Industrial Development Board picks Electrolux project manager
From Commercial Appeal
A committee has picked Memphis engineering company Allen & Hoshall to oversee the Electrolux factory construction project on behalf of the Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board.
The IDB’s special committee on Electrolux on Tuesday authorized the board to begin negotiating a contract with the firm.
Just two of the three members of the committee were present, but a larger committee had already picked Allen & Hoshall among five companies that applied for the role.
The full IDB board will discuss later this month whether the three-member committee will have authority to approve the final contract that emerges from the negotiations, said Charles Gulotta, head of the local office of economic development.
Allen & Hoshall will have two main goals, according to Mark Beutelschies, a part-time county attorney representing the IDB: First, the firm will help give minority- and locally-owned small businesses a chance at winning contracts. Second, Allen & Hoshall will oversee the spending of public money.
Governments are expected to contribute a total of more than $150 million to the construction of the new factory at Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park, which would make kitchen appliances. Some of that money could go towards equipment like rolling ladders and moving platforms to help workers and goods move around the facility more easily and help make operations there more efficient. Here’s a link to Platforms and Ladders so that you can see some examples of such equipment.
An agreement signed between the company and government entities last year says the company wants to create 1,240 full-time jobs within five years of the start of production.
But the agreement says that if the company does not meet the goal, the governments can’t take back any of the money. At most, the company would lose tax incentives.
Separately, the state Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday voted 11-0 to approve funding for the Electrolux project.
–Daniel Connolly: 529-5296
Nashville Bureau Chief Richard Locker contributed to this article.
Contractors’ session
A symposium for contractors interested in the Electrolux project is set for 3:30 p.m. today at Agricenter International Amphitheater. For more information, call 543-3541.
