EASTMAN TO PUMP $1.3 BILLION INTO KINGSPORT HEADQUARTERS

 

Kingsport, Tennessee – July 19, 2007. Eastman Chemical Co., one of Tennessee’s largest industrial employers, recently announced its decision to invest more than $1.3 billion over five years in its Kingsport headquarters operation.

Called "Project Reinvest," the plan would pump an average of $256 million into upgrading technology, infrastructure, research and development, and production at its 7,500 employee manufacturing complex in Northeast Tennessee.

Eastman Chairman and CEO Brian Ferguson said new tax credits offered by the State of Tennessee were an inducement, saying other locations were considered for the investment. He said the credits, comparable to what Eastman has found in Singapore and South Carolina, could be worth $100 million over a decade.

Ferguson suggested this could add to Eastman's local work force - the company employs 11,000 people worldwide - but had no specific numbers.

The Eastman chief also pointed to $1 million in state funding to Northeast State Community College for job training for Eastman processes. The project would also initiate a unique partnership to develop curricula and implement training programs for a new generation of mechanics, lab analysts and chemical operators.

"The initiative is one of the most sweeping capital investments in the history of our company," said Brian Ferguson. "It is a major recommitment, not just to our operations but to the community and especially to our employees and customers."

The size of the investment drew Governor Phil Bredesen and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey to the announcement. Bredesen praised the investment in Eastman's own "backyard" and hoped it would be a catalyst for the broader Tennessee business community.

Eastman founded in 1920, manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics around the world. The company produces differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics and is the world's largest producer of PET polymers as well as a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers. Eastman reported 2006 sales of $7.5 billion.