NOTE: This is the third in a continuing series of posts from Doug Lawyer, Economic Development director, about his trip to Germany to meet with Volkswagen and its suppliers.

Today was an amazing day as we toured the Volkswagen world headquarters in Wolfsburg, about an hour train ride outside of Berlin. The scope of this manufacturing campus was unlike anything I have ever seen. 57,000 employees at this campus are producing nearly 3,400 cars a day. We saw being produced the Golf and Tiguon model cars. The original part of this plant was constructed in 1938, and 60 percent of the facility was destroyed during WWII. We actually saw holes in steel beams that were results of bombs and bullets from the war. It is interesting to think that the ammunition perhaps could have been created in Chattanooga on the site that is now being developed for VW's Chattanooga plant. VW currently has 32 plants around the world, and 13 alone in Germany. Their newest plant will be just down the road in Chattanooga.

We were briefed on VW's next generation clean diesel engines, a joint technology developed between VW and Audi. The overall goal here is to increase MPG performance, coupled with lower emissions, something everyone is interested in.

During lunch, we were briefed by VW president of worldwide operations, Dr. Winterkorn. He spoke of their next generation vehicles, which will have heavy focus on electric cars, biofuels, be environmentally responsible, and great looking. This was exciting to hear as the Knoxville region has technology strengths in many of the same areas that are core corporate competencies of VW. Dr. Winterkorn spoke that the new plant in Tennessee is a great example of a strong US-German partnership.

We then toured VW's worldwide design center, and were briefed by the head of auto design for VW. It was clear that VW's design is a combination of passion, heart and gut. The new car, which will be built in Chattanooga, is designed for the American market, but should also have worldwide appeal. When asked how he knew that the auto to be produced in Chattanooga will be successful on a world wide scale, the director of design responded simply by saying that his heart tells him it will be.

I had the chance to ask Governor Bredesen how he would define success of this trade mission. He responded by saying that success will clearly be to land suppliers in Tennessee. He went on to say that today's time with VW was to give all of us direct exposure to VW's corporate philosophies and ethics. He concluded by saying the real work starts tomorrow. Tomorrow is our first Tennessee forum, where we will be interacting directly with suppliers. We are all curious to see how many suppliers attend these meetings and what kind of face time we will get with them.
Tonight we have an opportunity to interact with several VW officials, and this is where the selling of the Innovation Valley gets started.

Food is great, and weather is cool and raining.

Fran Tarkenton invites you to attend our Small Business Coffee Club Event

October 23rd – Special Guest Bob Burg!

This month’s Coffee with Fran speaker will be Bob Burg, best known as author of Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales. In his newest book, The Go-Giver, which has already sold over 100,000 copies, Bob shares 5 key principles that will help you dramatically increase your business. Bob speaks for corporations and associations internationally, including Fortune 500 companies, franchises, and numerous direct sales organizations. You will not want to miss this!

Date: Oct. 23, 2008

Hosted By: Rick and Jane Rundell

Time: 7:30 AM

Phone: 865-694-1682

Location: Jamison Inn
209 Market Place Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37922

Email: janenrick@yahoo.com

Bring a Guest

“RSVP required.”

NOTE: This is the second in a continuing series of posts from Doug Lawyer, Economic Development director, about his trip to Germany to meet with Volkswagen and its suppliers.

Today was all travel. We left Knoxville at 12:50 pm, had layovers in Atlanta and Paris, and made it to Berlin. We arrived in Berlin at noon local time.

To keep the group awake, we had a three-hour tour of Berlin. We saw remnants of the Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charley and many embassies, including the US Embassy, which is next door to our hotel. The Brandenberg Gate is also right outside of our hotel.

Tomorrow we have an early departure for a train ride to Wolsburg and meetings and tour at VW world headquarters.

Today there was great anticipation for our meetings and tours at VW tomorrow. I was surprised to learn that this trip marks the first time that my economic development counterparts at Chattanooga Chamber have been to Germany.

Our Innovation Valley team is looking forward to getting face time with suppliers over the next few days.

I've not had a chance to speak with Governor Bredesen yet, but he is here.

