Manufacturing

The Place To Be
Tennessee continues to rank high on lists of desirable corporate locations

Olhausen Billiards recently opened a major manufacturing facility in Portland.

It’s official: Tennessee has made the list. Again.

The state has been named one of the top five most desirable business locations by Site Selection magazine, which assesses states using a wide range of criteria, including recruitment efforts. While being chosen is an honor, it just highlights what state officials and others involved in the business-recruiting process already know: Tennessee is willing to do whatever it takes to attract, and retain, quality businesses that offer steady, high-paying jobs.

“Whenever a well-respected organization rates Tennessee highly, it brings a great deal of attention to the state,” says Matt Kisber, commissioner of the state’s economic and community development department. “It validates that we have a very attractive business climate. Gov. Bredesen has focused on enhancing our business climate since his first day in office, and he’ll tell you that we have a workforce that is second to none. Our citizens know that we have a wonderful quality of life, so we try to put those things and others into our economic-development toolbox so we can build on that foundation.”

The state has posted some impressive numbers in this regard. In 2006, it drew in 193 new companies, with an estimated 19,000 new jobs created. Companies that have chosen to locate, relocate or expand operations in Tennessee include big names such as Sysco, T-Mobile USA, ServiceMaster, Oreck Corp., Mi-Jack Products, Nucor Corp., Christensen Yachts and Olhausen Billiards.

More importantly, these companies are scattered across the state, so no single area is receiving the lion’s share of the growth. That kind of border-to-border approach is a key goal for Kisber and his staff.

“We’re very fortunate to have a high level of expansion activity among our existing industries, as well as growth by new companies,” he says. “And that’s happening all over the state. We’re not depending on any one sector or industry for that growth.”

The state’s aggressiveness was one factor in Olhausen Billiards relocating to Portland from its home near San Diego. And the help the company received once it announced that decision has only made its Tennessee experience more worthwhile, says Sue Doyle, marketing director.

“One of our goals was to try and have as many employees move with us as we could, so we wanted a location that had as many opportunities to enjoy a great quality of life as San Diego does,” Doyle says. “We had been in our former location for 16 years, and the area had become more expensive, so we also were looking for a community with a more affordable lifestyle, but one that also was near some larger metropolitan areas.”

Olhausen fielded offers from several states before selecting Tennessee. It opened its 250,000-square-foot billiard-table manufacturing facility in August 2006, and has settled into its new home nicely. The company employs around 110 people, with additional staff added on during the peak months of August through January.

“We had about 65 families move here,” Doyle says. “A lot of people came who have been with the company anywhere from six to 25 years, so that was really significant.”

That kind of feedback only spurs further growth, Kisber says, adding that the state couldn’t buy that kind of positive publicity.

“I saw Gregg Hovey, Olhausen’s president on television one night and he was talking about how aggressive the state and local communities were when they were being recruited,” he says. “He said that in Tennessee we don’t make companies fit their square needs into round programs, but offer to meet needs and create programs that bring value. That’s the kind of thing Gov. Bredesen says when he says we ‘need to get the talk right.’”

Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Tim Mantoani

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