Celgard will invest $30 million in an expansion of its manufacturing plant in Ochang, South Korea. (PPO)
Source: Charlotte Business News – Local Charlotte News | Charlotte Business Journal
March 4, 2010
Chattanooga: City job growth may outpace nation
Job growth in metropolitan Chattanooga should be 20 percent faster than the U.S. average in 2010, economists said today.
Alex Miron, associated economist at for Moody’s Economy.com, said employment in the six-county Chattanooga area should grow in 2010 by 1.2 percent, compared with a 1 percent employment growth nationwide.
The jobless rate will still rise to a peak of 9.5 percent in Chattanooga by the third quarter, however, as more workers try to find the available jobs, Mr. Miron said.
“Overall, Chattanooga has experienced a much smaller decline in employment than at the national level, so with all of the development now going on in the area, it wasn’t surprising to see Chattanooga emerge from the recession,” Mr. Miron said. “I expect the development of the Volkswagen plant and its supplier park to be a big driver of growth this year.”
Chattanooga moved from recession to recovery at the end of 2009, according to the Moody’s economic assessment of major cities. But other MidSouth metro areas — including Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville, Dalton, Ga., and Rome, Ga. — were still mired in the recession as 2009 ended, Moody’s said in its most recent Adversity Index report.
Source: Chattanooga Times
March 4, 2010
Wal-Mart Supercenter slated to open in early summer
The planned reopening of an area Wal-Mart store this summer draws mixed feelings from some concerned locals.
After relocating to nearby Airport Road in October 2008, the retail mogul’s recently renovated Hendersonville Road location is slated to reopen in May or June. The 89,000-square-foot building will expand into a larger, 115,000-square-foot Supercenter store, according to Wal-Mart representatives.
“There are two other Supercenters within five or 10 minutes in either direction from there. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” South Asheville resident Ben Kiteley said.
While the Airport Road Supercenter sits just a few miles away, the threat of traffic congestion near the Hendersonville Road store worries some locals, like Kiteley.
“Traffic is already like living in Atlanta on that section of 25,” said the 32-year-old environmental consultant.
Renovations to the store, which originally opened in 1987, began shortly after its relocation nearly a year and a half ago. According to a Wal-Mart statement in fall 2008, the remodeling was estimated to take about a year.
Corporate representatives declined to comment about the delay of the store’s reopening, but a representative from Wal-Mart’s home office in Bentonville, Ark., said the phases of remodeling are on schedule for the store to open this summer.
This issue is nothing new to the discount department store powerhouse. According to local news reports, area Wal-Mart stores experienced opening setbacks in the past, partly due to the slow acquisition of construction permits and pending environmental clearance.
Concerns about wetland disturbance around Arden’s Supercenter grounds originally thwarted its opening. According to a 2008 Wal-Mart press release, the Airport Road site had to obtain approval from the N.C. Division of Water Quality before it finally opened its doors for business on Oct. 28, 2008.
According to reports, Fortune magazine’s “Most Admired Company” for 2009 not only passed county approval for that store in 2006, it also agreed to pay into the state’s Ecosystem Enhancement Program. Money from the program funds projects that prevent disruption to streams and wetlands.
Wal-Mart practices methods of low-impact development when they build or renovate stores, according to representatives. These eco-friendly measures emphasize the sensitivity of a building site’s natural surroundings during construction.
Wal-Mart’s east Asheville Supercenter initially generated public outcry when it opened in 2005. Built on the grounds of the old Sayles Biltmore Bleachery, locals said the store’s proximity to Asheville Mall would further congest an already problematic traffic area.
“I used to take River Road as a shortcut to Biltmore Avenue,” Kiteley said. “After the Wal-Mart went up there, it turned mall traffic into an even bigger mess.”
Wal-Mart’s ensuing traffic problems on River Road and Tunnel Road were not the only concerns. Many locals said the presence of big-box entities like Wal-Mart hurts or ultimately eliminates the area’s small businesses.
