Unified Marine, Inc Awarded State Grant
County lands $300,000 grant for Unified Marine
(c)2006 NPT BY DUAY O'NEIL Looking over details of a $304,200 grant approved for Unified Marine Inc. by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in a meeting on Monday are, from left, Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan Jr., David Nirenberg, president of Unified Marine Inc., and State Representative Eddie Yokley.

NEWPORT- Gov. Phil Bredesen and Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, have announced the approval of a $304,200 grant for the water project/fire-flow request made on behalf of Cocke County for the Unified Marine Inc. project. The Fast/Track Infrastructure Development Program (FDIP) grant will enable Unified Marine to better protect its property and employees and offer the opportunity to expand its operations in the future. Unified Marine Inc., which opened its local plant here last May, employs 25-30 people. According to president, David Nirenberg, this number will probably rise in January, perhaps as high as 35-40. The grant was approved with the assistance of the East Tennessee Development District (ETDD), which has been and continues to be very instrumental in most of the infrastructure grants written on behalf of Newport/Cocke County. In order to receive this grant, Unified Marine, Inc. agreed to provide the matching ten percent of the funds. The remaining ninety percent of the money will come from the state. Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan Jr. praised Representative Eddie Yokely's part in the grant process, saying, "We worked directly with Rep. Yokley in this project." In addition to providing ten percent of the funds, Unified Marine, Inc. also paid for the preliminary engineering report, at a cost of approximately $8,000. The official grant will be sent to the county in about a week, and an engineer can begin work on the plans and specifications. "Once it is in place, we'll be ready to begin the bidding process," said McMahan. Nirenberg commented, "We have been extremely happy with our decision to move to Cocke County. We look forward to increasing our number of employees and increasing our role as a vital part of the community. We have had a great response from the community." Rep. Yokley said, "It is indeed a pleasure to have been a part of this process, in working to help Cocke County continue its growth." McMahan concluded, "This company's decision to put up the matching funds shows their willingness to vest themselves in our community. This is still another example of the positive growth that can be achieved through everyone working together in partnership. I thank David (Nirenberg) for choosing Cocke County as the location for its plant. I also thank Rep. Yokley for his continued support of our community."

Unified Marine, Inc., manufacturer of SeaSense® marine and trailer accessories, relocated to Newport Tennessee from Naples Florida in May of 2006.
By: Duay O'Neil Source: The Newport Plain Talk 10-11-2006