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THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 17, 2012
www.greenevillesun.com
Angus-Palm Is Purchased By Worthington Industries BY RICH JONES ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Angus-Palm Industries was purchased by Worthington Industries in January and is now a business segment of the Columbus, Ohio-based metals manufacturing company. Worthington Industries purchased AngusPalm for $180 million in cash and proceeds from a $50 million dividend recently received, according to information provided at the time of the transaction. Angus-Palm, the market leader in the design and manufacturing of high-quality, customengineered operator cabs for mobile equipment, had 382 employees at the time of the sale at its facility in the Hardin Industrial Park on Baileyton Road. Angus-Palm will operate as a stand-alone business segment in the Worthington Industries porfolio of businesses but will now be known as Engineered Cabs. “We have no immediate plans to change anything on the employment front,” said Cathy M. Lyttle, vice president of corporate communications for Worthington, during an interview with The Greeneville Sun in January. Lyttle said South Dakota-based Angus-Palm management teams would remain in place in Greeneville and at other facilities in South Carolina and Iowa. “They [Angus-Palm] have a great work force,” Lyttle said, “and our priority is to maximize the performance of each of the locations.” Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR) had 2011 fiscal year sales of approximately $2.4 billion. Angus-Palm had $200plus million in revenue
SUN PHOTO BY O.J. EARLY
Angus-Palm, located in the Hardin Industrial Park on Baileyton Road, was acquired by Worthington Industries of Columbus, Ohio. in 2011, according to the news release. Worthington employs 8,500 people and operates 76 facilities in 12 countries. FAMILIAR TO FERGUSON Tom Ferguson, president and CEO of the Greene County Partnership, said he is familiar with Worthington Industries from a time earlier in his career when he was involved in economic development in the company’s home state of Ohio. “Worthington is a firstrate company. I would be surprised if they have anything but good news for Greeneville in the future,” he said. ABOUT WORTHINGTON Worthington Industries describes itself as North America’s premier value-added steel processor and as a leader in manufactured pressure cylinders, such as propane, oxygen and helium tanks, hand-held torches, refrigerant and
Home Sales Trend Is Up, But Average Sale Price Is Down BY KRISTEN BUCKLES STAFF WRITER
A three-year slump in the average cost of buying a home in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia reportedly created a buyer’s market in Greeneville early last year as sales of existing homes were up from 2009 and 2010 while the average sales price was significantly down from 2009 and 2010 levels. According to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors’ (NETAR) December Trends Report, 115 homes were sold in 2011 in Greeneville. That is four more than the 2010 total of 111, and 12 more than the 103 sold in 2009. The 2011 average sale price of $98,952 was almost 21 percent lower than the 2010 average price and 23 percent lower than the average price in 2009. The 2011 total sales volume for Greeneville was $11,379,477. NETAR defines Greeneville home sales as those made in the Greeneville High School zone. Prices in Greeneville were at three-year lows during the first quarter of 2011, which prompted the lower annual price, NETAR President Clarissa Brown said. After that, she said, the average price began performing with — and in some months better than — the averages since 2008. For example, during December 2011, the average regional sales price was $149,367, which is between $3,000 and $6,000 higher than the averages in 20082010. Foreclosures accounted for just over 23 percent of Greeneville’s sales for previously-owned homes in 2011. The national average is about 30 percent, accord-
ing to the NETAR release. However, foreclosures represented only 11 percent of sales in Johnson City, 12 percent in Kingsport and 19 percent in Bristol, Tenn., according to the NETAR report. A similar situation to Greeneville’s existed in Greene County as a whole, rather than just inside the Greeneville High School zone, according to Reneé Dunbar, chairperson for the Greeneville Brokers Council. In 2011, there were 297 homes sold in Greene County (including Greeneville) at an average sales price of $119,486, according to Dunbar, who added that Greene County remains a “buyer’s market.” “As 2012 begins, home sales and pendings have improved from this time last year,” she said. Dunbar also said that she anticipates additional foreclosures to be available in the first half of this year. REGIONAL SALES Home sales during 2011 were up in most counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia monitored by NETAR’s Trends Report. Sullivan County was the only county in which home sales were down, at 27 sales below the previous year’s volume. Three Virginia counties — Washington, Scott and Lee — saw an increase in their average home prices. Average sales prices and the number of homes sold were both up in Johnson City. Kingsport also saw an increase in the average sales price, while Greeneville’s number of sales was up. Brown, the NETAR president, said the region’s sales volume increase is encouraging because it shows the market is working its way through the higherthan-normal inventory of homes on the market.