“With three Wal-Mart stores in Buncombe County alone, one would think that those mom-and-pop-type businesses would have already folded by now,” said retail associate and Asheville native Chris Guzman, 30. “A fourth store in the area certainly doesn’t help their situation, though.”
A little more than eight months ago, a Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Weaverville. Guzman said although the northern part of the county needed the store, the impact on small businesses in that region would be especially noticeable.
“They really only had Roses out there,” Guzman said. “Now, there’s a Lowe’s and a Wal-Mart. That puts a lot of pressure on what smaller grocery and hardware stores are still left. It kind of makes you feel sorry for the little guys trying to make an honest living.”
While a fourth Wal-Mart in the county seems somewhat excessive, some locals said the anticipated 300 jobs it will bring to Western North Carolina would be most welcome.
“In this tough economy, nobody’s going to argue about the jobs it will bring. People get excited about an industry bringing 30 new jobs to the area, let alone 300,” Kiteley said. “With so many people out of work these days, the traffic around Wal-Mart should be the least of our worries. We need the jobs.”
Wal-Mart operates nearly 8,500 markets and retail clubs worldwide, under 53 different labels in 15 countries. According to their Web page, more people work for Wal-Mart than any other employer in the world.
As of last month, the retailer that wants shoppers to “save money, live better” employed approximately 1.4 million associates at more than 4,100 stores in the United States.
According to Wal-Mart, that makes them the nation’s largest private employer, as well.
According to the N.C. Employment Security Commission, nearly 52,000 employees worked for the marketplace giant last year, making Wal-Mart the state’s largest employer.
Source: Thebluebanner.net
March 4, 2010
Ten Time Saving Tips to Speed Up Your Job Search
Is your job search off to a slow start or getting stuck? Here are some quick time-saving job search tips that will help your hunt for a new job go smoothly.
Be Prepared. Have a telephone answering machine or voice mail system in place and sign-up for a professional sounding email address. Put your cell phone number on your resume so you can follow up in a timely manner.
Be More Than Prepared. Always have an up-to-date resume ready to send – even if you are not currently looking for work. You never know when an opportunity that is too good to pass up might come along.
Don’t Wait. If you are laid-off, file for unemployment benefits right away. You may be able to file online or by phone. Waiting could delay your benefits check.
Get Help. Utilize free or inexpensive services that provide career counseling and job search assistance such as college career offices, state Department of Labor offices or your local public library.
Create Your Own Templates. Have copies of your resume and cover letter ready to edit. That way you can change the content to match the requirements of the job you’re applying for, but, the contact information and your opening and closing paragraphs won’t need to be changed.
Use Job Search Engines. Search the job search engines. Use the job search engine sites to search the major job banks, company sites, associations, and other sites with job postings for you.
Jobs by Email. Let the jobs come to you. Use job search agents to sign up and receive job listings by email. All the major job sites have search agents and some web sites specialize in sending announcements.
Time Savers. Strapped for time? Consider getting help writing or editing your resume. Resume posting services that post your resume to multiple job sites at once can save hours of data entry.
References Ready. Have a list of three references including name, job title, company, phone number and email address ready to give to interviewers.
Use Your Network. Be cognizant of the fact that many, if not most, job openings aren’t advertised. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. Ask if they can help.
This tip isn’t a time saver, but, it will broaden your online job search resources.
Don’t Stop. Don’t limit your job searching to the top sites like Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs. Check the smaller niche sites that focus on a particular geographic location or career field and you will find plenty of job listings.
Resource: About.com
February 24, 2010
Tennessee biorefinery to convert wood to fuel
Tennessee officials say two companies have signed an agreement to develop a biorefinery that will convert 1,000 dry tons of wood product per day to renewable diesel or jet fuel.
Hawaii-based ClearFuels will have the facility at the Hughes Hardwood wood component products manufacturing facility in Collinwood in Wayne County.
Officials said Tuesday in announcing the plan that at least 50 jobs will be created.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for late 2011 with operation beginning some two years later.
