Jostens Bringing Additional Jobs to Clarksville
Minneapolis-based memory book and scholastic products corporation, Jostens, announced today that it will be establishing a new state of the art memory book facility in Clarksville-Montgomery County, TN. The announcement means an enhanced facility will be based at a new location in Clarksville-Montgomery County with the current facilities located on Highway 48 transitioning into this new location after the completion of the 2011 school year.
David Smith, Chairman of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council stated, “This announcement is a great example of the value the Economic Development Council, its partners, the Aspire Foundation and our two mayors place on constantly understanding the needs of existing industry and creating an incentives model that favors those who are already here and have a demonstrated commitment to this community.”
The new facility platform will allow Jostens to capitalize on their advanced technological solutions, innovation and efficiencies benefitting its customers and the business. The memory book and other commercial print production operations will be moved to the new Clarksville facility after the 2011 yearbook season comes to a close.
“We were able to offer aggressive tax incentives to Jostens because they are an existing industry. The incentives, coupled with an available facility and quality workforce were keys to our competitiveness.” said James Chavez, President & CEO of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council. “This announcement means the retention of jobs in Clarksville-Montgomery County as well as the creation of a significant number of jobs for the people of Clarksville-Montgomery County and will have a long-term positive effect on the economic landscape of this community.”
“Jostens is a long time and valued corporate citizen of Montgomery County. As Mayor I have enjoyed being a part of the team that worked closely with their executives on this potential expansion, and I am excited to see the opportunities being created for our citizens,” said Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers.
When asked about the continued growth of the corporation, Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan said “Clarksville has enjoyed a long history with the Jostens family. I remain committed to working with the IDB, Montgomery County and the Jostens leadership to ensure that we are addressing their ongoing growth needs.”
The announcement of Jostens’ expansion is the latest in a series of economic good news stories that have taken place in the last two years. In 2009 Conwood Company, LLC (now American Snuff, LLC) purchased former Union Carbide site making a $115 million investment and creating 20 jobs. Akebono (ABMA, LLC) purchased Robert Bosch, LLC for a $13.5 million investment and creating a total of 300 jobs. And, in 2010 Avanti Corporation announced their expansion, investing $23.2 million and creating 55 new jobs.
“These expansions and investments are prime examples of how we need to be prepared for growth and have the incentive packages ready to bring to the table,” said Mark Briggs, Chairman of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board. “Clarksville-Montgomery County is fortunate to have business leaders and elected officials who understand that.”
Clarksville-Montgomery County continues to be one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation and showed almost a 30 percent increase in population according to the 2010 census. Last year, Clarksville was the 4th highest ranked for per capita income in the State of Tennessee, with Williamson, Shelby, Davidson (in that order) ranked ahead of them.