It's clear by looking around on the streets that the automotive market is different in Europe than in the US. SUVs are a rare sighting, and smaller sedans are much more the norm.

Maybe we will see a prototype of the new VW to be built in TN during our meetings tomorrow.

I’m really excited to represent the Knoxville Chamber and the Innovation Valley on Governor Bredesen’s trade mission to Germany to meet with Volkswagen and their suppliers. I depart on Monday October 20, and will be in Germany for 8 days visiting the following cities: Berlin, Wolfsburg (tour VW world headquarters), Frankfurt, and Munich.
We’ve put together a comprehensive strategy to locate suppliers to Volkswagen in the Knoxville Oak Ridge Innovation Valley region. We are starting from a strong foundation. Our region is well positioned just 90 minutes north of the Chattanooga site, and we have a long history of automotive suppliers that have made the Innovation Valley home over the past 25 years. Our technology assets at ORNL and UT are second to none in the world.
I will be blogging from Germany on a daily basis, and hope you will check in and see how things are going. Also, be sure to check out our VW supplier website, www.innovationvalleyinc.org/automotive

Auf Wiedersehen!
Doug Lawyer
Director of Economic Development
Direct: 865-246-2645

NOTE: The following was sent from Thermocopy, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Thermocopy, East Tennessee’s largest business technology company, announced today that it was presented with the Environmental Achievement Award in the large business category at the annual Keep Knoxville Beautiful “Orchids and Onions Awards” banquet on October 9, 2008.

The Environmental Achievement Award is presented annually to a Knox County company that:

• Has implemented recycling/cleanup efforts that have resulted in community and/or economic development
• Has contributed time and energy for the good of the community rather than personal gain
• Is a model of creativity, hard work, leadership, unity, motivation, openness, integrity, and love for the community
• Has had a major positive impact on the environment in the Knoxville/Knox County area

Thermocopy won the reward as the result of:

• Internal initiatives such as the Thermocopy Greenworks program, which has resulted in over 69,000 lbs. of paper, e-scrap and other materials re-cycled thru September 2008 and Printworks, a print management strategy for clients that, if enacted, results in paper conservation and less land-fill use. Visit www.ThermocopyGreenworks.com for more information.
• Concept creation, Co-development and co-sponsorship of the “Business in the Green” contest administered by the Greater Knoxville Business Journal. This contest awarded $20,000 to the business that was judged to have submitted the “go green” plan that would net the most favorable results for the environment. There were over 60 applicants in the first year of this contest.
• GoGreenET.com, a free, online resource created to guide East Tennessee businesses and other organizations towards being more environmentally responsible. GoGreenET.com provides basic information about products and services that can help businesses meet their goals to go green. Founding and Media partners have generously committed over $500,000 of publicity for the site. Visit www.GoGreenET.com for more information.

J. Mark DeNicola, CFO and Executive Director of Sales and Marketing of Thermocopy, said, “As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen our corporate commitment to be an environmentally responsible business partner, Thermocopy is not only pursuing innovative new ways our company can reduce, reuse, recycle and renew the resources we consume while doing business but also providing resources to other East Tennessee businesses to help them meet their goals to go green. Taking care of the environment makes good business sense.”

NOTE: The following release was sent from WTNZ FOX 43, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Please join us on November 5 at 9:00 am at Howard Johnson Plaza, at 7621 Kingston Pike. Breakfast will be provided.

Paula Fambrough, Corporate Classified Internet Sales Manager for Raycom Media, will be speaking on the future of recruitment advertising.

The workshop will offer the following:

- Review important research on what you need to know about recruiting space over the next 5 years
- Show you ways to stand out and get results by attracting a more talented passive candidate
- Offer ideas on how to utilize the web more effectively to reach quality not quantity

Please RSVP by November 3, 2008 to Kevin Fox at 865-684-1519 or email kfox@wtnzfox43.com.

NOTE: The following release was sent from LBMC, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

The Nashville Business Journal has named the Health Care Heroes for 2008. Included on the list was Bill Siren, a partner in the Healthcare Consulting division of Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC.

Bill was named a Finance Champion and was recognized at a luncheon on September 19. Health Care Heroes Awards seek to honor workers in all levels of health care and to show appreciation for their contributions to the industry in Nashville.

