A solid, dedicated workforce, low taxes and modest costs are attracting new business, investment and expansion to a 15-county region that includes corners of Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

Working across state lines and political boundaries, the Northeast Tennessee Valley Region is landing deals and working with prospects waiting for the economy to improve.

“We pride ourselves on being a one-day’s drive to 75 percent of the working market,” says Tommy Olterman, a regional development specialist with the Tennessee Valley Authority. “We have a shot at any company looking at the Southeast.”

Right Way Marketing opened a new call center in Johnson City, Tenn., last March. Johnson City also is home to a new 65,000-square-foot distribution center for U.S. Marble. "From looking on a map and evaluating the highway system and Johnson City's central location to serve eastern and southeastern U.S. markets, we felt that this is the perfect site for our expansion,” the company said in announcing its plans.

Wellco Enterprises, a manufacturer of footwear for military, tactical, industrial and outdoor applications, will open a new manufacturing plant in the Morristown Airport Industrial District, bringing more than 100 new jobs to the area.

Furniture manufacturers are moving in, too.

SouthCo. Inc., which specializes in college dormitory furniture, relocated 40 miles from Del Rio, Tenn., and now has a 100,000-square-foot assembly warehouse in Greeneville, Tenn.. Norm Clark, the company’s president, said a fabrication facility might follow. The labor pool, he said, has a good work ethic and is skilled and educated.

“What drove this was this was the building, the location and the workforce,” Clark says. “My partner and I both live in this town and wanted to support the local community.”

BJS North America East Inc., part of Swedish furniture manufacturer BJS, opened its new plant in Dandridge, Tenn., in October 2009. The company, an IKEA supplier, makes mostly bedroom accessories such as tables, headboards, chests and day beds from high-quality fiberboard.

The project represents 150 new jobs.

In Hawkins County, Tenn., a project by the Hawkins County Industrial Development Board and Phipps Bend Joint Venture Board will result in a 67,500-square-foot speculative building in the Phipps Bend Industrial Park.

A variety of incentive programs area available from the city and regional economic development entities, as well as at the state level. A $1.3 million grant from Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, for example, helped finance a $3.8 million state-of-the-art electronic medical records facility in Duffield, Va., developed by OnePartner and Holston Medical Group that will serve 37 Virginia Department of Health locations.

The TVA offers low-interest loans, credits for electrical use and technical and design services, Olterman says.

“The communities up here are ready to do business,” he says.