House panel ups funding for locks
Construction on a new Chickamauga Lock in Chattanooga should will continue in the next fiscal year if the full Congress adopts a spending plan approved this week by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
Although the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump White House had proposed a 31 percent cut in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and civil works projects like the new and bigger lock at the Chickamauga Dam, House appropriators voted 31-21 Tuesday night to boost funding for the Corps in fiscal 2020 enough to fully fund the next year of work at the Chickamauga Lock, which could be completed by 2023 with full funding.
“To bring American infrastructure into the 21st century, this bill increases funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to advance construction on key projects and help address the Corps’ backlog,” said U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
The spending measure next goes to the full House and the U.S. Senate, where U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that governs Army Corps of Engineers projects.
Auto supplier adds 180 jobs in Tennessee
A Canadian auto supplier plans to convert part of an abandoned bicycle and lawn equipment plant in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee to make steel racks for the auto industry.
Advanced Design Solutions Inc. announced Wednesday it will invest $10 million and create nearly 180 jobs in Lawrenceburg. The new plant will be located in part of the former Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company facility in Lawrenceburg. Once it has completed renovations, the company anticipates it will start production in June 2019.
“Everyone we have met in Lawrenceburg has been exceptionally helpful,” said Mark Booker, Advanced Design Solutions president and founder. “We look forward to supporting our existing customers and growing our customer base in this region.”
Headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Advanced Design Solutions manufactures steel shipping racks for the auto industry. The company also operates a facility in Middletown, Ohio.
Unum CFO retires after 32 years
John F. “Jack” McGarry, executive vice president and chief financial officer for the Unum Corp., since 2015, will retire from the Chattanooga-based insurance company, effective Oct 31.
Steven A. Zabel, president of Unum’s closed block of business, will assume the role of executive vice president and chief financial officer effective July 1, at which time McGarry, 61, will move into a role supporting a smooth transition until his retirement.
“Our depth of talent and expertise allows us to move through this change in a seamless way and continue to strengthen our company in the process,” said Unum Group President and CEO Richard P. McKenney.
McGarry has spent more than 32 years with Unum in a number of leadership roles, including head of risk management for Unum US, president and CEO of Unum UK, and president and CEO of closed block operations.
Zabel joined Unum in 2013 as senior vice president and chief risk officer. He became president of Unum’s closed block of business in 2015. He began his career with Ernst & Young as an auditor of life and health insurance companies.
Amazon owners vote down limits
Amazon said Wednesday that its shareholders had voted down proposals that would have pushed the company to reconsider its societal impact in two key areas: facial recognition and climate change.
The proposals asked Amazon to develop a more comprehensive approach to reducing its carbon footprint and put the brakes on how the company sells surveillance technologies to governments.
The company’s board had opposed the changes. But the initiatives received support from the two most prominent shareholder advisory firms, which help large, long-term investors decide how to vote.
One initiative would have pushed the company to develop a public report describing how Amazon plans for climate-related disruptions such as extreme weather and how the company will reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, which power its vast fulfillment and delivery operations as well as its data centers.
Amazon and its board have argued the company is already working to mitigate its climate impact through various measures, such as plans to disclose its carbon footprint later this year and a new initiative called Shipment Zero, which aims to have 50% of shipments net-zero carbon by 2030.