The parent company of SmartBank reported record earnings in the third quarter from continuing acquisitions from the Knoxville-based bank.
SmartFinancial, Inc., which merged with the former Cornerstone Bank in Chattanooga in 2015, said Tuesday it earned $4.3 million, or 34 cents per diluted share in the third quarter. A year earlier, Smart Financial earned $1.7 million, or 20 cents per share.
"As we execute on our growth strategy, we continue to make strides on building a very solid foundation for our company," Smart Financial CEO Billy Carroll said. "We had another successful conversion, as we integrated and rebranded the middle Tennessee and northern Alabama offices of Tennessee Bancshares , Inc. while planning for our upcoming acquisition of East Tennessee-based Foothills Bancorp, Inc."
SmartBank expects to close on its purchase of Foothills Bancorp. on Nov. 1.
VW Chattanooga could make 3 electric vehicle models
A new report says Volkswagen is eyeing assembly of three electric vehicle models in North America and is expected to decide if Chattanooga will be the production site by year's end.
Automotive News reported that Thomas Ulbrich, member of VW brand's executive board responsible for electric mobility, said Chattanooga is a fit but there's no decision so far.
During a presentation at the former VW Phaeton factory in Dresden, Ulbrich said three VW brand EVs are slated for North America, according to Automotive News.
The Volkswagen I.D. Crozz, an electric crossover, is expected to be its first and most popular battery-powered vehicle for the U.S. Others might include a larger seven-seat SUV and the retro-styled I.D. Buzz minivan, based off of the iconic VW Microbus.
The Chattanooga VW plant, which employs about 3,500 employees, currently makes the seven-seat Atlas SUV and the Passat midsize sedan. It expects to start production on a five-seat version of the Atlas next year.
Publix to open Tullahoma store
Publix will open a new supermarket next Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7 a.m. at Northgate Mall in Tullahoma, Tenn.
"Publix is known for providing excellent customer service in a bright and inviting environment filled with lots of fresh products," said Brenda Reid, a Publix spokeswoman. "We are proud to bring the Publix shopping experience to Tullahoma."
The new location at 1600 N. Jackson St. will be a 46,797-square-foot store with an estimated 125 people working there, the company said.
Publix is privately owned and operated by its more than 195,000 employees with 2017 sales of $34.6 billion. Publix has 1,201 stores in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
Tennessee promotes blockchain businesses
With the legislative approval in March of two bills that support blockchain development in Tennessee, the state's top economic recruiter said Tuesday he hopes to grow and recruit more companies using the technology.
"Tennessee is excited about the current and future impacts blockchain will have on the global economy," Bob Rolfe, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, todl a Tennessee Blockchain Summit on Tuesday. "We are home to a number of companies that are making significant investments in blockchain development, including AllianceBernstein, HCA, FedEx and FreightWaves, which announced a $4 million expansion in Chattanooga earlier this month."
A new website, www.TokenizeTN.com, was launched Tuesday to encourage community involvement and leadership to drive adoption and education of distributed ledger technologies in Tennessee. It has resources on existing blockchain efforts in the state and information on how to get involved.
"The blockchain community will grow and thrive in an environment with open communication and collaboration," said Kristen Johns, a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Waller, a Nashville-based law firm.
The Tennessee General Assembly this year adopted legislation to recognize a legal authority to use blockchain technology and smart contracts in conducting electronic transactions and to protect ownership rights of certain information secured by blockchain technology.
Allegiant pays pilot over evacuation firing
Allegiant Air is settling a lawsuit filed by a captain who was fired after ordering an emergency evacuation when smoke was detected coming from one of the plane's engines.
Allegiant and a lawyer for Jason Kinzer declined comment Tuesday on terms of the confidential settlement reached just before a scheduled trial in a Nevada court.
In 2015, Kinzer circled back to St. Petersburg, Florida, shortly after takeoff. He ordered an evacuation after an emergency worker reported engine smoke. Allegiant said it wasn't necessary to evacuate, and several passengers were hurt on escape slides.
The incident received extensive coverage and was the focus of a CBS "60 Minutes" report in April that questioned safety at Allegiant.
Kinzer's lawyer says his client is now an instructor at American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air.