CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Nearly all of the 23 companies interviewed for a Chamber of Commerce report here say Cleveland and Bradley County are good areas in which to live, work and raise a family.
But nearly one-third of them say traffic flow and transportation infrastructure are community liabilities.
BY THE NUMBERSIn the survey:* 73 percent of participants are manufacturers* 27 percent of participants are service companies* 22 percent do business with Mexico* 13 percent do business with Canada* 52 percent say sales down* 37 percent say sales are up* 11 percent say sales are the same.Source: 2009 Existing Industry Report
The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce on Monday released its annual survey for the latest Existing Industry Report. Copies were handed out to city and county government bodies.
Lisa Pickel, the Chamber’s director of existing industry, said the surveys began in 1992 as an information source for local government, the Chamber and the Economic Development Council. Each year a committee interviews CEOs and other top-ranking officials at a variety of companies who are also Chamber members.
In 2009, when the latest numbers were compiled, the survey included 23 companies ranging in size from two employees to the largest employers such as AbitibiBowater Inc., just across the Hiwassee River in McMinn County, and Whirlpool.
The industry leaders ranked location and work ethic as top local attractions for them. Eleven companies responded to the question on community liabilities, and seven of those mentioned traffic.
That response caught the eye of some Cleveland City Council members.
Councilman Richard Banks said he has sought traffic light synchronization for a long time. While some work has been done, traffic signals on some major arteries are not synchronized, he said.
“With the response of CEOs and others in this report, it’s obviously something we need to work on,” Banks said.
Councilman George Poe said he was told “five or six years ago” that the city’s fiber-optic system would help lessen traffic snarls through computerization.
“Apparently there’s a breakdown somewhere,” he said.
Banks and Poe suggested looking at bringing in an outside traffic consultant, as well.
While 96 percent of the survey respondents hire full-time workers, more than half said they also use an agency for temporary employees. Sixty-four percent require pre-employment drug screening.
The number of unskilled employees in the county continues to decline, according to the survey. Most workers are described as either highly skilled or semi-skilled. Only three companies employ a sizable number of employees without a high school diploma or a GED, the survey shows.
One-fourth of the companies made or planned to make equipment purchases during the past year. Thirty-one percent anticipate growth in equipment ,and 26 percent anticipate growth in employment through 2011, according to the survey.
The nation’s sluggish economy was listed as the executives’ No. 1 fear.