Chamber salutes local industry

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (June 4, 2008)—The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce recognized the contributions of local existing industry today during a special luncheon at the Museum Center at 5ive Points.

The annual recognition celebrates the local community’s position as the fifth largest manufacturing region in the state along with the contributions local businesses and industries make to the economic well-being of Cleveland and Bradley County.

“While we constantly recruit new businesses to our community,” Lisa Pickel, director of existing industry programs, said, “we also strive to take care of existing business and industry.”

Keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Matthew N. Murray, who holds a joint appointment with the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and the Department of Economics at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

“We’re fortunate to have Dr. Murray speak to us,” Gary Farlow, vice president for economic development, said in his introduction. “His experience with labor economics, public taxation and commerce are pertinent to our existing industries. His day-to-day work is relevant to the economic development in our region.”

During the luncheon, the Chamber also recognized three local industries for their contributions to Cleveland and Bradley County in such areas as investment, growth and workforce development. Following are summaries of those special salutes.

Olin Corporation

Olin Corporation is a long-time member of the Charleston community, and their contribution to the economy of Bradley County and the surrounding area is substantial. The Charleston plant’s payroll alone for some 280 employees is approximately $16 million annually. The Chlor-Alkali plant also purchases around $63 million in goods and services locally each year.2007 was a busy year for this vital member of the manufacturing community. In 2007 Olin executed nearly $6 million in new capital investment at the Charleston site and $1 million in new investment in bleach manufacturing. They achieved more than 50-percent growth in their potassium hydroxide business year-over-year.In 2007 Olin Corporation also completed acquisition of Pioneer Companies, a bolt-on addition to expand their chlor-alkali business. This resulted in their ranking as #1 in North America in industrial bleach manufacturing, #1 in North America in merchant chlorine manufacturing and # 3 in North America in chlorine manufacturing.In addition to their commitment to producing high-quality products, Olin is committed to protecting the environment and their co-workers. In 2007 Olin continued as a Tennessee OSHA Star Facility—one of only 23 in all of Tennessee. They also achieved an Olin employee and contractor Total Recordable Injury Rate of 0.70.

The plant received the Tennessee Governor’s Award of Excellence for Safety in 2007 and received Tennessee Safety and Health Council’s “Industrial Honor Award.” Olin also recertified in RC14001 and recertified in ISO 9001: 2000.

Olin Corporation also participates in the Chamber’s Teachers Academy, which is designed to establish stronger partnerships between business and education and subsequently help educators identify and incorporate necessary skill training and understanding of business/workforce realities into school curriculum. They are BEST partners with Charleston Elementary School.  

Exel Inc.

Exel Inc. is America’s leader in contract logistics and supply chain management, with 40,000 associates at more than 500 sites throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Exel manages the Eastern Lighting Distribution Center, a $30 million, 850,000-square-foot facility in the Hiwassee River Industrial Park, which warehouses and distributes lighting products for GE Consumer & Industrial’s lighting unit. The official groundbreaking for the center took place in September 2006, and the site was selected as a strategic geographic location for Exel to serve its customers in the eastern part of the United States.

One of their key objectives was to combine Bradley County’s qualified workforce and Exel’s global experience and industrial expertise to create a successful partnership for years to come. They expected to hire some 200 workers to operate the center.

Because of their success with the GE warehouse, Exel became manager of the Duracell distribution warehouse on Coppertop Drive in January 2007, hiring 80 of those Duracell employees and an additional 40 employees.

In all, their original plan was to hire 200-250 employees locally, but they have increased employment by 22%, now totally 320 employees.

Exel also set out to become an active member of the local community and is already represented on the Chamber’s Education Committee.

Santek Environmental

Santek Environmental, founded in 1986, is a full-service landfill management company that has capitalized on privatizing small- to mid-sized, publicly owned solid waste landfills. With their corporate offices at 650 25th Street, Santek is best known for providing and managing state-of-the-art and environmentally responsible waste disposal solutions. Working under the domain of local government’s authority, their mission is to maximize the environmental and economic efficiency of publicly owned landfills.

Santek is a strong supporter of Chamber of Commerce workforce development initiatives and education activities in the community. Their commitment to building the workforce of the future is evidenced by their participation in Ethics in the Workplace, a program that brings local professionals from business, industry and education into classrooms to speak about work ethics and ethical conduct in general, and their assistance with the annual “Salute to Education,” which recognizes local Teachers of the Year and BEST partnership, and Chair-ries Jubilee, a yearly fund-raiser for arts in education and arts activities in the community.

Santek and Prospect Elementary School formally announced its BEST partnership in September 2007. BEST, an acronym for Business & Education Serving Together, is an ongoing program of the Chamber that encourages interaction between the business/industry sector of the community and the local school systems.

In its first year, the Santek/Prospect partnership rose to the top and earned the “2008 BEST Partnership of the Year” Award. They maintain a presence at the school through various means, including sponsorship of the Character Education program, participation in the school’s career day and teaching “Our City” classes to third-, fourth- and fifth-graders during sponsorship of “Junior Achievement in a Day.”

Santek also commissioned a 30-foot environmental mural unveiled earlier this year in the hallway at Prospect. Its purpose is to depict solid waste management practices when collecting and disposing of garbage while simultaneously reminding students to take care of their environment.

According to Prospect Principal Steve Montgomery, “Santek’s donations enhance the quality of education our students receive. Their support reaches out to students, teachers, parents and the community.”

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