TENNESSEE: Advanced Munitions to locate global HQ, 600 jobs in Alcoa
Advanced Munitions International has announced plans to build its global headquarters and a state-of-the-art munitions manufacturing facility in Alcoa, Tenn., that will create 605 new jobs.
AMI, which supplies ammunition to the military, law enforcement and civilian markets, is investing $533 million in its new campus, which will include manufacturing, distribution and research and development operations. The Alcoa plant will primarily hire chemists and engineers with backgrounds in metallurgy, physics and energetics technology.
The company expects to break ground on the 235-acre site this spring and open in the fourth quarter of 2018. Company executives cited the proximity and resources of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a deciding factor in choosing to locate in Tennessee.
“When we looked nationally for a site to build this facility, Tennessee stood out as a place with leaders that understand and support strong business growth,” said Jim Antich, AMI founder and executive chairman. “Having a resource like ORNL nearby also attracted us to Tennessee and Blount County.”
AMI was founded in Payson, Ariz., in 2010 and initially produced ammunition for police departments. The company has said it will maintain a small operation in Payson that will involve approximately 70 employees.
OHIO: Honda investing $210M in new energy-efficient paint system
Honda of America Mfg. is investing $210 million for a new state-of-the-art paint line at its Marysville (Ohio) Auto Plant that is designed to reduce the company’s environmental footprint while also improving on quality.
The new paint facility will utilize numerous new technologies to significantly reduce energy use, water use and chemical emissions from the vehicle painting process. According to Honda, auto body painting can account for 60 percent or more of an auto plant’s total energy use.
The new paint shop will reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions by nearly 66 percent and will use “dry-booth” technology, which uses limestone dust instead of water to capture paint overspray, reducing water use by 2 million gallons annually. Eliminating water used to capture paint particulates will also annually eliminate 255 tons of paint sludge as a waste byproduct.
Construction of the new paint line will begin in December and is slated for completion in December 2017. The new 300,000-s.f. paint shop will have a capacity of 229,000 units annually and will replace the existing facility built in 1985.
When complete, the new paint shop will be the most energy-efficient paint line in Honda’s U.S. auto-production network.
Briefs:
INDIANA
- Skally’s Old World Bakery, a family-owned bagel and pita bread bakery, is establishing a new production facility in West Harrison, Ind., that will create up to 150 new jobs by 2021. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company is investing $40 million to construct and equip a 350,000-s.f. facility that will house a bread production line serving customers in 40 states.
- Thrive Market, a membership-based online health food and natural products store, is establishing a new fulfillment center in Batesville, Ind. The California-based company is renovating a 300,000-s.f. facility that previously housed General Electric. The new fulfillment center will create up to 250 jobs by 2018 and will serve approximately two-thirds of its customers located in 35 states throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States.
OHIO
- ADVICS Manufacturing Ohio Inc. is investing more than $150 million to expand its operations in Lebanon, Ohio, where it produces disc brake calipers and electronic stability control units for automakers. The expansion will add 260 jobs to the current 714-member workforce.
TENNESSEE
- Alcoa has completed a $300 million expansion of its facility in Alcoa, Tenn., where it produces aluminum sheet to automakers such as Ford, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors. With automakers demanding lighter, stronger materials to improve vehicle performance, the amount of aluminum body sheet in North American vehicles is expected to triple between 2012 and 2015 and increase elevenfold by 2025. The Tennessee expansion project created approximately 200 full-time jobs.
- Intermedix, a Florida-based provider of analytics and technology solutions for health and safety, has announced that it will locate new operations in Nashville, creating 116 new jobs. The company’s new innovation lab will focus on furthering the company’s analytics capabilities by leveraging big-data technologies to provide statistical models and predictive analytics. Intermedix will support clients by gaining insights into their data to improve quality of care, reduce costs and increase patient satisfaction.
- Lyft, a San Francisco-based mobile app and transportation company, is locating a customer experience center in Nashville that will create 380 new jobs. The new operation will support drivers and passengers with timely answers to their questions.
- With the goal of improving it’s the company’s financial flexibility, Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General Corp. has implemented a corporate restructuring that eliminates 225 corporate support positions. Of the positions affected, 115 were already vacant. The cuts represent approximately 23 percent of the company’s corporate staff. No store-level jobs are being affected by the changes.
- Allied Dispatch Solutions, one of the nation’s largest roadside services providers, is investing $4.8 million to expand its operations in Johnson City. The expansion will add 481 new jobs.
WEST VIRGINIA
- Orbital ATK, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced that it has successfully completed the final validation and testing for its new clean air Ramjet Test Facility at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W. Va. The facility is one of few in the United States with a clear-air testing environment for flying trajectories on the stand with real-time, variable mass flow-rate and temperature. ABL is housed at the site owned by Naval Sea Systems Command, which committed funding to the new facility.
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