Jul 20 2007
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen today praised Eastman Chemical Company for its commitment to invest more than $1.3 billion dollars over the next five years in the company's Kingsport manufacturing site. This plan, called "Project Reinvest", will create a platform for potential future investments for Eastman and also allow the company to maintain existing site capability and reliability. On average, Eastman will spend about $265 million a year over the next five years.
To help the company with its investment, the state of Tennessee will provide funding for job training, infrastructure improvements, homeland security, tax incentives and expanded partnerships between Eastman and area community colleges.
"This initiative is one of the most sweeping capital reinvestments in the history of our company," said Brian Ferguson, chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman Chemical Company. "It is a major recommitment, not just to our operations but to the broader community and, especially, to our employees and our customers."
"Project Reinvest" will also build a stronger partnership between Eastman and Northeast State Technical Community College. “Our hope is this partnership between one of Tennessee’s largest employers and our higher education system will become a model for developing the workforce of the future in our state,” said Governor Bredesen.
“I believe this signals that business and our state’s colleges, universities and community colleges understand better than ever the need to work more closely with one another to help workers develop the skills they need to find the good paying jobs of the future in Tennessee.”
As part of the partnership, Northeast State will develop programs to train mechanics, lab analysts and chemical operators. The school will share its new curricula with other community colleges across Tennessee where similar training and expertise may be needed. Scholarships will also be created for non-traditional students, who have been out of school for a while but would like to continue their education in order to get a better job.
In the long term, this project will give Eastman the ability to maintain its role as a key part of the region's economy by preparing another generation of employment and productivity in Kingsport. The project will also generate additional business growth in the region. Ferguson thanked Sullivan County and Kingsport government officials for their support and guidance in developing a project of this magnitude.
"This is the kind of public-private partnership that is mutually beneficial," added Ferguson. "A stronger Eastman is good for our stockholders and our employees. And it’s good for the state and local economy. That, in turn, stimulates jobs and strengthens the tax base and creates a better outcome for all of us."