industrial tanks, camping cylinders, compressed natural gas storage cylinders and scuba tanks; in framing systems and stairs for mid-rise buildings; and in steel pallets and racks. Through joint ventures, Worthington Industries manufactures suspension grid systems for concealed and lay-in panel ceilings; laser-welded blanks; light-gauge steel framing for commercial and residential construction; and current and past model automotive service stampings. ABOUT ANGUS-PALM Angus-Palm designs and manufactures highquality custom-engineered open and enclosed cabs and operator stations for a wide range of heavy mobile equipment in several end-markets, including agriculture, construction, and mining. Angus-Palm products are a highly technical and regulated component of mobile equipment that
helps keep operators protected, comfortable and productive. Products range from cabs for small utility equipment to the largest earthmovers in the world. In addition to its South Dakota headquarters, the company operates facilities in Greeneville, in Northwood, Iowa, and in Florence, S.C., with approximately 1,250 non-union employees company-wide. CEO: ‘GREAT ADDITION’ “Angus is a great addition, providing a new manufacturing segment for the company,” said John P. McConnell, chairman and CEO of Worthington Industries. “They [Angus-Palm] are a good fit with our strategic objective to decrease earnings volatility and bring higher value-added manufacturing,” McConnell said. “Additionally, they are a market leader in the custom-engineered cab space, and our compa-
nies have similar peoplefirst cultures.” Angus-Palm has “a dedicated workforce and a great management team with a focus on continuous improvement,” McConnell added. “We are also pleased that we share some significant customers, while providing different products and services. The Angus end-markets will increase our exposure in the construction, agriculture and mining industries,” he stated. “We see opportunities to invest in the business by adding domestic capacity, some expanded capabilities, as well as target international expansion to support customer growth,” he stated in the news release. WORTHINGTON HISTORY The board of directors of Worthington Industries recently declared a third-quarter dividend of $0.12 per share. The dividend is payable on March 29, 2012, to shareholders of record
March 15, 2012. This marks the 177th consecutive quarter that Worthington has paid a dividend since it offered its stock for sale to the public in 1968, according to the company’s website, www.worthingtonindustries.com Worthington Industries was founded in 1955 by John H. McConnell. A statement on the company’s website says that Worthington has grown to become a leading diversified metalprocessing company. “At the core of the company ’s success is the Worthing ton Philosophy, based on the G olden Ru le, wh ich st at es, ‘ Pe ople a re ou r most i mpor ta nt asset.’ “Today, John P. McConnell leads the company as it continues to innovate the industry, partner with its customers and value its employees,” the website states.
Unemployment Remains High, But Recent Trend Is Hopeful BY RICH JONES ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Greene County ended 2011 with an unemployment rate that had not been below 10.3 percent since late in the year 2008, a three-year-plus stretch of double-digit joblessness that largely mirrors national trends during the “Great Recession.” The good news is that unemployment reports clearly show a slow, yet positive, trend in reducing the county’s jobless rolls. The Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development each month lists the unemployment rate for each of the state’s counties. Those rates, along with deeper analysis of the numbers, are published monthly in The Greeneville Sun. Using this newspaper’s records of the state’s monthly published accounts, it is possible to compute yearly averages for Greene County that reveal slow, steady, progress on the jobs front. Here are the average Greene County unemployment rates for the most recent three years: • 2009 15.1 percent; • 2010 13.5 percent; • 2011 12.2 percent. In contrast, here are Greene County average unemployment rates for the three years prior to the collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank in September 2008, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history and widely considered to have been a major factor in the “Great Recession.” • 2006 7.8 percent; • 2007 7.1 percent; • 2008 9.1 percent.
• Dec. 10.8 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate ended 2011 at 8.5 percent. Tennessee’s jobless rate was 8.7 percent at year’s end. Of Tennessee’s 95 counties, 21 of them ended 2011 with a higher unemployment rate than Greene County. Of nearby counties, only Cocke County (12.1 percent) and Hancock County (11.2 percent) were higher than Greene County’s 10.8 percent in December. WORKFORCE TRENDS Greene County in January 2011 was reported by the state to have 25,560 persons employed and 3,890 unemployed in a total labor force of 29,450. At year’s end, in December 2011, Greene County had 26,349 employed and 3,210 unemployed in a total workforce of 29,559. Therefore, Greene County had 789 more persons employed and 680 fewer unemployed at the end of 2011 as compared with the beginning of the year. Additionally, the county’s workforce ended the year with 109 more persons in it than at the start of 2011. The above numbers reveal that the county’s workforce remains smaller than it has been in recent years when the nation’s economy was healthier. Looking back at the five years previous to 2011, here are the total workforce numbers recorded at the end of each year in Greene County: • 2010 29,120; • 2009 30,780; • 2008 30,370; • 2007 31,220; • 2006 32,660. Greene County ended 2011 with a total workforce of 29,559.
RECENT TREND POSITIVE The positive downward trend in joblessness from the years 2009 through 2011 increased somewhat STATE JOBLESS RATES Tennessee had the following statewide monthly unemployduring the final three months of 2011, with an average unemployment rate of 10.7 percent for ment rates in 2011, according to the Department of Labor & Workforce Development: those months. • Jan. 9.5 percent; During the three years of 2009-2011, the county’s • Feb. 9.6 percent; unemployment rate peaked at 17.4 percent in July 2009, • March 9.5 percent; a time that now clearly appears to have been the depths • April 9.6 percent; of a national and global economic downturn of historic • May 9.7 percent; proportions. • June 9.8 percent; Greene County’s unemployment rate in 2011 ranged • July 9.8 percent; from a high of 13.2 percent recorded in January, Febru• Aug. 9.7 percent; ary and June, to a low of 10.3 percent in November. • Sept. 9.8 percent; • Oct. 9.6 percent; MONTHLY UNEMPLOYMENT • Nov. 9.1 percent; At the same time, Greene County’s unemployment • Dec. 8.7 percent. rate during 2011 remained higher than most nearby counties during each month of the year. According to the Tennessee Department of Labor NATIONAL JOBLESS RATES Monthly unemployment rates for the nation in 2011 were: & Workforce Development, Greene County’s monthly • Jan. 9.0 percent; unemployment rates in 2011 were: • Feb. 8.8 percent; • Jan. 13.2 percent; • March 8.8 percent; • Feb. 13.2 percent; • April 9.0 percent; • March 12.3 percent; • May 9.1 percent; • April 12.3 percent; • June 9.2 percent; • May 12.7 percent; • July 9.1 percent; • June 13.2 percent; • Aug. 9.1 percent; • July 12.7 percent; • Sept. 9.1 percent; • Aug. 12.3 percent; • Oct. 9.0 percent; • Sept. 12.4 percent; • Nov. 8.6 percent; • Oct. 11.1 percent; • Dec. 8.5 percent. • Nov. 10.3 percent;