sulzer_grows
Posted September 2005
By Mike Pare
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Sulzer Growing, Adding Jobs
Nuclear support company plans to double workforce
Sulzer Pumps, which does production and repair work for the nuclear industry, is expanding in Chattanooga with plans to double its work force to as many as 40 employees.
About $2.5 million in new investment will pay for a 6,000-square-foot building and improvements to an existing structure, said Randy Moore, Sulzer’s business development manager.
He said company operations in Shreveport, La., are consolidating with Chattanooga’s, requiring an expanded work space. The plans were announced before Hurricane Katrina ravaged parts of Louisiana.
"It will be a repair and manufacturing facility for nuclear pumps," Mr. Moore said about its Chattanooga facility.
Last year, Portland, Ore.-based Sulzer acquired Johnston Pumps, which had a Chattanooga site.
David DeVaney, president of NAI Charter Real Estate Corp., said Sulzer asked his firm to find new locations for the business in the area. Sulzer selected a fouracre tract at 4126 Caine Lane, which already had a 30,000- square-foot warehouse, he said.
Since Sulzer wanted to lease rather than own, local real estate investment company SF Properties was contacted and purchased the property, Mr. DeVaney said.
Steve Hiatt, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s existing business development director, said the company is bringing "high-value jobs" to the city which could have gone elsewhere.
"It will be creating 15 to 20 jobs over the next couple of years," he said. Mr. Hiatt said the Chamber is putting together an incentives package for the company.
Mr. Moore said the new jobs will be engineering and technical in nature. "We’ll be serving the country from this site," he said. The Sulzer official said the pumps it services handle water and are nonradioactive.
The company picked Chattanooga because of its work force and proximity to the nation’s nuclear power plants, officials said.
Mr. Moore said plans are to start production activities at the new location in October, while the offices are to be ready in January.
Sulzer Pumps is a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Sulzer Ltd., which offers a range of industrial products and had sales of nearly $2 billion in 2004.
About the Chattanooga Area Chamber of CommerceThe 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.
