Officials at Technicolor Home Entertainments Services knew they needed more space æ lots of space. The company, already located in a 652,000 square foot packaging and distribution facility in Memphis, wanted to consolidate its North American operations in one site, plus add more space and equipment to meet future demand.

Technicolor found everything it was looking for in Memphis. In January, the company announced it would add 275,000 square feet to its facility, along with 1,200 new jobs.

“Memphis’ geographic location, good combination of intermodal transportation options, and strong logistics work force continues to make it a preferred Technicolor distribution hub for North America,” said Quentin Lilly, president of Technicolor. “This expansion is clearly a win for both Technicolor and Memphis.”

Technicolor is the world’s largest independent manufacturer and distributor of videocassettes and DVD/CDs. The expanded facility will feature automated packaging and hand-pick operations, along with warehouse and distribution services. When the expansion is completed in two years, workers at the facility will be able to package 475 million DVD units per year.

"The expansion of our Memphis DVD operations greatly increases our ability to process more DVD units quickly and efficiently, thereby, strengthening Technicolor’s fulfillment services for our valued customers," Lilly said.

There are many obvious reasons for Technicolor choosing Memphis as a site for a distribution center. The Memphis and Shelby County area contains all the components of a world-class transportation system. Interstate highways connect truckers quickly to most of the country.

Air travel is a snap, and for companies interested in water transport, the Mississippi River provides access to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

Technicolor Home Entertainment Services had another good reason to choose Memphis: the PILOT program. The program, also known as the Community Reinvestment Credit, provides property tax relief for qualifying companies.

A Blueprint For Success

The story of Technicolor shows in vivid color why companies choose to grow in Tennessee. The state has built-in natural advantages, such as its location, and combines that with pro-business initiatives to make it a popular place.

A good example of this at work is Brunswick Boat Group, which announced in December that it would put its new world headquarters in downtown Knoxville.

Brunswick, a manufacturer of luxury boats, already had three sites in the Knoxville area. Placing the management group in the same locale made sense.

“Bringing the senior executive management of Brunswick together in one location is key to achieving the company’s goals,” said Dustan E. McCoy, president of the Brunswick Boat Group. “We saw Knoxville as a great location for our global operations, because it provides us with a number of advantages,”

About 75 BBG employees relocated to Knoxville, and the company is hiring 25 more to go with the already 1,500 Brunswick workers in Knoxville.

Much of the infrastructure for Brunswick is already located in Knoxville, including its information technology, finance and legal functions.

“As a result, locating in Knoxville will result in minimum disruption to our ongoing activities,” McCoy noted. “Its proximity to several of our manufacturing plants and the quality of life [in] Knoxville made this the ideal location.”

Workers Make Business Go

Tennessee’s location and business environment are big attractions for companies looking to expand or relocate, but they aren’t the state’s best resource. That honor is reserved for the people of Tennessee.

Checkare Systems, which makes electronic check verification systems, announced late last year that it would expand in Chattanooga. Checkare will move its telecommunications, administrative and data entry operations into a 9,000 square foot facility.

“In some locations, I'm lucky to get any qualified applicants at all, but in Chattanooga, I have many good people to choose from,” said Bart Huckaby, chief operating officer of Checkare. “In addition, the service that we received from the Chamber and other community partners was extremely helpful in getting our operations up and running.”

According to Huckaby, the company will hire 75 to 100 new people at the site during the next year.

Another company, PPC Insulators, announced recently that it would consolidate its operations into an existing Knoxville, Tenn., site, in part because of job training funds. The decision doubles the company’s work force in Knoxville to 150 persons. PPC makes electrical insulators.

The state of Tennessee offered the company job training grants, as well as tax credits for new machinery and equipment for the project.

- Lance Yoder