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC, and The LBMC Family of Companies has more than 400 employees, with offices in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded in 1984 as a traditional accounting firm, LBMC has expanded its focus to meet a broad range of needs for its diverse client base. Services provided by the LBMC family of companies include accounting and assurance services, business and personal tax consulting, permanent and temporary staffing, human resources outsourcing, payroll services, technology services, healthcare consulting, planning services, business valuations, investment advisory services, and mergers and acquisitions. For more information on LBMC, visit its Web site at www.lbmc.com.

NOTE: The following release was sent from Sustainable Future, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Saturday, October 4, 2008, Sustainable Future’s Net Zero Energy solar home, as part of the East Tennessee solar home tour, hosted more than 200 guests. The tour of the home was an opportunity for people to educate themselves and ask questions about energy conservation and solar power generation.

The tour began with the exterior of the house and an inspection of the solar electric panels (PV), as well as the rooftop thermal panels that collect heat for hot water. After a stop at both the green and the grid meter, the tour moved inside. The interior of the house included the installation of environmentally friendly bamboo floors, foam instead of traditional fiber insulation in the attic, and energy star appliances in the kitchen. The tour concluded with a pop quiz: How many pounds of coal does the house offset per day? According to David Bolt, Founder of Sustainable Future, LLC, “28 pounds; the solar hot water heater offsets approximately 18 kilowatt hours, or 18 pounds of coal per day, and the PV system offsets approximately 10 kilowatt hours, the equivalent of 10 pounds of coal per day.”

On the day of the tour, the Sustainable Future Solar home had a utility bill of negative $300.00. Coincidentally, the tour was scheduled the day after one of the most significant pieces of legislation for residential solar power was approved by Congress.

NOTE: The following release was sent from LBMC, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC (LBMC), one of the Southeast’s largest accounting and business consulting firms, has named Kathy K. Seagrist and Mark S. Worthington as Partners in the Knoxville office.

Kathy K. Seagrist, a Certified Public Accountant, has diverse experience with a variety of industries and focus in the real estate industry. She works extensively in the tax planning and compliance area of practice for individuals and businesses. Kathy joined the LBMC team in 1998 and prior to that spent nearly five years with a big four firm. She is a member of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants and Cokesbury United Methodist Church. Kathy enjoys volunteering in the community for organizations such as Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding (STAR), Angel Tree, and ReachThem2TeachThem. A graduate from the University of Tennessee, Kathy earned her MBA from the Eli Broach Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University and now resides in Knoxville with her husband and three children.

Mark S. Worthington, a Certified Public Accountant, has diversified experience with a variety of industries including professional service, real estate, and hospitality. He has extensive experience in partnership taxation and S corporation taxation. With over 15 years of experience, Mark joined McWilliams & Co. in 1995 and became a member of the LBMC team during a merger in early 2007. Mark is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and earned a MACC degree from UT as well. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, State Taxation Committee for the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, Family Business Institute of East Tennessee, and Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. He now resides in Knoxville with his wife and two children.

Knoxville's Crowne Plaza Hotel has spent $250,000 to put 37-inch LCD television sets in its 180 non-Club level guest rooms.

The high definition-capable TV sets were installed over the past several months as alterations were made to guest room furniture to accommodate the new TVs, said Ken Knight, Crowne Plaza general manager.

"Our other TVs were excellent sets, but they weren't big screens, flat screens, or high definition compatible," said Knight. "This is another feature our hotel has added for the enjoyment of our guests."

Each room armoire was modified by reducing its height by half and installing granite tops on which the new TVs sit.

Previously the Crowne Plaza put 42-inch flat screen TVs in all its Club-level rooms.

"We want our guests to have the best," said Knight.

The Crowne Plaza Knoxville is one of only two Crowne Plaza hotels in Tennessee; the other opened in Memphis earlier this year.

Among other guest amenities offered by the Crowne Plaza Knoxville are a 3,000-square-foot fitness center; an indoor swimming pool; Club level; Priority Club (the world's largest travel awards program); full service restaurant and lounge. The hotel-specific Web site is www.crowneknox.com.