Governor Phil Bredesen received the first Oreck vacuum cleaner made in Tennessee (today/yesterday) during the opening of the corporation’s newest plant in Cookeville.
Referencing the nearly 2.8-million American manufacturing jobs lost since 2001, CEO Tom Oreck says the company has made a pledge to keep its production within the U-S.
“I think the U.S. consumer really does move toward value, not just price. Overseas manufacturing is about price. U.S. manufacturing is about value, and that’s what our whole model is based on.”
State officials boast that more than 100-thousand jobs have come to Tennessee since 2001, and that Oreck’s 100 new jobs are part of that achievement.
But Freda Moss says there have also been plenty of jobs leaving the state. Moss is a recent hire at Oreck and a former employee of Emerson Appliance Controls which relocated its operations and nearly 500 jobs to Mexico in 2004.
“There’s just lots of people out here that’s out of work. There’s several places in Sparta that’s gone out, several places here in Cookeville that’s gone out. Warren County has a bunch that’s gone out. There’s just lots of places around that they don’t have jobs.”
Governor Bredesen says the state has done well attracting business relocations to major cities but not to rural sites. At the Oreck event, Bredesen described a new “orange carpet tour” that will highlight Tennessee’s suburban and rural workforce as executives consider expansion to the state.