I appreciate the update. I have worked with several industrial development
groups in my region for many years and I suggest, if you haven't already
tried, that you check with some adjacent counties in Tennessee, Mike. I can
certainly understand why Sevier County has gone all-in for the tourist trade
(I just ate dinner in Pigeon Forge last night), but I would expect perhaps
Blount County might be a lot more receptive to manufacturing, or even Knox
county. In PA where I live the differences in focus and support from one
county to another can be remarkable and staying in another nearby county
would allow you to keep the same workforce. A phone call to the various
county IDAs might give some insight.
I have had a Ten Tec rig in the shack since the 1970's and love them all,
and I am monitoring a net remotely on my Omni VII that I bought new 2 years
ago as I type this. I would surely miss being able to visit the factory or
drop off a rig for repair, though. Will that still be possible, even if no
over-the-counter sales are allowed in the new location? Another thought, the
Ten Tec hamfest was a wonderful and huge event I looked forward to traveling
to each year. Any chance that could be sponsored again at some other venue?
It is a great way for folks to meet the key players in the company and to
communicate information about products while being one of the best
tailgating anywhere.
=Vic=
WA4THR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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To:
"tentec@contesting.com <mailto:tentec%40contesting.com> "
<tentec@contesting.com <mailto:tentec%40contesting.com> >
Subject:
[TenTec] An Update from Ten Tec
From:
Mike Dishop via TenTec <tentec@contesting.com
<mailto:tentec%40contesting.com> >
Reply-to:
Mike Dishop <n8wff@yahoo.com <mailto:n8wff%40yahoo.com> >, Discussion of
Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com <mailto:tentec%40contesting.com> >
Date:
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 18:36:03 +0000 (UTC)
List-post:
<tentec@contesting.com <mailto:%3Ca%20href=> ">mailto:tentec@contesting.com
<mailto:tentec%40contesting.com> >
Greetings Friends and Fellow Ten Tec Enthusiasts,
Iwanted to update you on what is happening in Sevierville. The
SmokeyMountains
are literally fogged in with smoke in some places as Tennessee hasmany wild
fires burning. I was there two weeks ago and have never experiencedanything
like it. Driving down Jellico Mountain on I75 it became literally
IFRconditions
with near zero visibility from the smoke.
Assome of you know Ten Tec has been occupying office condominium space
behind
thesite of the former factory were now a Wal-Mart Express is sitting.
Thissite
is not appropriate for our needs. Starting last week, weare moving out of
this
location into a more industrial friendly space.Unfortunately this location
is
not zoned for commercial walk in traffic, so thedays of someone showing up
at
the factory door unfortunately have come toan end. After an entire year of
searching for any possible opportunity tomove, this is all we have been able
to
come up with. Commercial realestate is completely out of control in
Sevierville county because of thetourist industry, and unless we have about
a
half million dollars toinvest in the factory location you can just forget
about
it. Ten Tec is"too small" to receive any incentive, tax breaks or help from
the localso called "Economic Development" office. My opinion is thatthe
State
and local government of Tennessee is about as economically unfriendlyto a
small
business or start up business as is possible. For example, inother counties
in
TN the standard is to create 10 new jobs to get anyincentive. Sevier County
arbitrarily requires 25 jobs. By mycalculations, 25 jobs would be around a
million dollar pay roll if the jobsaveraged 15 dollars an hour to the
employee
with a 25% more overhead to theemployer. Any business having that kind of
payroll better have about 10million in gross receipts which would put it at
DOUBLE the IRS definition of asmall business and QUADRUPLE the IRS
definition
of a microbusiness, so it isobvious that the economic development offices do
not have any mandatewhatsoever to support or help ANY small business reason
the
scale of anindividual person's finances. The fact that Ten Tec must
havecontributed millions of tax dollars to the local economy over the last
50
yearsmeans nothing. In many states, these economic development offices
arepartially funded by the local Chamber of Commerce. It is my opinion
theseoffices function as intelligence gathering units to forewarn their
members
ofany possible competitor entering their area. If small business is truly
theeconomic growth engine of the United States it is apparent to me why we
havegrowth problems if we depend on these organizations to help us as
individuals.It seems ironic that the company named TEN TEC for Tennessee
Technologies can'tget any assistance at all in Tennessee considering the
state's advertising oftheir "Tennessee Technology Initiative". If you are
wondering why I wrote all thisabove it is to head off the endless string of
expert recommendation that Icontact TVA and the local economic
development. I've done it and nobody is going to help Ten Tec in the State
of
Tennessee.
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