Chattanooga State Community College carpenter Terry Coffelt adjusts the letters on as sign Thursday for the Wacker Institute at Chattanooga State, located in the former Olan Mills building adjacent to the main campus on Amnicola Highway.Wacker Chemical Corp. officials said today the company that's building a $1.5 billion solar plant in Bradley County, Tenn., received over 4,300 applications for its first 60 jobs.
Ingomar Kovar, the company's CEO in North America, also said the total number of workers could reach 700, exceeding the previously mentioned figure of 650.
He said the first group of workers are made up mostly of trainees for lead chemical operator jobs. They will spend six months training at Chattanooga State Community College and another six in Germany.
"Their job is to run the equipment," said Kovar at Chattanooga State, where the trainees are undergoing their first day of orientation.
Wacker is building what is Southeast Tennessee's largest-ever private investment. The factory, to be finished in 2013, will make polysilicon for the solar-panel industry.
For full story, see Tuesday's Times Free Press.