February 19, 2007 JOHNSON CITY, TENNESSEE
- A company from Ocala, Florida, JD Squared, has completed its acquisition
of the former Corrugated Containers property in the Johnson City
Industrial Park. The company is involved with metal fabrication
and will hire CNC operators and begin operations with a work force
of around 25. JD Squared has a phased move underway and will begin
full operations in Johnson City by the end of this summer with a
planned workforce of around 50 – 75 employees. This manufacturer
has strong ties to the NASCAR racing industry as their “tube
bending” machines are critical to the forming of roll bars.
The proximity to the Bristol Motor Speedway is a great fit for this
company as they formerly were within 70 miles of Daytona Speedway.
Other clients have included Universal Studios in the production
of movie sets. JD Squared is an example of a family-owned specialty
manufacturer that has a proven well-engineered product line. The
owners, Bob and Kim Hughes, stressed the hospitality of local persons
they met during their site evaluation process as one of the key
reasons for deciding upon Johnson City. Overall business costs in
Florida including property and employment insurance costs, costs
of property needed to expand, and transportation costs compared
poorly to the cost-benefit of operating from Northeast Tennessee.
