Category: Governor’s Square Mall

Jimmy Settle | Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle  February 24, 2021

Hankook Tire confirmed Wednesday morning it is embarking on the phase 2 expansion of the South Korean-owned Clarksville tire plant, that will bring its total investment in Clarksville thus far to about $1 billion.

The Leaf-Chronicle reached out to Hankook early this week and in response, received a written statement from the company about its Clarksville plans.

“As part of Hankook’s fourth-quarter earnings results, Hankook announced plans to expand its Tennessee plant, located in Clarksville, Tenn.

As part of phase 2, the company plans to invest almost $91 million, plus more than $270 million for maintenance.

“Upon completion of phase two,” Hankook’s statement said, “the Tennessee plant’s annual production capacity will double to 10 million tires, and the total investment will be approximately $1 billion,” the company said.

Hankook’s phase 2 expansion will include the construction of a new building on the grounds of the existing Tennessee plant located off International Boulevard in the southern portion of the Corporate Business Park.

As a result of the expansion, Hankook says it plans to add a currently-unspecified number of additional jobs “and looks forward to continuing to work with the great people of Tennessee,” the company’s statement said.

The plant currently has just under 1,000 employees through its initial $800 million investment in Clarksville. Phase 1 of the Tennessee plant was completed and operational in 2017, and has annual production capacity of about 5 million Hankook tires.

“Over time, Hankook has shifted a substantial volume of production to its Tennessee plant as part of its strategy to diversify production,” said the company statement. “Hankook also has optimized production through human resource planning and equipment adjustments.”

Hankook has 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, and administrative space in Clarksville, currently.

The company has been regarded in the recruiting realm as one of the biggest industrial scores not only in Clarksville history, but the southeast region.

Company officials have said they were attracted to Clarksville by the availability of a suitable site off Interstate 24, the quality of the local workforce, and a cooperative government along with good utilities.

Several large automakers — Hankook customer targets — are in close proximity to Clarksville, and that was a plus working in the community’s favor as well when Hankook was searching for potential U.S. manufacturing locations.

Hankook tire production in Clarksville was launched in Clarksville four years ago at a rate of 6,000 tires per day, heading toward a near-term goal of 10,000 per day, which is enough to generate 24 daily shipments out of the plant and into the combined U.S., Mexican and Canadian marketplace. Officials say they want to continue expanding upon that level of productivity.

Since its grand opening, the company had pledged to continue growing in Clarksville, and officials say they remain on schedule with that promise, as this phase 2 announcement attests.

The Hankook investment now hovering around $1 billion tops the list of major industrial development in Clarksville.

Other major business scores here have included a Google data center at about $600 million, LG Electronics’ phase 1 washing machine plant at around $350 million, and the recently announced Microvast electric automotive battery plant, at $220 million.

 

Montgomery County, TN – The Montgomery County Health Department will move the location of the COVID-19 Coronavirus vaccination and testing site to the former SEARS location at Governor’s Square Mall, located at 2801 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, on February 10th, 2021.

In January 2021, health workers added COVID-19 Coronavirus vaccinations to their workflow at the current Civitan Park site off Bellamy Lane.

COVID-19 Coronavirus vaccination and testing site will move to the former SEARS location at Governor’s Square Mall on Wednesday.

Although Montgomery County Government added trailers to help protect workers from adverse weather conditions, alternative locations have been sought for several months.

“Even with the trailers, we knew we needed a more permanent structure for the workers and those who are receiving vaccinations and testing. We’ve been working on negotiations with Cafaro for approximately eight weeks and we are grateful for this new location. Getting shots into the arms of Montgomery County residents is our greatest priority, so we are committed to doing whatever we can to minimize any risks,” stated Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett.

“Cafaro has been a great corporate citizen since they arrived with Governor’s Square Mall, and they continue to answer the call when needed,” Mayor Joe Pitts said. “This site should be ideal to increase the speed and volume of vaccinations, which is essential to our community, said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts.”

Providing a site for vaccinations and testing at a more permanent structure allows healthcare workers and those receiving services to more efficiently administer and receive services. This location also safeguards the vaccinations against the possibility of being wasted because of inclement weather.

“Right now, there’s nothing more important than getting the community vaccinated, finally protected from this virus.  We at Governor’s Square Mall are happy to do everything we can to help make that happen,” said Cafaro Company’s Director of Communications Joe Bell.

“I appreciate the team of people who have been working behind the scenes to find a fixed location for the vaccination and testing site. This is a win for everyone in our community,” added Mayor Durrett.

Anyone 70-and-older can register for a COVID-19 vaccination by doing the following:

1. Find Your Phase by visiting https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/eligibility/.
2. Register for a Vaccination Appointment online at https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/vaccine-phases/for an appointment time to receive a vaccination through the county health department. Click Montgomery County on the map, click “Make an Appointment” to register, then enter the name and contact information to be notified of the appointment date, time and location as soon as the vaccine becomes available.

