Pro-Business Keep Nashville Economy, Job Growth Strong
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Tennessee’s economy is hot‚ hot‚ hot and fueled by geographic desirability‚ a well-educated workforce and an enviable infrastructure. New businesses continue to call Middle Tennessee home‚ and existing businesses have no intention of leaving. In fact‚ Forbes magazine named Nashville as one of the 25 cities that are likely to have the country’s highest job growth over the next few years. Nashville and Davidson County are in their second decade of working cooperatively with area counties to build a regional economy. In 1990‚ the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce launched Partnership 2000‚ and today‚ Partnership 2010 is in full swing‚ focusing on the next decade of business recruiting and retention‚ entrepreneurship‚ and community involvement. After 11 years‚ the initiative has helped generate more than 200‚000 new jobs. And Partnership 2010 has pledged over the next four years to create more than $10 billion in economic impact; generate 50‚000 new jobs for the Nashville region‚ which translates to 2‚911 new businesses and $3.6 billion in new consumer spending; and grow personal income $1‚300 per capita per year.
Some of the many area success stories include Dell Computer Corp. and its related suppliers‚ Sprint PCS‚ astounding growth at Saturn and Nissan‚ and new logistics centers. With this kind of success‚ there’s no question why‚ during 2001‚ Expansion Management magazine ranked Nashville sixth on its America’s Hottest Cities for Business Relocation and Expansion list and third on its 100 Most Logistically Friendly Cities list. Also‚ Inc. magazine ranked Nashville 18th in its 25 Hot Cities for Entrepreneurial Business list.
The Nashville Health Care Council boasts more than 100 member organizations that benefit from the council’s seminars‚ workshops‚ overseas trade missions and networking opportunities. A new Young Health Care Leaders group is designed to network young executives‚ while offering access to the leaders in the business who will mentor them.
In 2000‚ the Nashville Technology Council began its operations by first inventorying the technology-oriented companies in the area and then finding out what they needed to grow. The answer was people and money. Thus‚ in 2001‚ the Council launched the Nashville Angel Network to link individuals prepared to fund technology start-ups with entrepreneurs and their business plans. Already‚ that initiative has decided to expand its efforts to any industry that meets potential growth criteria. The large number of e-commerce sites originating from Nashville‚ as well as the growing number of technology companies‚ truly create a business environment without the restrictions of office hours or geography.
Another Chamber affiliate‚ the Nashville Sports Council was a key player in luring professional teams to the Nashville area. Today‚ Middle Tennessee fans cheer on the National Hockey League Nashville Predators and the National Football League Tennessee Titans.
Business Sector Profiles
Distribution: Location is Everything
You can’t beat strategic location when it comes to building an area as a key distribution center. But couple that with outstanding air cargo facilities‚ rail lines‚ waterways and interstate systems‚ and you know why the Nashville area is a logistics mecca. Nashville’s location within 650 miles of 50 percent of the U.S. population has attracted companies looking for a way to reach their customer base in a fast‚ efficient manner. Three interstates intersect in Nashville‚ a key consideration for the more than 70 large trucking facilities and freight forwarders in the region. CSX Transportation uses Nashville as a southeastern hub to deliver goods. More than 30 commercial operators traverse the Cumberland River – many offering barge service – to move grain‚ chemicals‚ ore and agricultural products up and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Some 65 percent of all U.S. markets are reachable within a one-day drive by truck and within two hours by air. Ever increasing cargo loads prompted Nashville International Airport to pump money into its cargo operations‚ which have grown exponentially. Whichever mode a business prefers for transporting its goods‚ Middle Tennessee’s distribution systems keep the economy moving.
Going Global
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is actively responding to an increasingly global economy in a number of ways. First‚ its International Business Council encourages and assists local businesses to expand into international markets through bilateral international trade. The council is a key player in the Nashville Area International Business Center‚ which partners several organizations to develop market-entrance strategies and help businesses with domestic and foreign regulatory requirements. In January 2002‚ the center launched the Go International campaign‚ offering businesses interested in international trade peer-to-peer access to some of the region’s most successful international companies. Seminars‚ conferences and a European trade mission are on the agenda.
