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Mark Myers
Audio clip
Howell Moss
NEW HOPE, Tenn. — Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. has closed a deal on riverfront property that could mean up to 350 highly skilled jobs for Marion County and the region, local officials say.
CB&I bought a combined 61 acres adjacent to the Nickajack Port Authority on the Tennessee River in New Hope, records filed Friday in the Marion County Register of Deeds’ office show. Property owners included Nickajack Port Authority, Nick-A-Jack Inc. and Doris King and Hilda Olinger, records show.
Officials from CB&I did not return calls asking for comment Monday.
“This fabrication plant will, if it’s finalized, construct containers for nuclear reactors for nuclear power plants all over the world,” County Mayor Howell Moss said Monday.
“It should be known that there is nothing ‘nuclear’ about the plant whatsoever. It’s simply a metal fabrication plant,” Mr. Moss said.
Though there are still some hurdles before New Hope becomes CB&I’s home, “it’s a pretty good indication when they have acquired the property and chosen the site,” Mr. Moss said.
“The county and state have worked together — and also TVA and many other organizations — to make available every possible grant and tax incentive that we can do within the limits of the law,” Mr. Moss said.
New Hope Mayor Mark Myers said he’s excited about the potential impact the company could have on his town and the region.
“It’s been in the making for a long time,” Mr. Myers said. “This will help the entire county, especially New Hope and South Pittsburg.”
CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON
* Founded: 1889
* Products: Large storage containers, vessels, pipelines, structures, plants and associated technologies used by petrochemical and nuclear industries
* Employees: 17,000
* Operations: 80
* Locations: 10 countries
* Headquarters: The Netherlands
Source: Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., www.cbi.com>
CB&I’s work force also could come from across Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama, he said.
“This will create a lot of jobs for people who have lost their jobs and for young people who won’t have to leave to go and find work,” he said.
The company could break ground by early fall and site work could begin by midwinter, Mr. Myers said. Meanwhile, CB&I agreed that the King and Olinger families can continue to cut hay from the property until site work begins, he said.
Officials expect CB&I’s facility to be an attractive addition to the shoreline, he said.
“They told me if you’re coming up that river on a boat, you’ll want to pull in and look at it; it’ll be that nice,” he said.
But New Hope won’t lose its charm just because a major industry could come to town, he said.
“We’re going to retain the small-town feel,” he said.
The company is “100 percent” community-oriented and he expects a significant positive impact if the company officially calls New Hope home, he said.
The Marion and New Hope mayors said CB&I looked elsewhere, including Chattanooga, but settled on the Marion site.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
