Media Room

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and AT&T dedicated the new AT&T 5G Lab today at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm. The lab’s dedication is another step forward for the two institutions’ commitment and capacity to bringing high-speed technologies with meaningful uses to Tennesseans. “Our communities gain major benefits when our faculty and students…

Recently, the Blount Partnership’s Director of Workforce Development Jessica Belitz and Director of Economic Development Lauren Emert graduated from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Valley Workforce Institute and Rural Leadership Institute, respectively. The Valley Workforce Institute is designed to assist economic developers in understanding and selling their workforce assets and addressing talent pipeline challenges in…

Milltek Sport, the leading premium automobile exhaust specialist, has announced it will open a brand-new facility in Alcoa, Tennessee, as part of a major five-year strategic expansion in the United States, with the formation of a new company Milltek Corp. Located at 3202 Regal Dr., the brand new Milltek Corp facility opened its doors in…

Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method for producing a key component of lithium-ion batteries. The result is a more affordable battery from a faster, less wasteful process that uses less toxic material. Lithium-ion batteries — used in products from appliances…

Leadership Tennessee announced that Blount Partnership Director of Economic Development Lauren Emert was selected to its Spring 2023 Leadership Tennessee NEXT cohort, a program offering Tennessee’s early and mid-career professionals personal and professional development while fostering a greater understanding of Tennessee and its assets. This class is the sixth cohort to complete the program. “I…

Arconic Foundation has awarded Pellissippi State Community College $80,000 to help Blount County juniors and seniors explore advanced manufacturing careers while still in high school.  The Pellissippi State Credit to Credentials pilot project includes Career and Technical Education dual enrollment opportunities for students in 11th and 12th grades at Alcoa, Blount County, Maryville and other…

Area elementary and intermediate schools will soon be the recipients of Maryville College gift boxes, courtesy of a recent grant awarded to the institution by the Environmental Protection Agency. The $100,000 grant was awarded in September and will allow MC students to create “Out of the Box Community Sustainability” packages that will be provided to…

DENSO, a leading mobility supplier, and Silicon Ranch, one of the nation’s largest independent power producers, today broke ground on a new solar facility at DENSO’s Maryville, Tennessee, location, along with the City of Maryville Electric Department and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The new solar farm is the first of four solar production facilities the…

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, LDA Engineering has made a $500,000 renewed commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and also has dedicated $120,000 in college scholarship funds. The company has invested in STEM and additional engineering education and outreach in all of its markets, and in 2015 pledged to reach $250,000…

Representatives from the Blount Partnership in Blount County recently attended the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s 2022 Governor’s Conference in Nashville. During the event, attendees heard from Governor Bill Lee and TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter, as well as CBS Sports Lead Play-by-Play Announcer Jim Nantz and a host of other speakers who discussed…