Mt. Juliet lands logistics company

Wilson County economic development officials said Mt. Juliet snagged a worldwide logistics company to consolidate its operations currently located in Davidson and Rutherford counties.

Ceva Logistics is eying the Beckwith Farms industrial park near Interstate 40 to move into 700,000 square feet of warehouse space currently under construction, said Wilson County Joint Economic Development Director G.C. Hixson.

He said Ceva Logistics – home based in the Netherlands – already occupies space at the industrial park and employs 153 people, supplying logistics services for Dell, shipping "computers, servers and other products." The plan is expected to bring more than 400 jobs to Wilson County.

"With the new building and consolidation, they will add 95 new jobs and transfer 312 people from Davidson and Rutherford counties," said Hixson.

He said along with these jobs, an additional 227 seasonal jobs will open up for people in the area.

"It's going to be a huge breath of fresh air for the industrial park and our county," he said.

Hixson said Ceva Logistics lease would be with Beckwith Farms developer Panattoni Development Co. He said the Wilson County Budget Committee recently passed an "incentive" package for Ceva.

"It is a six-year abatement on property taxes and a portion of their personal property," said Hixson.

He said Wilson County economic officials are also working with the state for assistance on infrastructure improvements in the park.

KHS Music is the other business at Beckwith Farms. It makes and repairs band instruments and relocated to Mt. Juliet from Texas.

Hixson said officials with Ceva have told him Beckwith Farms is "their proposed site," and he was told to move forward on the process to make the deal come to fruition.

"There's hope to have things in place before the end of next year," said Hixson.

He did not know if the current Dell logistics already in place at Beckwith Farms would remain in the current building or the entire operation move into the new facility.

Mt. Juliet Mayor Ed Hagerty said Ceva's consolidation plans in Mt. Juliet would go a long way toward solidifying his vision for Mt. Juliet to be a place to  "live, work, play and worship."

"We've been on a big push for Class A office space for Mt. Juliet," he said. "This with Ceva is also going to bring daytime workers to Mt. Juliet. Beckwith Farms is properly zoned, and I think there is a pretty good road network already in place. This will be a shot in the arm."

Hixson said along with hundreds of jobs that come with Ceva, there would be "truck drivers coming through, people eating in restaurants and an overall huge economic boost to not only Mt. Juliet, but the entire county."