Tennessee Named ‘2013 State Of The Year’ For Economic Development

Last week, Business Facilities magazine, a national economic development publication, officially named Tennessee as its ‘2013 State Of The Year’ for economic development, based on the state’s huge success over the last twelve months in recruiting new business and promoting economic development across Tennessee.

Cited in the magazine’s report were the state’s top five economic development projects of 2013, which created a total of 6,900 jobs, $3.2 billion in capital investment, and included seven expansions and three new recruitments.

This new award comes on the heels of other recent accolades for Tennessee, including being named #1 state in the nation for automotive manufacturing strength for an unprecedented four years in a row. Tennessee was also ranked in the top five states with the best business climate by Site Selection magazine and as the fourth best state in the U.S. for business in Chief Executive Magazine’s Annual Best & Worst States for Business Survey.

The top economic development projects for number of jobs created and amount of capital invested named by Business Facilities include:

Top Five Projects for Jobs

·        Hankook Tire Co., Ltd (MontgomeryCounty): 1,800 jobs

·        ARAMARK (DavidsonCounty): 1,500 jobs

·        Nissan North America, Inc. (RutherfordCounty): 1,400 jobs

·        Calsonic Kansei North America, Inc. (Bedford, Marshall and Rutherford counties): 1,200 jobs

·        UBS (DavidsonCounty): 1,000 jobs

Top Five Projects for Capital Investment

·        Eastman Chemical Company (SullivanCounty): $1.6 billion

·        Hankook Tire Co., Ltd (MontgomeryCounty): $800 million

·        International Paper Company (ShelbyCounty): $321 million

·        Nike, Inc. (ShelbyCounty): $276 million

·        Alcoa, Inc. (BlountCounty): $275 million