Home » Interstate Lane: September 2015

Interstate Lane: September 2015

By The Lane Report staff

Tennessee: Ryder expansion drives addition of 600 jobs in spring hill

Ryder Supply Chain Solutions is expanding its warehousing, transportation, kitting and assembly operations in Spring Hill, Tenn., a project that will create more than 600 new jobs in the Middle Tennessee community.

Ryder is a Miami-based Fortune 500 commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation and supply chain solutions company, with operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the U.K., as well as parts of Asia. The company, founded in 1933, operates behind the scenes, managing critical transportation and logistics functions for more than 50,000 customers.

The $16.5 million project calls for Ryder to double its Spring Hill warehousing operations from 300,000 s.f. to 600,000 s.f. as well as increase its workforce from approximately 200 to more than 800 over the next five years.

“It’s just another indicator that the automotive manufacturing industry is roaring back,” Jan McKeel, executive director of the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance, told The (Nashville) Tennessean.

Ohio: Macy’s forms joint venture to explore e-commerce in China

Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. has formed a joint venture with a Hong Kong-based retailer to explore retailing in China, which is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing consumer markets.

The joint venture, which is 65 percent owned by Macy’s and 35 percent owned by Fung Retailing Limited, will start with an e-commerce pilot. For Macy’s, already a popular destination for Chinese-Americans and Chinese visitors to the United States, the joint venture – to be called Macy’s China Limited – is expected to develop significant new learnings on customer preferences and buying patterns within China.

The Chinese Internet population of some 668 million is the driving force behind China’s e-commerce and online shopping boom, along with the rise of a middle class forecasted to number 630 million by 2022. Fung Retailing complements Macy’s leadership in U.S. omnichannel retailing with its own retail and wholesale experience in Asia, where it has more than 3,000 stores across a wide product range in various formats, including more than 1,000 stores in China.

“The potential for growth is significant. While the Chinese online consumer is already one of the savviest in the world, there are untapped ‘white spaces’ to fill,” said Sabrina Fung, executive director for Fung Retailing. “There is demand for the quality and variety of power brands and authentic products associated with the world-famous name of Macy’s. Many Chinese are attracted to the American lifestyle, of which shopping at Macy’s is the ultimate symbol.”

In Brief:

INDIANA

  • Tilson, a professional employer organization that provides human resources and benefits solutions, is investing $1.55 million to renovate and expand its headquarters in Greenwood, Ind. Tilson has been headquartered in Greenwood for 20 years and currently employs a staff of 70. The expansion will create up to 245 new jobs by 2020.
  • In response to a significant increase in new orders, Illinois-based Hoist Liftruck Manufacturing Inc. has bought a former army tank manufacturing facility in East Chicago, Ind., to expand its production of heavy-duty forklifts. The company expects to hire up to 500 workers for the plant by 2022.
  • NextGear Capital, an automotive financial services provider for auto dealers, has announced plans to add up to 200 new jobs by 2018. The company is investing nearly $51 million to lease and renovate its corporate offices in Carmel, Ind., to support its growing customer service and technology divisions.

OHIO

  • On Aug. 12, Ford Motor Co.’s new F-650/F-750 medium-duty trucks rolled off the line for the first time at the company’s Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio. The company invested $168 million to move production of the medium-duty truck line from Mexico to Ohio, a move that secured more than 1,000 hourly UAW jobs in Ohio.

TENNESSEE

  • UBS is investing more than $11 million to expand its operations in Middle Tennessee, a project that will create more than 350 new jobs over the next several years. The Franklin office will support the financial services company’s back-office data center that is currently located in nearby downtown Nashville.
  • Maplehurst Bakeries, an Indiana-based company that specializes in frozen bakery products, is investing $103 million to build and equip a new 173,000-s.f. manufacturing plant in Lebanon, Tenn. The project will create up to 147 new jobs.
  • American Standard Brands, a leading manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen fixtures and fittings, is establishing a new manufacturing and distribution facility in LaVergne, Tenn., a community about 15 miles southeast of Nashville. The $22 million project will create approximately 600 new jobs and represents the first new U.S.-based manufacturing facility for the company in more than 25 years.
  • Global auto supplier DENSO is investing $400 million to expand its electronics manufacturing capabilities and build a new warehouse at its manufacturing facility in Maryville, Tenn. The project will add 500 jobs and allow DENSO to consolidate its various warehouse operations in the Maryville area into one located on its campus. The additional manufacturing space will be used to produce products such as head-up displays, meters and electronic control units.

WEST VIRGINIA

  • Premier Financial Bancorp Inc., a $1.3 billion community bank holding company headquartered in Huntington, W. Va., will acquire First National Bankshares Corp. in a deal valued at $26.5 million. First National is a $261 million single bank holding company headquartered in Ronceverte, W. Va. The merger will expand Premier Bank’s footprint into the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia and into Covington, Va., along Interstate 64 with six branch locations.