The view is breathtaking. The Memphis skyline glints and gleams in the midday sun. The Pyramid casts its own unique light across the distance, and the Hernando DeSoto Bridge superstructure is an elegant silver set of curves to the west, filtered through bare trees. It’s a view you need a hard hat to see from the top of the massive heat recovery steam generator at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Allen Steam Plant, under construction in southwest Memphis.

2. ‘MemphisWorks’ Jobs, Training App Launches - Wednesday, December 7, 2016

A new “MemphisWorks” app unveiled Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Annual Chairman’s Luncheon is a comprehensive jobs and training effort that took nine months to get in one digital place, with help from an anonymous donor.

3. Memphis-Area Entrepreneurs Earn Top Franchise Honor - Friday, November 11, 2016

Local entrepreneurs Fain and Sandra Dalton, owners of The Grounds Guys of Germantown, recently took home the award for Franchisees of the Year for The Grounds Guys landscaping services company, which encompasses more than 240 franchisees across the country.

4. 600 Memphis Students Take Manufacturing Tours - Saturday, October 15, 2016

Six-hundred students from Shelby County Schools toured local manufacturing companies on Friday, Oct. 7, to explore advanced manufacturing careers in Memphis.

Students from 12 high schools participated in the National Manufacturing Day event, with each school touring a different facility.

5. 600 Memphis Students Take Manufacturing Day Tours - Monday, October 10, 2016

Six-hundred students from Shelby County Schools toured local manufacturing companies on Friday, Oct. 7, to explore advanced manufacturing careers in Memphis.

Students from 12 high schools participated in the National Manufacturing Day event, with each school touring a different facility, including Steel Warehouse, Gibson Guitar, Flextronics, Barnhart Crane, Competition Cams, Jordan Aluminum, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Smith & Nephew, National Guard Products, SFI of Tennessee, Coca-Cola and Medtronic. On the tours, students received information on possible careers within the industry and the education needed to get there.

6. Memphis Sole - Saturday, July 25, 2015

The football field measurements are perhaps inevitable in describing just how big Nike’s Northridge distribution center in Frayser is after its $301 million expansion.

The 2.8 million-square-foot facility – the equivalent of 49 football fields – is Nike Inc.’s largest distribution center in the world.

7. Nike Formally Opens $301 Million Frayser Expansion - Thursday, June 25, 2015

Executives of Nike Inc. are in Memphis Friday, June 26, to formally open the $301 million expansion of the sports shoe and apparel giant’s Northridge distribution center at 3100 New Frayser Boulevard.

8. EDGE Developing Guidelines for Destination Retail Incentives - Saturday, March 21, 2015

When Swedish furniture retail giant Ikea announced it wanted to build one of its destination retail centers in Memphis, the company was greeted with open arms.

Mayor A C Wharton Jr. even held a City Hall press conference to announce the news in December.

9. PILOT Reform - Saturday, February 8, 2014

Nike is in the midst of a $301 million expansion of its Northridge plant in Frayser, a project that means the Beaverton, Ore.-based company will create 250 new jobs and retain 1,600 existing local jobs.

10. City Explores Crucial Crosstown Funding - Friday, October 4, 2013

City officials are exploring multiple options for financing $15 million in infrastructure improvements at the Sears Crosstown site, key funding that could make or break the ambitious $175 million project.

11. Red Carpet Tour Courts Site Selectors - Thursday, June 6, 2013

Site selection experts from six nationally known firms got a “red carpet tour” from the Greater Memphis Chamber Wednesday, June 5, in a recruitment effort that included a look at the industrial infrastructure of the Memphis area.

12. Mitsubishi Back Story Moves to Manufacturing - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The back story of the new Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. plant that formally opened in Southwest Memphis last week includes a sewer pipe, the Mojave Desert and artificial lightning.

13. Mitsubishi Plant Opens in Southwest Memphis - Saturday, April 20, 2013

A group of 200 dignitaries marked the formal opening Friday, April 19, of the Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. plant in Southwest Memphis.

