Wood: Industries considering area

Shelbyville & Bedford County Chamber of Commerce CEO Walt Wood said the number of industrial prospects looking at the community is growing, and that the county has been on the "short short list" for several companies this year.

Wood spoke Thursday to the Rotary Club of Shelbyville.

But Wood is still waiting to seal such a deal, and said the county needs a publicly-owned industrial park or spec building.

When an industrial prospect wants to buy an existing building, such as the former Summit Polymers location in Airport Industrial Park, or open space, it must deal with a private owner, and the private owner may or may not be able to come to terms with the prospect over price.

Wood said he's sent out 17 proposals to interested industries over the past year. He learns about the prospects from a variety of sources; sometimes the prospect itself asks for information, sometimes the state, Tennessee Valley Authority or site consultants serve as middlemen. In one case, the prospect submitted a 300-question survey to be completed about the community. In many cases, Wood said, he knows only the general industry, not the specific identity of the company or even the name of the representative with whom he is dealing.

Wood said that in one case this year, the Summit Polymers building was one of three sites on an industry's short list.

'Spec' building needed

Wood said that a publicly-owned industrial park, and eventually a speculative or "spec" building, would give the community a more effective tool in recruiting industry. He said the surrounding communities all have public industrial parks.

Although local governments encouraged the establishment of Airport Industrial Park and made it possible for utilities to be run there, the park is a private development.

"We need our own industrial park, and if we could afford it, a spec building," said Wood.

Wood continues to work with existing employers on investments and improvements which will end up adding jobs. Companies can get tax credits for new investment and hiring, Wood said.

Boom to bust

Bedford County grew by leaps and bounds prior to the current recession. From 2001 through 2008, 2,175 new jobs were created, most from existing industries, and a total of $281 million was invested. Per capita income grew from $23,000 per year to $30,000 per year, and the average weekly wage grew from $463 to $600.

Wood doesn't have the latest numbers yet but assumes they "are probably flat."

Bedford County's unemployment rate was 12.1 percent for September, nearly double the rate from a year earlier but still far lower than the 23 percent unemployment the county experienced in the early 1980s, Wood said.

"Even though the percentage is different, still pretty tough times," Wood admitted. For the 2,800 who are out of work, the rate itself is less important than the fact that they, personally, are unemployed.

One bright spot is that a survey of the Shelbyville Human Resource Association reveals projections that wages will rise in 2010 after having been flat this year. The group's members, representing 19 different employers, project that wages will rise by 2.35 percent.

Commuter county

Wood said Bedford County residents also commute out of county to work. In descending order, the county's residents work in Rutherford, Davidson, Coffee, Marshall, Williamson, Maury and Moore counties. A few others work in Franklin, Sumner, Hamilton and Grundy counties.

Wood said the Middle Tennessee Marketing Group, representing Shelbyville and about a dozen other communities, is currently studying the problem of underemployment -- people who have lower-paying jobs than they are trained or qualified for.

Wood said he has no way to predict what future closings may occur, saying he would never have predicted NewellRubbermaid's decision to move Sharpie production from Shelbyville to Maryville. He said he's not certain whether the local impact of the recession will turn out to be W-shaped, U-shaped or V-shaped as plotted on a graph.

Wood also stressed efforts to develop tourism. The community has received 6,000 responses to its ad in the Tennessee Vacation Guide. A booth at the Celebration Trade Fair during this year's Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration handed out more than 6,000 pieces of information. He said the Chamber's tourism development committee is developing small, note card-sized handouts with suggested driving tours of nearby attractions.

Wood has served as the chamber's CEO since 1998. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he worked for U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper when Cooper represented the Fourth District, which included Shelbyville.