Industrial-strength boom in Roane County
Tuesday February 26, 2008
Public-private partnership benefits Roane development
More than $2 million in sales of industrial property closed in Roane County during 2007, portending the arrival of $28 million in private investment and about 600 new jobs in the next five years.
"We are becoming a hot property," said Leslie Henderson, president of The Roane Alliance, a public and private partnership dedicated to increasing tourism, industrial and commercial development in Roane County.
Since landing a $19 million investment from the H.T. Hackney Co. in February 2005, the Roane Regional Business and Industrial Park has been steadily picking up tenants, adding payroll and tax revenue that many counties would envy.
The new business development generated $250,000 to $300,000 in additional tax revenue during 2007, Henderson said.
With the departure of several large textile manufacturers, Roane County actually lost jobs in 2003 and 2004. The 386 new jobs created by the Hackney investment signaled the turnaround.
"H.T. Hackney was very important to us," Henderson said. "They were the first big anchor in the park."
Saginaw Control & Engineering, Diesel Engine Parts, Red Diamond Ceramics and Cool Energy arrived during 2007 with plans to add hundreds of jobs over the next five years.
Other companies in the park, including Blue Bell Creameries, Best Roofs and C.R. Barger & Sons Inc., have announced plans to add dozens of jobs and millions in capital investment during 2008.
Roane County has been successful in exploiting it's natural advantages, including lower-cost land and a business-friendly government. But Henderson said even more important has been the county's effort to put itself on the "radar screen."
Previously, many of the economic growth reports produced for the metropolitan Knoxville area did not even include Roane County, Henderson said.
"We were being passed over," she said. "We had to make some noise."
Local government support is critical to maintaining momentum, Henderson said.
Roane County Executive Mike Farmer has been a big supporter of The Roane Alliance, viewing economic development as directly related to funding for county schools.
"We need quality education for the children, and we need jobs," he said.
Roane County's willingness to understand the needs of business has made a difference in recruiting development, according to Steve Kirkham, who served as chairman of the county's Industrial Board until January.
Kirkham, who owns and operates a chain of Rocky Top Markets, brings a business professional's perspective to the challenge of recruiting companies.
"If somebody builds a plant and they need an electrical inspector out there on a certain day to make sure the work doesn't stop, we will accommodate them," he said.
H.T. Hackney has become a "billboard" for the industrial park and a model for interaction between private business and local government, Kirkham said.
"When we recruited Hackney we brought together in one room at one time all the shakers and movers, everybody that was going to be involved from county commission to utilities and bankers," Kirkham said.
The message the county wanted to deliver to Hackney was that everyone was together in the commitment to accommodating the company, Kirkham said.
"The industrial board was very easy to work with," said Bill Sansom, president and CEO of H.T. Hackney. "I didn't have to have 14 different meetings."
With H.T. Hackney as the "poster child" for development, the business park began to achieve success based on fundamental strengths of the site, including close proximity to major highways, airports and the river, according to Kirkham. The park fronts Interstate 40 and has access from two I-40 exits.
Roane's success in recruiting industry also is linked to its attainment status with federal air quality standards, an issue surrounding counties including Knox County have struggled with.
Roane County offers a unique combination of rural lifestyle and proximity to a larger metropolitan area that makes it a good place to live as well as work, Kirkham said.
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