In terms of particular industry sectors‚ the Nashville Health Care Council conducted its first international trade mission in 1999 to Germany and the United Kingdom. A second mission‚ in 2000‚ opened doors in France and Spain and helped facilitate a dialogue between governments and industry leaders on common concerns and issues. In 2001‚ Nashville health-care leaders headed to Belgium and Italy with the same goals in mind.
In addition to looking out to the world beyond‚ Nashville is also focusing on the multicultural nature of the region. Today‚ one in six Nashvillians was born outside the United States. The Chamber has taken a strong leadership position in helping to bring companies‚ immigrants and refugees together. The goal is to match skills to workforce needs‚ as well as to help create an understanding of cultural differences‚ thus ensuring that those who have chosen to move to the Nashville region have a quality of life that exceeds their expectations. Businesses locally and globally are using www.nashvillechamber.com for statistics‚ relocation information‚ job openings‚ economic indicators and much more.
Health Care: An Industry Giant
As the nation’s center for investor-owned health-care services‚ a home to world-renowned research and teaching institutes‚ and a hub for innovative entrepreneurial ventures‚ Nashville is on the cutting edge of health care and its accompanying technology. With more than 350 health-care companies and support firms located in the Nashville area‚ Middle Tennessee is widely recognized‚ both nationally and internationally‚ as an industry leader. A number of new health-care industry segments were founded in Nashville‚ including hospital management and freestanding outpatient surgery centers. Today‚ more than half of all for-profit hospital beds in America are owned and/or managed by Nashville-area firms like Community Health Systems‚ HCA‚ LifePoint Hospitals‚ IASIS Healthcare‚ Healthmont and Province Healthcare‚ among others. What’s more‚ a strong professional services infrastructure of bankers‚ attorneys‚ accountants‚ architects and other consultants has sprung up in Nashville in support of this burgeoning health-care sector.
Nashville is also highly regarded as a leader and innovator in health-care research and technology. From biotechnology to disease management‚ clinical research to health-information technology‚ Nashville companies are changing the way health care is delivered in the United States. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is at the forefront of biomedical research and is home to two Nobel laureates. Saint Thomas and Baptist hospitals are consistently ranked nationally. Meharry Medical College is one of the nation’s most prestigious teaching centers and has been a leading producer of black physicians and dentists since its founding in 1876.
Hospitality: The Lure of ‘Music City’
The region’s mix of history‚ music‚ family attractions‚ retail amenities and meeting facilities draws visitors and convention delegates from around the world. Each year‚ the hospitality industry attracts more than 10 million visitors to Nashville‚ generating in excess of $2.5 billion in revenues. There are about 32‚000 hotel rooms in Nashville alone. The industry employs some 53‚000 people in Davidson County and thousands more in Maury‚ Rutherford‚ Williamson and Wilson counties‚ as well as in the rest of the area.
New attractions such as the Frist Center for the Visual Arts‚ the Country Music Hall of Fame‚ Opry Mills‚ the Factory at Franklin and the Nashville Superspeedway‚ plus several new convention hotels and enhanced fine-dining options‚ continue to expand the area’s offerings. On the meeting side‚ Nashville features three state-of-the-art convention centers – the Gaylord Entertainment Center‚ the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center‚ and the Nashville Convention Center – and a host of other facilities suitable for off-site functions.
