NASHVILLE ? The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, along with Pulaski and Giles County officials, today announced that Twin City Fan Companies, Ltd., of which Clarage is the heavy-duty division, will bring a new manufacturing plant to Pulaski.

The company will open its new operation in a new spec building, located in Industrial Park South. Production is scheduled to begin in May 2007 with an anticipated 50 to 100 employees hired in its first full-year of operation.

?We are pleased that Twin City Fan has decided to locate a new manufacturing plant in Pulaski,? said Governor Phil Bredesen. ?This is great news for Giles County and will bring greatly needed, quality jobs to the region.?

?The market for heavy-duty custom fans has been very strong. Clarage has doubled its business in the last couple of years,? said Jim Schick, vice president. ?This new factory, coupled with five new product lines, our investment in a new fan selector computer program and recent project successes in power, steel, fan repair and rebuild, and petrochemical, position Clarage to be a strong player in the heavy-duty custom fan market.?

?Because of the cooperative efforts of the state, the city of Pulaski and the Tennessee Valley Authority, we were able to attract this new investment to Tennessee,? said Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber. ?Twin City Fan?s decision to open a new manufacturing plant here reflects the continued success of these partnerships, our state?s economic strategies, and our ability to remain competitive in attracting new industries and businesses.?

The 54,000-square-foot facility will be equipped with new state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, heavy-duty lifting, over-speed and performance testing capability and have manufacturing bays for dust collectors, rotors, fan housings and accessories.

The state worked closely with the city of Pulaski and TVA to support this job creation project, and provided recruitment and screening services, job training assistance and the statutory jobs tax credit.

?We are extremely happy to have the Clarage division of Twin City Fan in our community,? said Dan Speer, mayor for the city of Pulaski, and executive director of the Pulaski-Giles County Economic Development Commission. ?Twin City Fan is a quality company that will make a major investment and help to diversify our local economy. I have been extremely impressed by working with their executives and look forward to continuing to develop strong relationships with Giles County and Twin City Fan from the foundation that?s already been established.?

?Working with the Giles County economic development team, particularly Dan Speer, has been a pleasure. When we put together local and state resources, we can be successful. This is a prime example of that teamwork,? said Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner James Neeley.?

The company?s extensive product line includes centrifugal fans and blowers, axial fans, and power roof ventilators. Units range in size from 1/4 HP exhaust fans to 8000 HP heavy industrial units for power plants. For the commercial market, Twin City Fan supplies ventilation fans for retail and office buildings, restaurants, schools, hospitals and government buildings. Industrial fan applications include air and material handling, air cleaning, ventilation, cooling, heating, combustion air supply, filtration and drying systems, fume hoods, spray-paint booths and exhaust systems. Special materials, construction, coatings and accessories are available to fit any application requirement. Clarage?s heavy duty business supplies repair and rebuild services, tunnel ventilation fans, power plant fans, fans for volatile organic compound destruction and other pollution control equipment, fans for petrochemical, steel and paper making activities.

Twin City Fan is an industry leading designer and manufacturer of high quality commercial and industrial fans. The company occupies four manufacturing facilities in South Dakota; a headquarters facility in South Dakota and one in Ohio; the new plant in Pulaski; a plant in Shanghi China, India and Singapore; and a headquarters facility in Minneapolis, Minn. The Minneapolis headquarters, contained in a 547,000-square-foot office building, houses approximately 200 management, sales and marketing, accounting, human resources, material management, and engineering personnel. The building also includes a 10,000-square-foot Air Movement and Control Association registered testing lab. For more information about Twin City Fans