By Bill Grubb

ROGERSVILLE — Several local industries are planning expansion projects that are projected to create 310 jobs in Hawkins County.
    The Hawkins County Industrial Board gave its stamp of approval Wednesday to tax abatement requests from AGC, Sam Dong and U. S. Fence.  The industries asked for abatements and plan to invest approximately $87.6 million in Hawkins County by 2010.
    “With everything that is going on in the world, not just the United States economy, we are really pleased we are sitting here and talking about this,” Industrial Board Chairman Larry Elkins said. “This is good news, for a change.”
    According to Elkins, the projects all meet the criteria adopted by the Hawkins County Commission for awarding tax abatements to the industries.
    “Sometimes people don’t understand we are not reducing anybody’s taxes,” Elkins noted, adding the abatement will only reduce taxes due on the new investment.
    Based on the current county tax rate, and the estimated valued of the real and personal property, the county will receive an additional $1,548,606 in property taxes over the next 10 years.  Once the abatement expires the county will receive 100 percent of the taxes due.“With the abatement for AGC the county will receive $567,573 in new taxes.   The important thing to remember is without the abatement there probably wouldn’t be any new tax money.  
    Sometimes people don’t understand that,” Elkins noted.
    The AGC project will represent an investment of approximately $34.6 million and in projected to create 120 new jobs by 2010.  
    According to Jamie Culbertson, plant manager at the AGC Greenland facility, the company has had a “turbulent year” because of the downturn in construction.
    Culbertson said the plant had produced glass for residential and commercial windows but company officials were now moving into the production of glass for solar panels.
    He noted a Kansas plant owned by the parent company, Asahi Glass Company, currently produces 70,000 tons of the coated glass and adding a coating line at the Hawkins County plant will result in 15 new jobs producing a similar capacity.
    “It is projected that by the 2010 there will be a need for 200,000 tons so there is a demand,” Culbertson noted.
    Replacing the “G-1” line that was shut down, resulting in the layoff of approximately 180 employees, with another production line to produce the solar glass will result in 120 new jobs at the plant by 2011.
    Steve Olinger, representing Sam Dong, told board members the sluggish economy has not had any impact on Hawkins County’s newest industry.
    The Rogersville plant is the first production facility located outside South Korea.  The Sam Dong plant produces flat wire used in transformers.
    Olinger said the Rogersville facility is producing a product that is shipped to Mexico, South America and Spain.
    The abatement proposal for the company projects a $22 million investment in real and personal property next year with 110 new jobs created.
    Representatives from U.S. Fence, which has a sprawling production facility in Bulls Gap, presented a request that will represent a $31 million investment in real and personal property and would add 80 new jobs.
    U. S. Fence representative Gary Kohagen said the company, which produces vinyl fencing, recently acquired a company that produced vinyl sheds.
    “We are relocating that production to our Bulls Gap location, so now when you go to Lowe’s and see vinyl products, the fencing or the sheds, that probably came from just down the road,”  Kohagen said.
    Gary Williams, plant manager at the Bulls Gap facility, said approximately 60 truck loads of assets from the purchased plant were recently moved to Bulls Gap.
    The company representatives noted they could have kept the acquired plant open at its original location but opted instead to consolidate and expand the Hawkins County    location.