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Bradley touts its industrial diversity

By: Randall Higgins
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Tom Rowland

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Industrial diversity has been the key to surviving the recession, according to local leaders.

"The recession is still with us," said Gary Farlow, president and CEO of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce. "Unemployment has been creeping up, so we are still concerned about the overall economy."

While the economic impact here from Wacker Chemical Corp. and Volkswagen won't be felt for several years, Mr. Farlow said, "we are doing better than some communities."

The more immediate impact, he said, comes from Whirlpool's decision to keep its Cleveland facilities and add more jobs. Some Whirlpool jobs were temporarily suspended, he noted, while the local plant is restructured for the expansion. Those jobs will be back and the Whirlpool work force will be about 1,300 by July, he said.

There have been other bright spots locally in recent months, including expansions at Coca-Cola, Schering-Plough and some smaller industries.

"I think the good news is we have such a diverse industrial base," Mr. Farlow said.

Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland said the area has lost some of the national retail chains, such as Circuit City and Goody's, just as other communities have. But he agreed industrial diversity has been a positive factor here. And that may continue soon with the development of Exit 20, he said.

"If one of our industries goes soft, we have been able to rely on others," Mr. Rowland said. "We continue to look for spin-offs from Volkswagen and trying to open new industrial ground."

While sales tax revenue has been essentially breaking even, said County Mayor D. Gary Davis, he is not asking for any tax increase as he prepares the 2010 budget along with county commissioners.

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