by Jon Styf
Tennessee will be sending $520,000 to American Water Heater Co. for its $27 million expansion in Washington County.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development awarded the grant along with American Water Co.’s plans to add 130 jobs. American Water Heater Co. is a subsidiary of A.O. Smith.
A.O. Smith received a $520,000 subsidy in March for subsidiary Lochinvar’s planned $35 million expansion in a manufacturing facility and headquarters in Lebanon.
The incentives are FastTrack grants from the TNECD.
FastTrack grants are state grants sent to companies to help offset the costs of expanding or moving into the state with the goal of increasing the number of full-time jobs and the average wages of jobs available in an area.
The TNECD also approved $130,800 for John Deere Power Products’ $15 million manufacturing expansion in Greeneville. The expansion will lead to 25 new jobs in production of John Deere’s for the Z300 and Z500 zero-turn mowers.
The state will also grant $84,000 to Newly Weds Foods in Cleveland, Tennessee, for its $2 million investment that will lead to 40 new jobs as the company produces customized breaders, batters, seasonings, sauces and functional ingredients. The company began in Chicago with the Newly Weds Ice Cream Cake Roll.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
Photo “Water Heaters” by Behrat. CC BY-SA 3.0.
