A High-Tech Haven
Nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in east Tennessee, Roane County is known for its natural beauty, temperate climate and small-town charm.
But don’t let the laid-back setting fool you.
Roane County has earned the nickname “America’s Technology Crossroads” for good reason. Home to Oak Ridge National Laboratory – the nation’s largest federal research and development center – Roane County also boasts the nation’s largest neutron science project, numerous technology business parks and an entrepreneurial-friendly climate that has drawn some of the country’s top high-tech talent to launch their own enterprises here.
“Oak Ridge National Laboratory is one big piece of the fabric that has made this area such a desirable location for high-tech efforts,” says Mike Bradley, communications manager for the national laboratory. “We can count more than 80 startup companies in the area alone that sprang from Oak Ridge National Laboratory-developed technologies.”
ORNL's willingness to spin technologies out into the private sector is a major advantage for the region, says Leslie Henderson, president and CEO of The Roane Alliance.
"There are few areas of the country that can offer anything even close to that for high-tech companies," she says.
ORNL was established by the federal government in 1942 as part of the Manhattan Project. In the decades since, the laboratory has attracted top talent from around the globe to work on projects ranging from green power to high-performance computing.
It has also attracted a host of private, startup companies to serve as contractors to the lab or to develop technological innovations of their own.
Drs. Sam and Carol Weaver are prime examples of the innovative high-tech entrepreneurs that are investing in Roane County. In 2007, the couple bought a building and more than 40 acres at the Roane Regional Business and Technology Park in which to house the corporate headquarters for their companies’ operations.
Their companies include Red Diamond Ceramics, manufacturer of advanced composite ceramic product to be used in ceramic armor; Cool Energy Inc., a Tennessee corporation (doing research in Colorado) that has developed solar energy part prototypes; and Proton Power, a startup company developing a way to make hydrogen on demand from cellulose for production of clean energy.
Dr. Sam Weaver has started, grown and sold several companies over the last 40 years that have created nearly 500 jobs in the Oak RIdge-Knoxville area. The Weaver-owned startup companies at Roane Regional represent an initial private investment of $2.75 million, and he plans to invest an estimated $14 million more over the next five years, creating more than 450 new jobs.
"We're ideally suited from a workforce standpoint and a location standpoint," Dr. Sam Weaver says. "We're close to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennesee, and we're just a few miles from the intersection of I-40 and I-75."
Sidle up to the counter in one of the area’s coffee shops and you’re just as likely to rub elbows with nuclear physicists, computer engineers, high-tech entrepreneurs, local high school teachers or patrol officers on their breaks.
The presence of such a diverse and highly educated workforce has transformed the character of the community.
“We attract top people,” Bradley says. “And people who come here are woven into the fabric of this community and want to make a difference. Their kids go to school here. They live in this community.”
While the area prides itself on its picturesque, rural character, its proximity to nearby Knoxville and Chattanooga mean big-city amenities – as well as the larger business and financial sectors that come with them – are never far away.
"Since we are located where I-40 and I-75 intersect, Roane County not only has an ideal location and setting, but it also offers top-notch intellectual capital, as its largest employer is the Oak Ridge National Lab," Henderson says.
And the high-tech sector has devoted resources to improving the community. UT-Battelle, a partnership between the University of Tennessee and a private company, now manages Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Since April 2000, UT-Battelle has donated more than $500,000 to local schools for science labs, teacher bonuses, educational gifts and more.
Laboratory staff and workers in private industry volunteer in local schools and civic organizations and contribute to a thriving, science-focused education community unusual in a rural area of this size, Bradley says.
A partnership of business interests has coalesced behind Innovation Valley, a coalition of groups that is promoting economic development in the region.
ORNL anchors Innovation Valley, and the lab continues to grow. The recent national stimulus bill included $71.2 million for a new chemical and materials sciences building at ORNL.
In late April 2009, ORNL announced about $40 million for two new Department of Energy Frontier Research Centers.
