Watauga River Industrial Park is home to businesses and schools

By Rozella Hardin
STAR Staff
rhardin@starhq.com

   There are approximately 20 businesses, including industrial firms and educational institutions, located within an area that encompasses the Watauga River Industrial Park to the Hunter Bridge.
   "We have more business going on in that one area than anywhere in the county," said Haynes Elliott, Economic Development Director.
   Elliott said the PSG building located on the Lynn Valley side of the Hunter Bridge has been leased by Snap-on Tools. "They have already occupied the building," said Elliott, who noted that facilities closed last year by Snap-on Tools in other parts of the country resulted in expansion of manufacturing here and in Johnson City.
   The PSG building is owned by Carl Nidiffer, who has relocated his business to the Eko-Pack building in the Watauga River Industrial Park. Nidiffer bought an additional five acres of land in the park from the county and has enlarged the Eko-Pack building.
   Businesses located in the Watauga River Industrial Park include: Sossners, Gentry Machine, Oliver Woodworks, Tire World, the Tennessee National Guard, Murray Mechanical Contractors, Peters Concrete Works, Siemens-Westinghouse, Rite-Screen, Inland Container and Matheson Machine Products, which occupy the old Iodent building, Color Works, Star Industries, AYM, Whitehead Construction, the Tennessee Technology Center, the Elizabethton campus of Northeast State Community College, which is housed in the Great Lakes Building along with the Workforce Development Center.
   Elliott noted that Star Industries has occupied a new $34 million plant and has over 180 employees. "Siemens Westinghouse is known worldwide and sends it employees worldwide to work. A.Y. McDonald has doubled its manufacturing space from 50,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet," Elliott said.
   "While most of these businesses are small, they are vital to our economy. They provide needed services, products and they provide jobs," Elliott said.
   The Elizabethton campus at Northeast State Community College is full and running over with 590 students presently enrolled at the facility located in the old Great Lakes building. The school also employs 45 full-time and part-time adjunct professors.
   "The Tennessee Technology Center's value to this community cannot be measured in dollars and cents," said Elliott, noting that the school provides employee training for local industries. "They will custom design programs to meet the needs of employers," Elliott said. Among industries, which have used the employee training program at the Tennessee Technology Center, are Snap-on Tools and Siemens-Westinghouse.
   Mike Cole, counselor at the school, said the school staff is presently conducting safety training for new Snap-on employees. "We are doing assessment tests for them as well as offering hands-on training for some computerized mills and lathes they have purchased and are using in their plant. We are also helping the employees by offering courses in math and blueprint," he said.
   Elliott said the only vacant industrial building the county and city has at the present time is the Frank Schaffer Publishing building, which contains about 200,000 square feet. "We expect to lease it sometime this year," Elliott said. "We only have 15 acres left for industrial development, and we are looking for land to develop for industrial purposes."
   Also, the EDC director noted that the Carter County Rescue Squad is building its news headquarters in the park. "We have a lot of activity in the park and in the area nearby. We have industry, small businesses, schools, the Rescue Squad, and the National Guard. It is a diverse group," Elliott said.