The biorefinery will be capable of producing 16 million gallons of diesel and 4 million gallons of the gasoline feedstock naphtha each year.
Gov. Phil Bredesen said the project shows the state’s role in the continued growth of alternative fuels.
Source: WATE
February 24, 2010
Knoxville developer filling up business park despite poor economy
Since the economy started its downturn more than a year ago, plenty of companies have gone under. But a Knoxville developer who picked a bad time to start building is still coming out on top.
Dennis Fraze imports and sells car parts to manufacturers all over the world.
In 2008, he decided to try a new business venture, developing his own business park. He began construction on The Landing the same year.
Fraze played it safe, only beginning construction on one of the four buildings he planned.
Then the economy tanked. “We went an entire year just about before we had people actually start coming in,” Fraze says.
The businessman knew he had switch gears. “We actually partnered with the people to see what do we need to do to get them in the building.”
Aggressively marketing the development helped get the name out there, but Fraze had to go even further.
He had to make the outside of the building attractive and he says in this buyer’s market, he knew he had to make changes inside, with potential tenants in mind.
“When you go into this building, you’re going to see wood trim. You’re going to see tile floors. You’re going to see, the lighting is going to be very different.”
Joe Usher owns The Payroll Source. He looked at more than 20 properties before moving into The Landing.
Usher says what sold him was Fraze’s willingness to change the layout of the building, help him expand and add upgrades like a conference room to better suit the needs of his business.
That’s something that’s hard to find, Usher adds.
“Unless someone was willing to write a check for millions of dollars, most of the time, most owners are set where they’re at, and they rent the space as is. Or you write a larger check and they’re not willing to actually go very far for you,” Usher explains.
Currently, the first building at The Landing is full and the second is nearly 50 percent leased before construction has even started.
Dennis Fraze also had to change his original vision for his business park. He had planned a mix use space, with retail shops on the bottom floor and office space on the top.
However, he quickly learned the demand for office space was the greatest, so he’s now catering to that type of business.
Fraze expects construction on building two to begin this spring.
Source: WATE
February 24, 2010
Revitalization effort continues in Downtown North Knoxville
A redevelopment project continues in an area dubbed Knoxville’s “Downtown North.”
The area is between Interstate 275 and Hall of Fame Drive north of Depot Street and south of Woodland Avenue.
Until recently, the area was plagued by numerous eyesores.
“You saw a lot of buildings where people seemed to have lost hope,” says Knoxville Director of Redevelopment Bob Whetsel.
Now fresh paint and new signs are evidence of the major revitalization effort. The city has pumped $2 million worth of federal money into the area.
“The ultimate vision is to have this become economically viable for businesses to operate and to be part of a commercial center to the neighborhoods and the downtown around it,” Whetsel says.
A facade improvement program that also required private dollars was first on the agenda. “The city’s share of this is up to 80 percent of the money so it’s an 80, 20 match,” Whetsel explains.
A-1 Furniture, Super Marios, Lusk Body Co., Carpet Headquarters and Dixie Kitchen Distributors have all partnered with the city.
“Now that we’ve got this visible showroom, we’re picking up some traffic from it,” says David Gryder, vice president of Dixie Kitchen Distributors.
Another part of the project involves improving the sidewalks to make the area more pedestrian friendly.
“We made some changes on Central to convert it to a two-lane road in each direction to try and get some on-street parking and some bike lanes,” Whetsel says.
As city officials tap into local and federal dollars, more enhancements are expected.
City officials behind the revitalization effort have requested $1 million be included in the city’s budget for streetscape improvements. They should hear back April 30.
Source: WATE
February 24, 2010
Levine Children’s Hospital gets $5.7M for cancer research
Eight philanthropic organizations and families in the Charlotte region have committed $5.7 million to create the Carolinas Kids Cancer Research Coalition.
The coalition will provide funding for the introduction of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials by the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Center at Levine Children’s Hospital. The 12-story, 234-bed facility is on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, the flagship of Carolinas HealthCare System.
