Fred SkillernHamilton County approves Volkswagen incentives
Hamilton County commissioners Wednesday approved incentives for Volkswagen's proposed expansion that will be used to help the company assemble a new sport utility vehicle.
The county is providing $26.25 million in cash, which will be matched by the city. Commission Chairman Fred Skillern said there are one or two items about which he has questions in the agreement, but he added that it's "very good" for Hamilton County. County Mayor Jim Coppinger said a construction schedule was left out of the memorandum of understanding VW has signed with the city and county at the automaker's request. He said that VW officials believe it would hurt its competitive bidding for construction of the project.
VW is receiving about $274.3 million in financial incentives from the city, county and state governments and utilities. The company plans to invest $600 million into the plant and hire 2,000 more people to build the new SUV.
Dayton's La-Z-Boy wins safety award
La-Z-Boy, Inc., in Dayton, Tenn., received the Tennessee Award of Excellence for Workplace Safety and Health for the fourth consecutive year on Wednesday.
"Effective elimination of hazards and safety education are our focus," said Bimbo McCawley, the company vice president who manages the 1,392-employee plant. "Team members are actively engaged with our safety process allowing us to concentrate on safety improvements as daily activities."
La-Z-Boy worked more than 1.6 million hours without a lost-time workplace injury or illness. The site's injury-free record dates back to March 2013.