Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley Grows Business Parks, Expands Jobs

KNOXVILLE and OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A flurry of new jobs, corporate expansions and business construction indicates a surge in economic momentum across the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley of East Tennessee.

Existing industrial parks as well as new research and development parks coming online were in the news:

• Melaleuca, maker of cleaning supplies as well as nutritional and personal care products, expanded its distribution facility in Forks of the River Industrial Park to 220,000 square feet, clearing the way for 500 new jobs.
• ORNL Federal Credit Union will build a $30 million corporate headquarters in the campus-like Horizon Center Business Park in Oak Ridge, a move expected to lead to 100 new jobs.
• Also in Horizon Center Business Park, Restoration Services Inc. is investing $3 in new corporate headquarters, resulting in 40 new jobs.
• First Tennessee bank system will create 65 information technology jobs at a data center in the Blount Industrial Park.
• Cornell Dubilier Foil has purchased a 90,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Forks of the River Industrial Park and has hired 30 workers.
• Pellissippi Place, an ultra high-tech research, development and commercialization site that will serve the entire Innovation Valley, has its grand opening August 30.

Research and development in solar energy, supercomputing and advanced materials underpins the long-term economic growth plan for the Innovation Valley.  Collaboration between the University of Tennessee (UT) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is creating employment and capital investment for the region.

• The recent arrival of a Cray XT6 supercomputer used for climate research makes ORNL home now to the top computers of three federal agencies -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.  ORNL's Buddy Bland says the Innovation Valley "is clearly becoming the computing capital of the world."
• Advanced materials research at the lab also helped Roane State Community College win a $2.86 million federal grant – the largest award in the college's history – to train workers as advanced materials technicians.

New developments in the Innovation Valley's expanding alternative energy sector include:

• The DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products facility in Loudon, Tenn., which already produces 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO(R) annually, will expand capacity by 35 percent to meet increased demand.
• The DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol demonstration facility in Vonore, Tenn., is preparing biofuel technology for market as part of the University of Tennessee Biofuels Initiative.
• Site preparation is underway for Cherokee Farm, a multi-use research site operated by the university in partnership with ORNL and private entities. Cherokee Farm is slated to be the home of the Tennessee Solar Institute and the UT-ORNL Joint Institute for Advanced Materials.

Already home to 90 corporate headquarters both large and small, the Innovation Valley has seen several interesting developments in the past few weeks:

• Knoxville-based Pilot Travel Centers moved forward with its $1.8 billion merger with one of its top competitors, Flying J Inc. Operating under the name Pilot Flying J, the combined businesses join the ranks of the top 10 privately held companies in the U.S.
• Scripps Networks finished the $30 million expansion of its West Knoxville corporate headquarters. Scripps Networks includes HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country.

In addition, Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless has moved its national call center to West Knoxville and plans to hire 200 to 250 new employees over the next two months.

"We're upbeat about the economic momentum here," said Jesse Smith, director of technology for the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley partnership.  "The combination of high tech culture, educational assets like the University of Tennessee flagship campus and the national lab, the relative low cost of living, and a welcoming climate for corporate headquarters adds up to progress. Our question is, 'why would you want to be anywhere else?'"

For more information about the Innovation Valley, contact Doug Lawyer at (865) 246-2647 or [email protected].

SOURCE Innovation Valley Inc.