enertech_expands

October 2005

United Enertech Corporation will expand its manufacturing facilities by purchasing a building and an adjacent parcel of land near its existing plant at 3101 South Orchard Knob Avenue.

Company officials have announced plans to renovate the building at 3005 South Hickory Street and construct a 30,000-square-foot expansion on the adjacent parcel.

United Enertech plans to invest $3 million in real estate and equipment to create 150 new jobs within three years. The company also projects that the expansion may result in as many as 50 more new jobs over the next five years. Average wages are expected to be 3.6 percent over the average wage in Hamilton County.

United Enertech specializes in the manufacture of air moving products, offering numerous models of louvers, dampers (shutters), roof curbs, diffusers, and many other forms of air movement and air control products in all shapes and sizes.

Available products include opposed blade dampers, zone dampers, gravity backdraft dampers, remote control dampers, storm-proof louvers, rain-driven louvers and wind-driven louvers. Other products include architectural grilles, roof vents, and louvered vents.

United Enertech also produces storm-proof louvers, known as Dade County Hurricane Louvers, which comply with the Miami-Dade County Building Code.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to expand in Chattanooga, instead of exercising an option to move to north Georgia," said United Enertech President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Tate. "Our original hope was to expand in close proximity to our South Orchard Knob plant, and with the assistance of city and county officials and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, we located property that suits our purposes and is only two blocks from our present facility."

"I am extremely pleased that United Enertech plans to add 150 more manufacturing jobs within the next three years," said Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey. "This is another example of how the Hamilton County economy is adding good-paying jobs one company at a time."

"Our goal is to create a business environment that both supports business growth and keeps companies here as they expand," said Chattanooga City Mayor Ron Littlefield. "We are delighted with the Enertech expansion and the partnerships among various community entities that made this happen."

"Chattanooga’s rich heritage as a primary manufacturing hub means that we have a large workforce of highly skilled and productive workers that make it very attractive for companies like United Enertech to expand," said Chamber Vice President for Economic Development Trevor Hamilton. "Chattanooga is also an ideal location for manufacturing companies because of our superior transportation network that offers easy access to customers."

According to United Enertech officials, they will begin hiring for the new positions during the summer of 2006. Resumes may be emailed to resumes@unitedenertech.com.

The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce is the leading business and economic development organization for the Chattanooga region. For over 100 years, the Chattanooga Chamber has provided community engagement and opportunities for businesses, large and small, including networking, business promotion, business discounts, and public policy advocacy, as well as leadership development and training opportunities.

In addition, the Chattanooga Chamber is a one-stop-shop for site selectors and business decision-makers considering investments and job creation projects in the Chattanooga region. The Chattanooga Chamber is also responsible for marketing Enterprise South Industrial Park, a top-tier industrial park that offers significant strategic business advantages. In addition, the Chattanooga Chamber administers the Chattanooga Hamilton County Business Development Center, the largest business incubator in the U.S. in terms of the number of start up companies it houses, and the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth, an innovative effort to nurture technology-based start-up companies.

As the first stop for people interested in moving to the Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Chamber provides a range of relocation information including demographics, informational videos, connections to Chattanooga Area jobs, and frequently asked questions.