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Kisber promises Tenn. won't shirk business commitments

KINGSPORT — Tennessee will hold up its end of the deal on recently landed major economic development projects despite a challenging economy and warnings of an upcoming difficult budget year, state Economic and Community Development (ECD) Commissioner Matt Kisber says.

From July 2008 to February 2009, Tennessee brought in more than $3 billion in new investments and over 3,000 new jobs from Volkswagen Group of America, Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemical.

Kisber, who attended an open house Thursday at Kingsport’s Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM), promised the state’s potential $1 billion gap in the budget for the next fiscal year won’t impact tax credit or job training investment commitments made to projects.

“Tennessee has had a long tradition of honoring its commitments around economic development,” Kisber insisted. “It is vitally important to Governor (Phil) Bredesen and myself that we continue to. The governor has incorporated into the budget last year and will this year funding the commitments that have been made. For instance, in our budget request we discussed with the governor is the last phase of the support for (Eastman Chemical Co.’s) Project Reinvest (in Kingsport), and I am very confident that will get funded. The state’s ability to fulfill its promises is a critical part of the attractive business climate we have, and the governor is firmly committed to keeping our word on the projects we have recruited to the state.”

Eastman’s Project Reinvest, when announced in 2007, was billed as a $1.3 billion upgrade to its Kingsport manufacturing site. The state committed to provide funding for job training, infrastructure improvements, homeland security, tax incentives and expanded partnerships between Eastman and area community colleges.

As those commitments continue, Bredesen has asked his department heads, including Kisber, for budget cuts of up to 9 percent for the coming fiscal year.

Kisber said that won’t change his department’s core mission of creating more better-paying, higher-skilled jobs while supporting existing companies.

Bredesen, said Kisber, insists on “getting the talk right” about Tennessee.

Site development work on the Volkswagen and Hemlock projects, Kisber said, is well under way.

About 65,000 people have applied online for Volkswagen jobs, with one-third of those applications coming from the future sedan-manufacturing facility’s home in Hamilton County, Kisber said during his recent budget hearing.

“We want to be one of the top states for clean energy jobs ... but we also want to help the automotive industry weather the storm,” Kisber said during the hearing.

Hemlock Semiconductor’s developing Middle Tennessee facility will make polycrystalline silicon for the growing solar industry.

Kisber said the solar market’s value is $19 billion and has “sustainability for many years to come.”

During his budget hearing, he noted that 84 percent of Tennessee’s jobs come from small businesses.

Kisber pointed out one of ECD’s accomplishments has been to reinstate Tennessee’s Main Street program giving financial aid and other resources to downtowns.

“We believe a healthy central business district says a lot about the community,” Kisber said.

For more about ECD go to www.tennessee. gov/ecd.

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