Manufacturing: From Cars to Guitars
There are some 900 manufacturers in the Nashville area‚ churning out everything from cars to guitars. Nissan North America and Saturn Corp. lead manufacturers in employment numbers‚ and their attendant suppliers contribute thousands of additional jobs to the Middle Tennessee economy. The Nissan plant in Smyrna is in the midst of ramping up production and adding a new product‚ the top-of-the-line Maxima‚ while Saturn is expanding its physical facilities and now produces a sport-utility vehicle‚ the VUE. Peterbilt Motor Co. in Madison manufactures trucks. Among others‚ the automotive support companies include ACD Tridon Inc. in Smyrna and Springfield‚ producing hose clamps and electrical signal flashers; Bosch Braking Systems in Gallatin and Clarksville; TRW in Lebanon‚ producing steering gears and devices; and metal-stamper Unipress USA Inc. in Portland.
Other manufacturing success stories include Dell Computer Corp. in Nashville and Lebanon; Trane Co. in Clarksville‚ producing air-conditioning and heating equipment; Whirlpool Corp. in La Vergne‚ manufacturing refrigerators and air conditioners; Cumberland Swan Inc. in Smyrna‚ producing health and beauty products; and Aerostructures Corp.‚ a global producer of large structural air and space components. Manufacturers consistently cite the area’s skilled workforce‚ location‚ low cost of doing business‚ infrastructure and suppliers’ willingness to locate to the area as reasons for continued industrial success in Middle Tennessee.
Music & Entertainment: The Third Coast
Known the world over as Music City USA‚ Nashville‚ along with New York and Los Angeles‚ is one of the nation’s most important entertainment capitals. With revenues related to the writing‚ recording and production of music exceeding $3 billion annually‚ it’s easy to see why the city sings an upbeat tune. Music Row is a veritable who’s who of familiar industry names like Atlantic‚ Arista‚ Capital‚ Columbia‚ Sony Music‚ RCA Record Label/RLG Nashville/ BMG Music‚ ASCAP‚ BMI‚ Warner/Reprise Nashville‚ MCA‚ Mercury and many others. In addition to country music‚ Nashville is headquarters to many Christian music companies‚ such as Word‚ EMI Christian Music Group and Scaggs Family Records. Both the Country Music Association and the Gospel Music Association are headquartered in Nashville. In addition to fostering the recorded production of music‚ Nashville is the creative hub where many of the hits heard on the radio‚ no matter what the format‚ are actually written and crafted by talented songwriters and lyricists.
The city’s entertainment scene is now expanding to include movie and television production. The Dreamworks Pictures production of “The Last Castle‚” directed by Rod Lurie and starring Robert Redford and James Gandolfini‚ was filmed in Nashville in 2001. The “Green Mile‚” starring Tom Hanks‚ also was filmed in Nashville‚ as was “Last Dance‚” featuring Sharon Stone. The city is also home to the Nashville Independent Film Festival‚ which grows in popularity and prestige each year. And casting calls for extras are now becoming routine‚ as both the state and the city have let Hollywood know that Middle Tennessee’s talent isn’t limited to musical productions.
Technology: Dell and Beyond
E-commerce‚ telecommunications‚ the Internet and biotechnology are all prominent ingredients in Nashville’s 21st-century business mix. Building on the momentum of Dell Computer Corp.’s Middle Tennessee location‚ the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is aggressively selling the area as an ideal high-tech location. That’s not difficult to do‚ considering that the Nashville area’s 18 colleges‚ universities and technical schools combine to create an astounding network of workforce training opportunities. These world-class schools produce a stream of up to 15‚000 potential employees annually. Nashville ranks in the top 10 cities in the country for the highest number of college degree holders. Speaking of rankings‚ Yahoo! Internet Life magazine cited Nashville as one of America’s top 50 most wired cities in 2000. And in 2001‚ Inside ED magazine ranked Nashville fifth in the country for school access to the Internet. All Nashville kindergarten-through-grade-12 schools enjoy Internet connections‚ and Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Business boasts one of the top three e-commerce business programs in the world. The Nashville Technology Council nurtures the growth of this high-energy business segment. Also‚ the Chamber uses the Internet to market the region’s jobs through JobsLink at www.nashvillechamber.com.
Story by Theresa Montgomery
