COOKEVILLE – Two of Putnam County’s prime manufacturers will host Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd this week.
Boyd will visit Ficosa and ATC Automation Wednesday, Oct. 5, as part of two events celebrating Manufacturing Week. The celebration will include tours of the two facilities, Ficosa, at 2991 Highlands Park Drive, and ATC, at 225 Mill Drive, respectively, and will include officials and employees from the companies as well as Cookeville leadership.
Manufacturing Week, Oct. 3-7, is a celebration of Tennessee manufacturers; the goal is to encourage students to pursue careers in the growing industry. Boyd and Tennessse Gov. Bill Haslam kicked off Manufacturing Week on Monday at Beretta in Gallatin. Other stops in the celebration include Chattanooga (Gestamp), Blount County (Pellissippi State), Memphis (Smith & Nephew) and La Vergne (Bridgestone)
Both Ficosa and ATC have had big 2016’s. (back story here). ATC announced in August it is expanding its facility by 66,000 square feet, investing $10.4 million in Putnam County and hiring 110 new associates over the next five years. Ficosa wrapped construction on its new 270,000-square-foot plant in the Highlands Business Park earlier this year. That was part of a $58 million deal announced last May. The company could staff as many as 900 by the end of 2018.
Statewide, nearly 344,000 Tennesseans work in manufacturing, and since 2010, Tennessee has gained more than 45,400 net new manufacturing jobs, the fifth-largest increase in the U.S. The Brookings Institution also recently ranked Tennessee No. 1 in the U.S. for advanced industry job growth.
