We're constantly trying to keep the pipeline full. While we're excited about all the good things happening now, the reality is that we know it won't stay that way.
Charles Wood of the Chattanooga Area Chamber speaks to members of the Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial board on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.The winning location for a $360 million tire-making plant in Rhea County was pitched as "the Dayton-Chattanooga site" and is an example of new regional cooperative efforts, an official says.
"We brought in and hosted this company in Chattanooga," said Charles Wood, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of economic development, about Finnish tire manufacturer Nokian Tyres.
The tire company this spring unveiled plans to build the state-of-the-art plant and hire 400 people to make all-season tires by early 2020. The Dayton location is the closest site to Chattanooga that has 300 acres that also met the company's transportation needs, said Wood to the Chattanooga Rotary Club on Thursday.
He said the regional cooperative initiative between 16 counties in the tri-state area, called the Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership, was kicked off late last year. Piggybacking off the regional planning efforts of Thrive 2055, supporters believe the job-recruiting program will bolster the area's economic growth.
"The economic impact is much bigger than what happens at the very local level," Wood said. "The idea goes back to a rising tide lifts all boats."
He said that not thinking regionally has been a weakness as Chattanooga competes for economic development projects.
Nashville, for example, markets itself as a 10-county region, the Chamber official said. On a smaller level, a three-county effort around Starkville, Miss., has attracted $6 billion in investment, Wood said.
"We have to recognize that's who we're competing against," he said.
Wood said economic development officials from Chattanooga, Cleveland, Tenn., and Dalton, Ga., already have spent some time in Germany recruiting companies. Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga and Wacker's factory in Cleveland were both $1 billion projects, and Wood said Nokian's investment could eventually equal that figure with expansions.
Nokian North American President Tommi Heinonen said earlier this summer it plans to build "the most modern tire factory in the world." Officials have said Nokian could eventually hire 1,000 people if it makes the commitment to build added phases.
Another key trend is labor availability, Wood said, noting metro Chattanooga's jobless rate is a historical low of 3.3 percent. There are a lot of companies asking why the Chamber is recruiting business when they're having trouble finding workers, he said.
"We're constantly trying to keep the pipeline full," Wood said. "While we're excited about all the good things happening now, the reality is that we know it won't stay that way."
Chattanooga is working on attracting talented employees to its workforce, Wood said, citing the Chattanooga 2.0 effort to transform education and workforce opportunities in Hamilton County.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.