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Business briefs

Business briefs

Posted: Monday, December 24, 2012 11:57 pm

The Messenger 12.24.12

Imperial Food Services has announced it will locate a manufacturing plant in Marshall County. The announcement represents an investment of $3 million by the company and the creation of 48 jobs, according to a news release from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
“I am pleased to welcome Imperial Food Services to Lewisburg and thank the company for its confidence in the workforce and business climate of Tennessee,” state Commissioner Bill Hagerty said. “Our state’s convenient location, strong transportation infrastructure and solid history of manufacturing excellence will serve Imperial well. I look forward to working with the company as it expands its operations.”
The company broke ground on the new manufacturing facility on Nov. 26 during a ceremony with state, regional and local officials. Imperial will construct a new 60,000-square-foot building.
“We are very excited about the opportunities on the horizon, and look forward to success working in Middle Tennessee,” CEO of Imperial Food Services Wayne A. Wolf said. “IFS and its partners have worked to ensure that Lewisburg is the proper fit for our operations both immediately and into the future. For us, it is clear that Tennessee is going to be a value add for our organization.”
“We have been working aggressively with state economic development officials to market our assets as a great location for manufacturing,” said Lewisburg Director of Economic Development Greg Lowe. “We could not be happier to work with our new partners at Imperial Food to bring jobs and capital investment to Lewisburg and the state of Tennessee.”
IFS, an American Indian food manufacturer and retailer, is headquartered in South Elgin, Ill., along with its sister company, Red Cloud Food Services. IFS produces and distributes cooked meats, sliced deli meats, gourmet sandwiches and healthy hand-held baked products, in addition to an assortment of energy drinks.
Construction on the new facility is scheduled for the winter and the facility anticipates opening in summer 2013. IFS intends to fill 48 production, maintenance, warehouse, export and office positions by that time, with the remainder to follow.

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Ceramica Del Conca will build its first North American manufacturing facility in Loudon, according to a recent announcement by the Italian ceramic floor tile manufacturer. The facility represents a $70 million investment and will create 178 new manufacturing jobs in Loudon County, according to a news release from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
The Italian ceramic tile maker was founded in 1979 and uses high-tech manufacturing processes to keep pace with the growing tile market. Del Conca’s porcelain ceramic tiles are exported worldwide for use in both residential and commercial facilities.
Along with establishing a base for U.S. operations, the Loudon facility will allow Del Conca to serve major U.S. customers such as Lowe’s Arizona Tile, Mannington and Tile Shop more effectively. The facility will be a 320,000-square-foot manufacturing, research, showroom and administrative facility.
The 178 new jobs will include managerial, technical/engineering, administrative, production and distribution positions.
The Loudon facility is expected to begin operations by the end of 2013.
The construction and hiring process will be completed in two phases; the first of which will include the hiring of 100 employees. The remaining 78 employees are expected to be retained within the next five to six years.

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Bell Helicopter, Inc. has announced it will expand its Piney Flats facility, representing an investment of $10.1 million and the anticipated creation of up to 125 new jobs, according to a news release from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
“Our Jobs4TN strategy makes expanding businesses in Tennessee a priority in our efforts to grow jobs, and I want to congratulate Bell Helicopter on the news of their additional investment in Piney Flats,” Gov. Bill Haslam said.
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Bell’s global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.

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