14. Mitsubishi Debuts $200 Million Facility - Friday, April 19, 2013

One of the two biggest economic development prizes of recession-era Memphis has its formal opening Friday, April 19.

The Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. plant is the company’s first North American manufacturing plant for large power transformers, some weighing in excess of 400 tons.

15. ‘Banner Year’ for Logistics Industry - Friday, December 28, 2012

Positive momentum far outweighed the negative in the local logistics and distribution industry during 2012, as city officials and business leaders continued elevating Memphis’s status as world logistics hub.

16. Good News - Tuesday, December 18, 2012

There’s something newly electric in the air. That’s how the editors of National Geographic Traveler describe Memphis, putting the city in the category of 20 must-see places in 2013.

It’s a description that came at the end of November in the form of something Memphians aren’t altogether used to – the editors of national publications nodding approvingly from afar at a city long relegated to one arbitrary ranking after another.

17. Electrolux Construction Reaches Milestone - Thursday, October 4, 2012

Construction on the Electrolux North America Cooking Products Memphis plant reached a milestone this week as workers put the company logo and name on the headquarters building in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park.

18. Building Business - Monday, September 17, 2012

Dr. Leonard Greenhalgh brought a wake-up call with him to Memphis at the end of August, when he came to the city as one of several featured speakers for the Memphis Minority Business Council Continuum’s 2012 Economic Development Forum.

19. New Plants Point to Infrastructure Needs - Friday, September 14, 2012

Greater Memphis Chamber leader Dexter Muller is fond of recounting how hard it was to sell the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park to site consultants for manufacturing companies.

20. MEPPI Files $155M Permit App For Rivergate Plant, Office - Tuesday, June 12, 2012

2865 Riverport Road
Memphis, TN 38109

Permit Cost: $155 million

Permit Date: Applied June 2012

21. MEPPI Files $155M App to Build Production Facility - Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. has filed a massive permit application for the manufacturing facility it is building on Rivergate Road in Memphis’ southwest industrial submarket.

22. Pickering Projects Show Activity on Upswing - Friday, May 18, 2012

If an uptick in engineering services is an economic indicator of recovery and stability, Memphis is progressing fairly well.

That’s the message Bob Pitts, principal at Pickering Firm Inc., shared to the Appraisal Institute of Memphis Wednesday, May 16, at Chickasaw Country Club. Pickering employs 150 engineers, scientists, architects and surveyors across six offices from its Memphis headquarters to the Gulf Coast.

23. ‘Positive Message’ - Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The most recent figures from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development show a falling jobless rate for the Memphis metro area.

New, more current figures will be out later this month that show the area’s latest unemployment picture. But in the meantime, the Memphis area has played host to one job fair after another in recent days, while across the state there have been more than 20 such fairs in the past 15 months.

24. Job Fair Scheduled for MEPPI Plant - Monday, February 20, 2012

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. will start recruiting this month to fill positions for the company’s state-of-the-art power transformer plant in Memphis. A job fair is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23, from noon to 8 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel at 1022 S. Shady Grove Road.

25. City Files $12M Permit Application For Mitsubishi Plant Infrastructure - Monday, January 16, 2012

2865 Riverport Road
Memphis, TN 38109

Permit Cost: $12.1 million

Permit Date: Applied January 2012

26. City Files Permit Application for Mitsubishi Infrastructure - Friday, January 13, 2012

A $12.1 million building permit application has been filed for the Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. plant property at 2865 Riverport Road in southwest Memphis’ Rivergate Industrial Park. The application states it is for “deep foundation for manufacturing and office building.”

27. Council Weighs In on Electrolux Incentives - Thursday, January 5, 2012

Some Memphis City Council members want to at least slow the appropriation of local government funding to Electrolux North America Cooking Products if the company isn’t more responsive to hiring local for the construction of its Memphis manufacturing plant.

