The manufacturing sector in the Northeast Tennessee Valley is strong and getting stronger, with hundreds of companies collectively employing about 70,000 workers. And if you want evidence, look no farther than Blountville, Tenn., home of the region’s commercial airport, Tri-Cities.

Blountville also is home of Leclerc Foods Inc., which moved its U.S. headquarters, manufac­turing facility, and research and development operations to Blountville’s Northeast Tennessee Business Park from Pennsylvania in 2008.

“It’s a $38 to $40 million investment for them initially, and they plan to build a distribution center on an adjacent 14 acres of land,” says Richard Venable, chief executive officer of NETWORKS-Sullivan Partnership, an economic development organization in Sullivan County. “They make all types of snack foods, including private labels for department stores such as Target, and they have a good number of national contracts.”

A 105-year-old company based in Quebec City, Canada, Leclerc began producing granola bars – including peanut-free varieties – at the new factory in fall 2008 and is adding cookies to its product line.

Leclerc executives chose Sullivan County because of its central location and because they had formed good relationships with economic developers in the area.

“They made a very quick decision that Northeast Tennessee and our workforce met their needs,” Venable says.

The company prides itself in adopting cut­ting-edge technology. “Their entire process is computerized, and they run a dark warehouse for storing and picking out the product,” Venable says. “They could turn off the lights – and the robots wouldn’t even know it.”

Elsewhere in Sullivan County, Edwards & Associates Inc. refurbishes helicopters and assembles new aircraft.

“We have two companies in Piney Flats,” says Carolyn Ferrell, vice president of administration for Edwards & Associates. “The other is Aeronautical Accessories Inc. Edwards & Associates services, sells and refurbishes helicopters, and Aeronautical Accessories manufactures the parts we use.”

RUNNING LIKE A DEERE
Greeneville and surrounding Greene County, Tenn., is another manufac­turing powerhouse, boasting more than 90 industrial employers.

At its Greeneville plant, John Deere Power Products Inc. manufactures seven models of riding lawnmowers – more than 300,000 annually – and a variety of attachments and baggers. The company employs between 500 and 1,000 people locally, depending upon the season and customer demand.

“We started here producing walk-behind mowers in a 50,000-square-foot facility," says Dave Smith, factory manager. "Over the years, we’ve transitioned into making riding lawn (mower) equipment and grown to more than 300,000 square feet.”

The company appreciates Greeneville for its central location, hard-working residents, and low tax base and cost of living. “There’s a very competent work­force here. Our employees come to work with a can-do attitude,” Smith says. “The tax base and cost of living in this region are attractive, and it’s a wonderful life­style. When I sit on my front porch, I look at mountains.”