Tag Archives: Tenn.

Eastman Chemical plans $1.6B East Tennessee investment

Eastman.2.JPGSpecialty chemicals maker Eastman Chemical Co. on Wednesday signaled a long-term commitment to East Tennessee with announcement of $1.6 billion plan to modernize its Kingsport, Tenn. facility

The investment will be made over the next seven years and create 300 new jobs, company and state officials said in a news release.

The so-called Project Inspire initiative will include investment in  “new growth opportunities, safety and environmental projects, increased warehouse capacity, building renovations and expansion of its corporate campus,” according to a news release.

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Clinton robot maker wins Air Force contract

Robot-maker Remotec Inc. has landed a new contract to help keep U.S. military personnel safe from the “evolving threats” of improvised explosive devices.

remotec.004.jpgUnder terms of the multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, Remotec will upgrade as many as 173 of the Andros HD-1 robots used by the U.S. Air Force.

The Clinton, Tenn.-based company received $11.2 million for the first year of the contract.

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Help for East Tennessee jobs market

East Tennessee’s job market got a dose of good news this week when Whirlpool Corp. said it would invest $120 million to expand its Cleveland, Tenn. operation.

The company plans to build a 1 million-square-foot manufacturing plant where it will make built-in, premium cooking products. The expansion will add 130 jobs to an existing work force of 1,500 employees.

090210a+whirlpool08.jpgWhirlpool’s announcement is welcome news to unemployed Tennesseans. We still have a long way to go before all of the jobs lost in the recession are replaced, but progress is being made.

For more on the jobs market and why it’s not as bad as the screamers on cable TV would have us believe, check out my column on Sunday in Knoxvillebiz and the News Sentinel.

Photo: Chattanooga Times Free Press/ Mike Pare

Melissa Haynes, a Whirlpool Corp. employee, works on an oven at the company’s plant in Cleveland, Tenn.