28. That's a Wrap - Monday, January 2, 2012

If the grand sweep of 2011 could be captured on celluloid and presented to an audience on the big screen, all the components of a great film would be readily apparent.

There was drama, in the form of a deluge and historic flooding that led the Mississippi River to crest at nearly 48 feet early in the year. One of the year’s big surprises saw President Barack Obama give the commencement address for the Booker T. Washington High School class of 2011 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

29. $125M Permit Application Filed for Mitsubishi Plant - Thursday, December 29, 2011

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. is moving forward with its plans for a transformer manufacturing facility at Rivergate Industrial Port.

30. $125M Permit Application Filed for Mitsubishi Plant - Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. is moving forward with its plans for a transformer manufacturing facility at Rivergate Industrial Port.

31. Message of Hope - Thursday, December 15, 2011

Bruce Hopkins, First Tennessee Bank’s president of banking for West Tennessee, couldn’t attend last year’s Greater Memphis Chamber annual chairman’s luncheon.

32. Chamber Luncheon Highlights City’s ‘Medical Miracles’ - Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Bruce Hopkins, First Tennessee Bank’s president of banking for West Tennessee, couldn’t attend last year’s Greater Memphis Chamber annual chairman’s luncheon.

33. Pulling the Strings - Monday, December 12, 2011

Long before the first widgets roll off the assembly line, way back before the ribbon cutting and the first shovels break ground, and even before executives quietly slip in to scout out a prospective piece of land, someone like Mark Sweeney gets a phone call.

34. Airport CEO Larry Cox to Head Chamber Board - Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Greater Memphis Chamber has a new chairman of the board. Larry Cox, president and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, has been elected by the chamber board to succeed former Smith & Nephew executive Joe DeVivo.

35. Airport CEO Larry Cox to Head Chamber Board - Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Greater Memphis Chamber has a new chairman of the board.

Larry Cox, president and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, has been elected by the chamber board to succeed former Smith & Nephew executive Joe DeVivo. DeVivo now works for Albany, N.Y.-based medical device provider AngioDynamics.

36. Successful Year - Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Greater Memphis Chamber’s annual chairman’s luncheon next month is expected to draw more than 1,000 business leaders and elected officials to a celebration of the economic and cultural health of the city.

37. Shared Success - Monday, October 24, 2011

Talent acquisition and retention and an ongoing focus on sustainable workforce development are vital to the economic success of any city. And in Memphis – a city beleaguered by high rates of poverty and unemployment – long-term strategies aimed at building that workforce are now targeting future workers as young as middle school students.

38. Electrolux Plans to Break Ground Oct. 5 - Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Electrolux is breaking ground on its new Memphis plant Oct. 5.

The ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. at Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park, formally kicks off construction of the Swedish appliance maker’s nearly $200 million Memphis factory, which is expected to create more than 1,200 new jobs and support more than 2,200 secondary jobs in the form of suppliers and other related work.

39. Staying Afloat - Monday, September 19, 2011

Compared to the overall U.S. construction landscape, Memphis’ position appears to be managing fairly well.

Within the last 10 months, the city has landed several heavy manufacturing projects – Electrolux, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. and Kruger Inc., to name a few – in a time when, nationally, the manufacturing sector is stagnant.

40. Work Still Slow in Construction Sector - Monday, September 19, 2011

The Mid-South commercial construction market is still trying to gain traction following a steady downturn spanning the past couple of years.

Despite several large-scale and government-funded projects, a dearth of small- to mid-sized projects is keeping the market depressed.

41. Chamber Fires Up 2011 Membership Drive - Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Greater Memphis Chamber could not exist without the support of its members. That is why every year the nonprofit economic development organization holds a membership campaign with the aid of its current investors to encourage new membership and spark growth.

42. EDGE Keeps Memphis ‘In the Ball Game’ - Tuesday, July 26, 2011

For the longest time, elected leaders and local economic development officials have lamented a missing ingredient surrounding what Memphis and Shelby County can do to prime the pump for business investment in the area.

