating up to 2.05 acres on Emory Valley Road for a sewer system holding tank east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Oak Ridge to stop all sewer system overflows by 2015, and studies have shown that several holding tanks are required at critical locations “to equalize and detain excess flow during heavy rain events,” Public Works Director Gary Cinder said in a July 26 memo. One equalization tank would be required near the county-owned Daniel Arthur Center, which is used by satellite county offices, the Oak Ridge Senior Center, and the Emory Valley Center.

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the request during a Monday evening meeting. [Read more…]

Auto parts manufacturer SL Tennessee expanding in Clinton

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SL Tennessee, a company that manufactures automotive parts in Clinton, is expanding their operations, the Anderson County Economic Development Association announced Friday.

The company will lease a 65,000-square-foot building owned by the Hollingsworth Companies in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park. The building will be used primarily for warehousing and distribution and will house about 25 employees, a press release said.

[Read more…]