Clinical trials will focus on leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, brain tumors, kidney cancer, and other bone and soft-tissue tumors.
“The expansion of Phase I and Phase II studies will lead to increasing our overall knowledge and enhancing the capability of our physicians and staff to provide new treatment options for our region’s children with cancer,” says Dr. Leonard Feld, Sara H. Bissell & Howard C. Bissell Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and chief medical officer of Levine.
The coalition’s $5.7 million in commitments includes $1 million from the Alex Hemby Foundation and the Hemby family. That gift is being matched by the Leon Levine Foundation.
Founding members also include The Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation, The Baby J Ladley Fund, the Quail Hollow Championship, drumSTRONG, 24 Hours of Booty and Brett’s Ride for Rhabdo. Those nonprofits are dedicated to fund raising, education and awareness related to pediatric cancer.
Levine’s Pediatric Hematology and Ongology Center is one of the children’s hospital’s fastest-growing programs. Along with treating patients for leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, tumors and kidney cancer, it provides neuro-oncology services and blood and marrow transplantation.
Funding will be used to expand the center’s staff, diagnostic and treatment equipment and support services for Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, which are conducted to test the safety, effectiveness and best approaches for using new drugs and other inventions.
The center’s staff includes eight board-certified physicians with in-depth knowledge of the full range of childhood cancers, offering extensive surgical, chemotherapy and radiologic procedures.
“By expanding our clinical research capabilities, we are assuring families throughout this region that they can receive the latest treatments close to home,” says Michael Tarwater, chief executive of Carolinas HealthCare.
Charlotte-based Carolinas HealthCare is the largest health-care system in the Carolinas and the third-largest public system in the nation. The system owns, leases or manages 32 hospitals. Its flagship hospital is Carolinas Medical Center, an 874-bed hospital in midtown Charlotte.
Source: Charlotte Business Journal
February 24, 2010
Duke Energy Invests In Storage Project For Renewable Energy
Duke Energy has participated in a $17 million round of venture funding for a four-year-old Massachusetts company that’s developing utility-scale storage systems for renewable energy sources.
General Compression Inc. will use the money to build and install its first full-scale storage unit this year. It anticipates its first commercial installation in 2011.
Large-scale power storage makes intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind or solar energy more useful to power producers. Power from a windmill producing too much electricity when the wind is high can be stored and then dispatched later when the wind dies down, making wind power a more reliable source for generating electricity.
Long-term storage
General Compression’s goal is to develop compressors for projects that can store energy for eight to 300 hours.
“We believe this technology can have a significant impact on the rapidly growing wind industry,” says Wouter Van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services, which operates more than 630 megawatts of wind projects for Duke’s commercial division. That “will allow Duke Energy and others to develop cost-competitive and low-carbon solutions to meet the power needs of the world’s electric systems.”
The financing round was led by U.S. Renewables Group , an investment firm based in Santa Monica, Calif.
Undergound storage
The General Compression units will use power from renewables to compress air for storage underground. It will use traditional geological storage sites such as salt formations, saline aquifers and depleted natural gas fields. When the power is needed, the units will convert compressed air back into electricity.
The company says its system needs no additional power sources for storage. It uses the power produced by the renewable generator; thus, it has no carbon emissions. It says more than 70% of the electricity its units take from the generator comes back as electricity after the conversion and storage process.
General Compression says its projects can be built near existing wind farms, or other generating sources, to use existing transmission lines.
Source: Charlotte Business Journal
February 24, 2010
Discount flooring in Arden
Lumber Liquidators, a hardwood flooring retailer with 180 stores in the U.S., has opened its first store in the Asheville area.
The company said it takes a “no frills” approach, with “simple, scaled-down warehouses.” It offers more than 150 varieties of flooring, including hardwood, bamboo, cork and laminate from brands like Bellawood, Builder’s Pride and Eco-World.
The Arden store, at 495 Watson Road, is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Visit www.lumberliquidators.com.
Source: Asheville Citizen Times
