A local media conversion company born in a rented garage in 2006 recently more than doubled its production space to nearly 110,000 square feet and expanded its campus on Holtzclaw Avenue to more than 5 acres.
"We're proud to invest further in our operations and to employ more in fulfilling work that creates lasting happiness," said Legacybox co-founder Nick Macco. "Chattanooga has absolutely played an important role in our success – the talent is here, the technology is here, and we'll continue to invest here."
Legacybox has also added 125 employees this year, bringing its workforce to more than 300. The company has served nearly 1 million customers, and has seen steady growth during the pandemic as people stuck at home clean out attics and closets and convert old family photos and films to new media.
"The importance of protecting analog media for generations to come has been further reinforced as people have more time to spend time at the home and with family to consider legacy and what is important," said co-founder Adam Boeselager.
For its new and current facilities, Legacybox partnered with EPB to equip 5GB fiber to manage massive needs for digital uploads, providing videos and photos to customers over the cloud. The founders added 60,000 square feet of space in a new facility at 501 Cumberland St., behind their Holtzclaw Avenue headquarters.
In May, the company hired 60 full-time employees in three weeks across its operations in customer support, design, marketing, fulfillment and processing, growing its overall workforce to 230.
Macco and Boeselager officially founded their original media conversion company, Southtree, in 2009, though the business began in 2006 when they were college students at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, transferring VCR tapes to DVDs in their garage.
In 2013, they launched Legacybox, a branch of Southtree that provides consumers with four package options and all the materials they need to label and ship their media.
(Read more: Restoring the past: Southtree rescues memories trapped in old media.)
In 2016, the company was named one of "America's Fastest Growing Companies" by Inc. Magazine. Goop, the luxury lifestyle website launched by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, featured the business in its 2019 men's holiday gift guide.
Macco and Boeselager have appeared on the Home Shopping Network and QVC to promote Southtree, which has also been called "Best Memory Keeper" by Good Housekeeping Magazine, "A Must Have" by ABC's The View, and "My 2016 Resolution" by Rachael Ray Every Day Magazine.
Contact Mary Fortune at mfortune@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow her on Twitter at @maryfortune.