43. Biggs Erases Stumbling Blocks for Companies - Thursday, June 30, 2011

Before Lodie Biggs ever stepped foot into law school, he was coached on business ethics from his Depression-era grandfather.

Growing up in Millington with a dad who worked long hours, Biggs would spend the majority of his Saturdays learning about capitalism, the stock market and entrepreneurship.

44. Canada-Based Kruger Wins Tax Freeze - Thursday, June 30, 2011

Canada-based manufacturer Kruger Inc. is still weighing several choices of locales where the company would like to pursue a major capital investment.

45. Kruger Still Weighing Memphis Project, Wins Tax Freeze - Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Canada-based manufacturer Kruger Inc. is still weighing several choices of locales where the company would like to pursue a major capital investment.

46. Kruger Still Weighing Memphis Project, Wins Tax Freeze - Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Canada-based manufacturer Kruger Inc. is still weighing several choices of locales where the company would like to pursue a major capital investment.

47. Kruger Set for IDB Mtg. - Monday, June 27, 2011

Canada-based manufacturer Kruger Inc. is one step closer toward a major investment in its Memphis facility north of Downtown.

48. Mayor Wharton Shares Minority Biz Plans - Thursday, June 23, 2011

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. told a minority business forum his administration will begin questioning those who want to do business with the city about their use of minority and locally owned businesses in general.

49. MEPPI Funding Top Topic for City Council Agenda - Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Memphis City Council’s Tuesday, June 21, agenda is dominated by the city budget proposal, but also includes a resolution to pass on $11 million in state funding for the Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. plant in southwest Memphis.

50. MEPPI Buys Rivergate Park Acreage For Transformer Plant - Tuesday, June 7, 2011

186.2 Acres In Rivergate Industrial Park
Sale Amount: $3.7 million
Sale Date: May 31, 2011

Buyer: Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc.
Seller: Belz Investco GP
Details: Warrendale, Pa.-based Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. has bought three parcels in Rivergate Industrial Park from Belz Investco GP for $3.7 million. The deal closed May 31. The first parcel is 9.3 acres on the north side of Riverport Road (listed in the deed as Rivergate Road). It backs McKellar Lake, and the Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2011 appraisal is $419,000. The second parcel is 63 acres on the south side of Riverport Road, appraised at $604,600. The third parcel is 113.9 acres on the north side of Riverport Road, wrapping around the 9.3-acre parcel and including an offshoot of McKellar Lake. Its 2011 appraisal is $769,600.
MEPPI announced in mid-February it would build a $200 million transformer manufacturing plant in Belz Enterprises Inc.-owned Rivergate Industrial Park.
In March, the Shelby County Commission and Memphis City Council each put in $1 million toward infrastructure financing for the project.

51. Mitsubishi Buys Land for Transformer Plant - Friday, June 3, 2011

Warrendale, Pa.-based Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. has bought three parcels in Rivergate Industrial Park from Belz Investco GP for $3.7 million. The deal closed May 31.

52. Special Coverage: Mid-South Flooding - Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Coverage of the rising waters in the Memphis area

The 2011 Flood, By the Numbers

After a few days of national media coverage, here are a few numbers that demonstrate part of the complex picture of the life of a city as it faces a flooding crisis.

53. Plant Follows Blueprint for Project Success - Tuesday, May 10, 2011

First come the months and years of deal-making and finger-crossing. After that, the big announcement.

Next up after all that hard work in the world of economic development is something now evident throughout Memphis: forward momentum on several big projects that promise to bring hundreds of jobs, a boost to the manufacturing base and a jolt to the local economy.

54. Electrolux Financing Clears Senate Finance Committee - Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Tennessee State Senate Finance committee Tuesday approved two bills that represent the state’s investment of over $90 million in bringing the appliance manufacturing plant to Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park in southwest Memphis.

