An Idaho company setting up a new manufacturing site in the city already has hired about 30 workers and plans to double that number in a year.
The business has taken off better than anyone expected it to," said Brandy Gamble of IBI Power, which is manufacturing generator enclosures in Chattanooga for hospitals and data centers.
IBI Power recently set up operations in 50,000 square feet of space it's leasing from Energy Resources Group at 200 Compress St. It's investing in about $5 million in the city, Gamble said.
Jack Sample, the Chattanooga location's business manager, said wages for the jobs average $45,000 a year.
"It's first-class manufacturing - state of the art," he said.
The city's interstate highways, river and rail transportation played a big part in the company deciding to open the Chattanooga facility, officials said.
"If we service the Midwest or East Coast. ... Chattanooga is a hub," Gamble said.
She said the Caldwell, Idaho-based company's new eastern division facility will make other products as business ramps up.
"We'll expand that later," Gamble said.
IBI serves industry sectors such as power packaging and integration, renewable energy, gas and oil, industrial, water and/or wastewater, mining, transportation, military and food processing.
"We offer the green solution for power packaging," said Dave Erlebach, IBI chief executive officer, in a statement. "We meet or exceed 2008 California Green Building Standards, allowing us to serve even the most environmentally sensitive customers."
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said the IBI project was highly competitive, with a serious bid coming from North Georgia.
Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said the new jobs "pay the kind of wages that can sustain a family."
Trevor Hamilton, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president for economic development, said manufacturing will continue as a cornerstone of the area economy.
"IBI proves that we can continue to compete for and win manufacturing projects," he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6318.