Individuals who do not have access to the internet should call 866.442.5301.

By Chris Smith February 10, 2021 8:14 am

Clarksville NowMicrovast imageMicrovast is planning to build a facility in Clarksville, Tenn.

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – An electric vehicle battery maker will set up its first American factory in Clarksville, bringing almost 300 jobs in a growing technology market.

Microvast, an American-owned global company, specializes in building rapid-charging lithium ion batteries for commercial electric vehicles.

A completed Microvast battery pack (Microvast)

“This is huge,” Frank Tate, executive director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board, told Clarksville Now. “That this is the first American-owned EV battery operation in the United States – that’s pretty big for us.”

Microvast plans to start production here in summer 2022, moving into the former Akebono/Bosch plant on International Boulevard.

 

What they’ll make

The $220 million Clarksville plant will include will include a research and development department and manufacturing facility to build the EV battery cell, module and pack.

“We go from the raw material all the way to the finished good – the pack – and we’ve been doing that for the last 14 years,” Shane Smith, president of Microvast U.S., said in an interview with Clarksville Now.

“What Microvast does well is it’s very good at cycle life – the number of charges and discharges you can do in a day or period of time – and then we have good fast-charging capabilities, so we can fully charge a battery in 10 to 30 minutes. And we balance that with safety.”

That profile works particularly well for commercial and specialty vehicles, such as light, medium and heavy duty trucks, buses, trains and specialty vehicles. Electric vehicles are especially useful in places where you wouldn’t want an internal combustion engine, such as mining or for scissor lifts or forklifts in a warehouse.

“The United States is just now getting going on electrification of commercial vehicles,” Smith said. “There’s less than 1% in the United States that’s electrified.” But that market is growing fast.

Microvast is already in almost at 30,000 vehicles globally, and perhaps their most visible client is the London double-decker bus. There are over 1,000 double-decker buses in London; all are electric and powered by Microvast batteries, Smith said.

Research and development work being done in a Microvast battery facility. (Microvast)

Microvast also designs and builds batteries for energy storage, such as in electricity grids for utilities.

“The product portfolio that we make here – it would work in an electric vehicle and it would also work for energy storage. At the end of the day, a battery really doesn’t know if it’s in a car or if it’s on standby or actively being used to manage a grid.”

Why Clarksville?

When asked about choosing Clarksville, Smith said, “We shopped. We looked around at different places in the United States” particularly sites in the Northwest and Southeast.

“Tennessee is really good at providing a conducive environment for a company to stick a flag in,” Smith said. “Once we got into Tennessee, then we started looking around within Tennessee, and Frank (Tate) and his team did a good job attracting us here and saying why this is a good home for us. I think that bodes well for the state and the county.”

Clarksville’s assets included possible partnerships with Austin Peay State University, having the Clarksville Regional Airport for use by customers, and having a steady supply of workers thanks to Fort Campbell.

Himself former military, Smith said he has “a special place in my heart for veterans.”

 

Job types

The company plans to hire 287 employees.

“We’re looking for a work force that we can train. We know that people don’t know inherently how to make a battery,” Smith said.

Automated battery production work being done in a Microvast facility. (Microvast)

In addition to manufacturing jobs, they will be recruiting for jobs in management, quality control and more.

Microvast will move into the old Akebono plant, which has been vacant for about five months. At its height, Akebono employed over 400 people.

“Those 400 people didn’t go away,” Tate said. “We’ve now got to reintegrate them into the work force.”

Microvast plans to begin recruiting in the fourth quarter of 2021, with job postings as early as August. Careers for Microvast will be posted at Clarksvilleishiring.com.

A PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, incentive package for the company was approved Wednesday morning by the IDB.

Environment

Asked about any environmental concerns, Smith said, “I’d say they are very, very small.”

He said their process isn’t toxic, and they are able to reprocess a lot of the byproduct. He said it’s not that different from the manufacturing plants Clarksville has already.

The plant itself could help improve the environment in other ways, too, through helping to expand the use of electric vehicles.

Tate pointed out the high number of trucks on the Interstate 24, and what an impact could be made if all of those commercial vehicles relied on electricity rather than gas.

“It’s a win-win for not only Microvast but for the green initiatives across the country,” Tate said.

A slide showing Microvast’s growth timeline as presented to investors Feb. 1, 2020. (Microvast)

Expanding company

Founded in 2006, Microvast is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and employs 1,600 people.

At a presentation to investors last week, Microvast also confirmed a merger with Tuscan Holdings, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). As a result of this deal, Microvast will become a publicly listed company. The new combined company is expected to be named Microvast Holdings Inc. (MVST).

Last week, Businesswire reported that Microvast had secured a joint-development deal with the Oshkosh Corp., giving the company a major advantage in the market.