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Chamber
Maury Alliance Recruits Hundreds of Jobs to the County in 2006
Frank Tamberrino and Beverly Horner
Help is wanted here‚ thanks in large part to the successful recruiting efforts of Maury Alliance in 2006.
Several companies said “yes” to Maury County last year and have set up operations in Columbia‚ Mount Pleasant or Spring Hill. Those businesses will potentially hire a total of more than 1‚000 new employees over the next few years.
The first bit of good news came in January 2006 when W.R. Grace and Co. bought a building in Mount Pleasant and invested $18 million in upgrades‚ and it will invest another $7 million in the next few years. W.R. Grace produces a synthetic rubber membrane for the roofing industry.
“They began production in late 2006 with 65 new jobs‚ and their long-term projection is to double their workforce‚” says Frank Tamberrino‚ CEO and president of Maury Alliance.
In February 2006‚ Japan-based Sekisui Plastics USA invested $6 million in a Mount Pleasant building to manufacture plastics polymers that primarily go into automotive products. Sekisui started its operation in December 2006 and hired 25 people.
Also in Mount Pleasant‚ Printing Technology Inc. occupied a building to remanufacture‚ clean‚ repair and refill ink cartridges for computer printers. The company began its production with 50 employees and plans to triple its workforce by the end of 2007.
Meanwhile‚ Columbia is now home to auto2auto.com‚ which buys and sells used cars via the Internet. As many as 4‚500 to 5‚000 vehicles a month roll through its building to be inspected‚ refurbished and sold to buyers across the country.
“Auto2auto.com is now in the once-vacant GE/Accuride building on Industrial Park Road and will ultimately have 100 people on staff in 2007‚ with projections to eventually have a workforce of 400‚” Tamberrino says. “Then right next door‚ Al’s Garden Art out of California occupies the former Fedders/Columbia Specialties building and will produce landscaping statues‚ fountains and other outdoor art. With auto2auto and Al’s Garden Art coming to Columbia‚ it took our two biggest vacant buildings off the market in one fell swoop.”
In Spring Hill‚ Integrity Nutraceuticals International has hired 25 people for its holistic supplements business‚ and General Motors Corp. announced it will invest $225 million toward the retooling of the Saturn assembly plant to build a GM crossover vehicle.
Other news includes TJ Maxx‚ Ross Dress for Less‚ Office Depot and Rack Room Shoes moving into the former Kmart building in Columbia‚ while Neely’s Mill in the former Maury County Shopping Center has attracted Piggly Wiggly and Tuesday Morning among its tenants.
“Companies are choosing Maury County for a variety of reasons‚ whether it’s easy access to an interstate system‚ good schools or a nice quality of life‚” says Beverly Horner‚ chairman of Maury Alliance. “Maury County continues to be a great place to do business and an affordable place to live.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
© Copyright 2007 Journal Communications Inc.
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