The Jackson County Industrial Development Board will assist two local companies in making improvements to their facilities.
Industrial Development Board Chairman Jim Birdwell said the board will purchase a 10-ton crane for Synergy Magnetics. Birdwell said Synergy Magnetics needs the crane to expand their business.
“It will increase their capacity to handle much heavier metals that they use in order to build their transformers,” Birdwell said. “So, it’s going to enable them to build much larger transformers.”
Birdwell said the board will help Cookeville Converter in purchasing a new HVAC unit. Birdwell said the HVAC unit in their facility is fairly old and is not working.
“Their lease, or initial lease, is for 10 years with an option to renew for another ten years, and now it’s time for the option to be renewed and negotiated from their standpoint,” Birdwell said. “They need that air conditioning unit in there.”
Birdwell said the crane will also allow Synergy Magentics to create more jobs. Birdwell said it is important for the board to help the businesses and keep them in Jackson County.
“We like the way it is here, but at the same time, we have around 100 people graduating from Jackson County High School,” Birdwell said. “And they have got to find a job in Jackson County if they want to live in Jackson County. And of course, many of our people are working in the Putnam County area and elsewhere within a reasonable driving distance, but on the far end of the county, their drive to Cookeville or into another county is more costly and they are a lot less desirable.”
Birdwell said the board will soon bid out both projects, and the businesses will pay back the cost through several payment installments. Birdwell said the crane is expected to cost around $120,000.
