Denso Expands in Tennessee's Innovation Valley

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 6, 2005 -- Denso Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc., a major player in the auto component industry, will invest $185 million and add approximately 500 jobs at its Maryville, TN. electronic parts facility. The Japan-based company has continuously grown its Knoxville area presence from 250 employees in 1990 to become the region's largest manufacturer with a $1 billion investment and 2,500 employees.

"Blount County's first contact with Denso was in 1988. Since then, the company has gone through six expansions and now ranks as the community's top employer," says Joe Dawson, chair of Blount County's Industrial Development Board. "We've developed such strong international ties that we've opened a satellite office in Japan that has helped strengthen the Innovation Valley region."

The 16-county Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley is home to 15,000 direct jobs in the automotive supply industry. That represents 20 percent of the total manufacturing employment in the region. The positive ripple effect of the automotive industry is estimated to be another 12,000 jobs throughout all parts of the region's economy.

The announcement comes on the heels of a decision by Nissan to move its corporate headquarters and 1,300 positions from California to Franklin, TN., just south of Nashville. Tennessee's auto industry employs about 125,000 people. The state now ranks fifth among all states in overall automotive production.

"This announcement is another vote of confidence by Denso in the quality and quantity of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley's workforce," says Allen Neel, president and CEO of the East Tennessee Economic Development Agency.

Research by University of Tennessee professor Matt Murray shows that the region's labor pool can supply the needed workers. He predicts the expansion will generate $32 million annually--a figure that includes new Denso salaries, expanded vendor activity and local retail and service sector jobs. Murray anticipates the expansion will help create an additional 400 Blount County jobs outside of Denso.

Hiring related to the expansion is expected begin in late 2007. Denso will add approximately 220,000 square feet to the operation's existing 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing space.

The Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley is home to the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Transportation Research Center and a high tech industry cluster that includes some 1,000 companies. For more information on the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, visit: http://www.knoxvilleoakridge.org/.