Memphis, TN/USA

The Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board and its evaluation committee heard Wednesday from three different companies planning expansions in Memphis.

NuVasive Inc. plans to expand its surgical kit shipping operation in Memphis, which would call for a $122.3 million capital investment and the addition of 54 new jobs.

However, $119 million of that investment would simply be the surgical kits themselves. State and county laws won’t allow the company to label the kits as inventory and, labeled as equipment instead, the kits become taxable in Shelby County.

NuVasive loans its surgical kits to doctors nationwide at a cost. The doctors return them and NuVasive sterilizes them for additional uses. Since the kits are always NuVasive’s property, the company cannot label them as inventory. However, the company would spend $1.5 million on building improvements at its 4670 E. Shelby Drive facility.

At a meeting Wednesday, the company was given an eight-year, $5.3 million payment-in-lieu-of-taxes exemption by the IDB to update the PILOT it was given in June 2006.

The expansion will bring 54 new jobs for a total of 110 jobs locally. The median wage of those employees will be $54,914 plus benefits, according to the company’s application.

IDB also heard Wednesday from Flextronics International, which is planning to add a new Memphis location for its electronics repair business at 6100 Holmes Road and expand its current location at 6380 Holmes.

These expansions would bring a $2 million investment for both projects and 151 new jobs. This would bring the company’s Shelby County employment total to 1,260.

A 10-year, $5.9 million PILOT was approved by the IDB’s evaluation committee. The company will go before the full IDB in January.

The company’s application says it has invested $24.7 million here since its original PILOT with Hewlett-Packard was approved in 2002. HP has since moved much of its operations out of Shelby County.

New Breed Logistics Inc. also presented its expansion plans to IDB’s evaluation committee Wednesday. It is planning a $15.7 million project at 5015 Citation Drive. The expansion project plans to bring 160 new jobs with a median wage of $35,000 plus benefits.

In other action, the IDB approved a $9 million solid waste and disposal bond to Blue Earth Solutions.  Blue Earth, a company specializing in recycling foam used to ship products, is planning to locate a new facility in Memphis. $8.6 million of the bond will be tax free, while the remaining $400,000 will classified as taxable.

The board also approved resolutions to extend Novostem Therapeutics and ServiceMaster’s time to close on their PILOT by one year.

About Colliers International

Colliers International is a global affiliation of independently owned commercial real estate firms. The organization's 10,092 employees span the world in 267 offices in 57 countries. On a worldwide basis, Colliers manages 672,945,918 square feet, and has revenue of $US 1,620,958,349.

Contact Information

Lindsey P. Browndyke
Marketing & Research Coordinator
Colliers Wilkinson Snowden
901.375.4800
lbrowndyke@colliersws.com

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