Mars Lands, Nissan Parks and More HQs Follow
Published May 16, 2008
Goodbye, sunny San Diego. Adios, exciting Las Vegas. Farewell, scenic Gardena, Calif. See ya, bustling LA.
Among the many companies moving to the rolling hills of the Nashville area in 2006 were four that relocated their headquarters from Western states: Olhausen Billiard Manufacturing Inc. from San Diego, Zoi Interactive Technologies Inc. from Las Vegas, Mars Pet Care US from Los Angeles and the juiciest plum of all, Nissan North America Inc. from Gardena.
They serve as case-study examples of why Expansion Management magazine named Nashville America’s hottest city for relocations and expansions in both 2005 and 2006. (One might say that Nashville retired that particular trophy, because Expansion Management declined to rank the 50 Hottest Cities numerically for 2007; Nashville, naturally, was on the alphabetical list.)
“One reason why we relocated to Nashville is because it’s within a day’s drive of 60 percent of our United States customer sales,” says Mike Hubert, chief financial officer of Olhausen Billiard Manufacturing. “The [Nashville metro area] has a good cost of living, Tennessee is a right-to-work state, there is no state income tax and Nashville doesn’t get much bad weather. It’s perfect for us.”
Sixty-five Olhausen employees moved from Southern California to Middle Tennessee, and the company has hired another 75 workers locally. Olhausen’s headquarters and manufacturing plant are in the Sumner County city of Portland, 40 miles north of Nashville.
“Country music star Reba McEntire owns an Olhausen table, and so does University of Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith as well as Hollywood actors Paul and Mira Sorvino,” Hubert says. “Our tables run from $1,795 to $25,000, and we make 6-foot to 12-foot tables for pool, billiards and snooker. We were founded in 1973 and are now the largest manufacturer of pool tables in the United States.”
At Zoi Interactive Technologies, company executives say they, too, were attracted to Nashville because of the lower cost of living compared to many other major metropolitan areas.
“When we decided to leave Las Vegas for Nashville, multiple people told us we couldn’t attract top people to Nashville - oh, how wrong they were,” says Safa Homayoon, Zoi’s chief operating officer. “For example, in February 2007 we recruited a guy from the Silicon Valley who had multiple national job offers. In fact, we’ve had a 90 percent ‘close ratio’ on the people we’ve recruited to Zoi from other parts of the country.”
Zoi develops interactive computer software and advertising-based content for the Internet.
“This is an age where consumers are flocking away from newspapers, TV and radio to get their information via the Internet, and we are in the interactive computer business that reaches these consumers,” Homayoon says. “We set up our headquarters in Cummins Station in downtown Nashville, which is a hip area of the city. Everything about our Nashville experience has been positive.”
Meanwhile, back in Nashville, Nissan North America moved its corporate operations into the 33-story AT&T Building downtown while its $100 million-plus headquarters is being constructed 16 miles south in Cool Springs-Franklin. The completion date for the 10-story building is mid-2008, when approximately 1,300 corporate employees will move in.
“In nearby Smyrna, we have been manufacturing cars and trucks since the early 1980s,” says Dominique Thormann, senior vice president of finance and administration for Nissan North America. “The decision to relocate our North American headquarters to Tennessee was largely built upon our company’s positive, 25-year history here.”
Thormann says Nissan recognizes the benefits of Tennessee’s favorable business climate and its proximity to a majority of Nissan suppliers.
“Obviously, having our headquarters located nearer to Smyrna is a smart business move for us,” he says. “We love being here. We expect our new headquarters to contribute to the vitality and energy of Nashville and the Middle Tennessee region.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Brian McCord
Current Weather Conditions In Nashville, TN (37201)
Light Rain, and 48 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
