Celebrating Jobs

By Hollice Smith
The Daily Sentinel

Published September 24, 2007

An open house and dedication ceremony at the site of the new Johns Manville roofing plant in Scottsboro Industrial Park turned into a celebration Friday.

Johns Manville (JM), a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products, hosted the ceremonial dedication for a new state-of-the-art thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof manufacturing facility in the former CommScope location.

A modification of the building, which will include raising a portion of the building's roof to accommodate some of the tall machinery, is expected to be one of the first activities.

Congressman Bud Cramer said, "I am pleased to be here today to celebrate a new chapter for both Johns Manville and Jackson County. Celebrating this area's economic recruiting success is special for me..."

"Once production begins next year, Johns Manville expects to employ 30 workers. It plans to increase that number to 100 employees over the first three years of production. I am confident that the creation of these new jobs will be a spring board for future economic development in Northeast Alabama," Cramer stated.

The congressman cited the importance of working together, which the city and county have done, and, "I continue to use this community as an example of the importance of working across city and county lines.

He said, "For my part, I will continue to fight in Congress to recruit quality jobs for all of Jackson County. But today is a day to celebrate and to welcome Johns Manville into our community."

Various other officials including the Jackson County legislative delegation, Scottsboro and Jackson County authorities, members of the community and JM executives, business leaders and others joined in the celebration of the new plant in the city.

Another new industry, KTNA, announced plans for making auto components for automotive assembly plants in Alabama, Tennessee and possibly Georgia earlier in the year. Aluminum One, who announced in Jan. they were bringing approximately 70 jobs to the area, is ready to begin production at its facility on the Roy Owens Boulevard.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was not present but stated, "This is truly a great day for the City of Scottsboro and the State of Alabama. Johns Manville's investment is a testament to the workforce in Scottsboro and the State is committed to ensure the company's success in Alabama."

The TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) to be manufactured in 10-foot widths at the plant will be for use in commercial and industrial roofing systems. The company plans to begin production in mid-2008.

JM's Vice President and General Manager of Roofing Systems Tom Ryan said, "We are excited to be a part of the Scottsboro, Alabama business community. This investment re-inforces our commitment to providing our customers with a complete portfolio of bituminous and single-ply low-slope roofing systems backed by our superior service."

Ryan said, "Today is a special day. We are looking to make this a world class facility." He also said the company will be active in the community. He thanked everyone locally and Gov. Riley for helping the company to choose Scottsboro for this plant.

Ryan said later at the conclusion of the program, "I can see now that we made the right choice."

The Denver, Colo.-based firm, a Berkshire Hathaway company, has annual sales in excess of $2.5 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves, according to information provided by Robin Wiesner, a public relations person with the company. Johns Manville employs about 8,500 people and operates 43 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China.

Other persons on the program included Dus Rogers, president/CEO of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority, who presided; State Sen. Lowell Barron, State Rep. John Robinson, Scottsboro Mayor Dan Deason, County Commission Chairman James Tidmore, and Gary Faulkner of the Alabama Development Office. Numerous other local people were recognized.

Perhaps Jackson County EDA Board Chairman Bunn Lovelady expressed sentiments of many people during the open house gathering, "I'm glad to see this going on."