55. Electrolux Financing Clears Senate Finance Committee - Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Tennessee State Senate Finance committee Tuesday approved two bills that represent the state’s investment of over $90 million in bringing the appliance manufacturing plant to Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park in southwest Memphis.

56. Memphis and Shelby County Getting an EDGE - Thursday, April 14, 2011

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell told a gathering of area business leaders Tuesday night at the office of Glankler Brown PLLC that he hopes the new joint city-county economic development program gets rolling by this summer.

57. Events - Friday, April 8, 2011

Health Memphis Common Table will present a Community Partners Forum Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon at St. Francis Hospital, 5959 Park Ave. Dr. Calvin Johnson, president of Altre Strategies Solutions Group LLC, will speak on the topic “Eliminating Health Disparities by Focusing on Quality.” For more information, contact Patti Tosti at 273-2665 or patti.tosti@healthmemphis.org.

58. Events - Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Mid-South Area Business Travelers Association will meet Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, 6120 Poplar Ave. Laurie Rusin will present “Road Warrior Packing and Travel Secrets Revealed.” To register, visit www.msabta.org.

59. From Old to New - Thursday, April 7, 2011

This year marks Gene Woods’ 40th year of marketing industrial properties in the Memphis area for Colliers International.

60. Chamber Takes Trip to NYC for Media Tour - Thursday, March 31, 2011

Representatives from the Greater Memphis Chamber, the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau and Mayor A C Wharton Jr.’s office visited New York City Monday through Wednesday to meet with national publications and share information about the Memphis business community.

61. Fairs Scheduled for Local Construction Cos. - Monday, March 28, 2011

O’Neal Inc., general contractor for the facility Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. is building in Memphis, is looking for local construction companies and contractors for the project.

62. City Kicked Into ‘Overdrive’ to Lure MEPPI - Monday, March 7, 2011

In February 2010, Memphis showed up in the No. 3 spot on that year’s ranking of “America’s Most Miserable Cities” by Forbes magazine.

It wasn’t publicly discussed at the time, but that undesirable attention also nearly spoiled Memphis’ effort to convince Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. to build a transformer manufacturing plant here. Ultimately, Memphis won the plant. MEPPI announced in mid-February it would build the facility at Belz Enterprises Inc.-owned Rivergate Industrial Park.

63. Dev. Race Procedures Draw Elected Officials’ Ire - Friday, February 25, 2011

When Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. decided the facility in Ako, Japan, where the company produces large power transformers was approaching full capacity, it wasn’t long before the company decided it needed to build another plant.

64. County Commission Committee Recommends Mitsubishi Incentives - Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Shelby County Commission’s economic development & tourism committee has recommended approval of the county contributing $1 million to the financial incentives for Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc., which is building a new transformer manufacturing plant in Memphis.

65. Committee Recommends Mitsubishi Incentives - Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Shelby County Commission’s economic development & tourism committee has recommended approval of the county contributing $1 million to the financial incentives for Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc., which is building a new transformer manufacturing plant in Memphis.

66. County Commission Committee Recommends Mitsubishi Incentives - Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Shelby County Commission’s economic development & tourism committee has recommended approval of the county contributing $1 million to the financial incentives for Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc., which is building a new transformer manufacturing plant in Memphis.

67. IDB Grants Mitsubishi 15-Year Tax Freeze - Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. has won a 15-year tax freeze from the Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board for the manufacturing facility it’s developing at Rivergate Industrial Park.

68. IDB Grants Mitsubishi 15-Year Tax Freeze - Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. has won a 15-year tax freeze from the Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board for the manufacturing facility it’s developing at Rivergate Industrial Park.

69. On a Roll - Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. will build a $200 million, 350,000-square-foot facility in Memphis to serve as the headquarters of the company’s heavy electrical equipment production in North America, the company announced Monday.

70. Mitsubishi Announces $200M Memphis Investment - Monday, February 14, 2011

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. will build a $200 million, 350,000-square-foot facility in Memphis to serve as the headquarters of the company’s heavy electrical equipment production in North America, the company announced Monday.