The man charged with bringing businesses to Tennessee says the progress made in 2008 will position the state well for pulling out of the current economic slump.
Volkswagen plans to build cars in Chattanooga. Hemlock Semiconductor will produce components of solar panels in Clarksville. Forty companies are moving their headquarters to the state. In just the last six months, businesses announced plans to invest between two and three billion dollars in Tennessee. Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber says it takes most states a year or two to line up that many committments.
Most of those investments-and the jobs they promise to create-haven’t actually happened yet. Kisber admits some smaller companies have had to delay their expansion plans, due to the down economy. But overall, Kisber says the state has built connections to a wide number of industries that he thinks will pay off.
“I think we’re going to be well positioned when the economy turns and we see things get back to normal. Tennessee’s going to be at the forefront of leading the country out of this.”
Kisber also has confidence in the state’s new efforts to help rural communities better market themselves to businesses, although he says it’s too soon to see tangible results.
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