Afternoon nap must be protected
In this week’s Business Pulse, I’ll tell you all about expansion plans at Northgate Shopping Center and generally ramble on about everything good I’ve heard over the last week. But first, the good stuff.
I’ve finally found a civic organization I would like to join. Just formed last week, the Association of Nap Defenders is currently about two dozen members strong.
It was formed in Portugal because the long-standing tradition of the after-lunch nap is being threatened. Just like the rest of the world, times are changing in Portugal. Now taking a nap after lunch is viewed as lazy and people who still partake in the tradition are being called “deadbeats.”
Hence the Association of Nap Defenders has sprung into action. Prates Miguel, one of the group’s founders, contends an afternoon nap is the perfect way to stay healthy while fighting the stress of today’s rapid-pace life.
Under increasing pressure, the country’s labor minister, Antonio Bagao Felix, says maybe abolishing the after-lunch nap isn’t the best thing to do after all. But he still maintains naps can be kept to around half an hour.
I urge the Association of Nap Defenders not to cave in to the labor minister’s demands. Fight for a nap that’s a full hour long!
And since I am bringing you news from around the world, how about the New Zealand handyman who is building a cruise missile in his own garage. Bruce Simpson, 49, says he was prompted to build the missile because so many people told him he could never do it.
So where did Simpson learn how to build a cruise missile? Over the Internet of course. Yes, the same Internet where you can learn how to make meth and build your own bomb now tells you how to construct cruise missiles.
Simpson says the missile will be able to fly 60 miles and carry a warhead weighing 22 pounds. A New Zealand defense spokesman said, “We are aware of the initiative” when asked about the possible dangers of Simpson’s backyard project.
I’m all for protecting individual rights, but I don’t know how hip I am to allowing average citizens to build missiles. Truth be told, if this guy was living in the Middle East and wearing a turban, he would have been shot by U.S. forces long ago. And that’s probably not a bad idea.
Bad news being leveled at A.O. Smith
According to some A.O. Smith employees, they are now receiving letters telling them when they will be laid off. Actually, I don’t think “laid off” is the proper terminology since the company is moving to Mexico and there’s no chance of being rehired.
But nonetheless, A.O. Smith is sadly going through with its plan to send its fractional horsepower motor operation south of the border. Employees are being informed that their last day of employment will be between Aug. 2 and Aug. 16, for example.
This is exactly what Warren County didn’t need right now. Good jobs are tough enough to find as it is. Imagine the county’s predicament when around 300 more people are left without reliable jobs that provide health insurance.
Carrier is calling workers back
I’m not sure of the number of employees who will be put back to work, but Carrier is calling some folks back. We can only cross our fingers and hope this good news is a sign of promising things to come.
As most of us know, Carrier recently revealed it is evaluating all of its 87 manufacturing facilities worldwide. Carrier officials acknowledged this was being done with the idea of closing some of the plants. They say they won’t know which plants will be closed for several months.
Carrier is the largest plant in Warren County with around 1,500 employees. Losing Carrier would be nothing short of crippling for the local economy. So to Carrier officials I ask you, please, please, please don’t close this plant.
Northgate Shopping Center about to get bigger
With the recent additions of Hastings, Ryan’s and Jack in the Box, it seems Northgate Shopping Center can’t get big enough. Well believe it or not, it’s about to get bigger.
Jewell Hale tells me he is about to build two new stores which will be located between Fred’s Pharmacy and the current shopping center. And Jewell is no stranger to doing work in that area, having just recently finished Hastings.
The two new stores won’t be huge with one of them having 2,400 square feet of retail space and the other one having 1,800 square feet.
“People are calling all the time wanting to rent from us,” said shopping center owner Harold Martin. “We were supposed to start this thing about four months ago. We had signed leases and everything. But since it took so long, those leases fell through.”
Harold says businesses are eager to locate in Northgate Shopping Center because they want to get as close as possible to Wal-Mart. And if you look at the most recent additions, those businesses have in fact located awfully close to Wal-Mart.
OK Heating & Air wins prestigious award
I’ve always known the guys at OK Heating & Air do a pretty mean business. But I never thought they installed more heat pumps than anyone else in a 14-county area.
But that is the case after OK Heating & Air was recently honored by the Tennessee Valley Authority for the highest volume of heat pump installations in existing single family homes in Middle Tennessee.
“We’re just a small company,” said owner Mark King. “We couldn’t do this without good word of mouth from our customer base.”
Mark’s dad, Orval King, started the business in 1978 with Mark coming on board two months after it opened. He’s been there ever since, buying the company in 1995 when his dad retired.
“We’re blessed to have good people working for us,” said Mark, who runs a family business that employs 15 and includes his wife, Kathy, son, daughter-in-law, son-in-law and two brothers. “And it’s all about providing service after the sale. We’ve gotten up in the middle of the night for service calls when we’ve had to, but that’s all just part of it.”
Helping OK Heating & Air is the fact it’s utilizing a heat pump program offered by McMinnville Electric System and TVA. All installations are inspected and passed by TVA.
MES employee Randy Garrison has worked with OK Heating & Air for many years. He said, “The installation of an electric heat pump is very important. The better the installation the more comfortable and efficient the heat pump will run. It stands to reason, that you could have the best product on the market but if the installation of that heat pump is not right, the unit will not perform properly.”
Congratulations to OK Heating & Air for its commitment to excellence.
That’s all folks
The Business Pulse well has officially run dry. Unless I get some news by next week, I’m thinking it might be time to take a vacation. Give me a call at 473-2191 or send me an e-mail at [email protected].