Chattanooga Pulse

The Chattem company, which makes a wide variety of branded consumer products such as Gold Bond, Icy Hot and Selsun Blue, has announced plans to expand their Broad Street facility to include a third plant.  This comes as a result of their acquiring five brands from Johnson & Johnson in 2007, and the new plant will be dedicated to making the popular ACT mouthwash.

“Chattem is bringing the manufacture of ACT mouthwash to Chattanooga,” said Zan Guerry, chairman and CEO of Chattem. “As a result we will expand our physical plant by constructing a state-of-the-art facility on site at our Broad Street location.”

ACT is one of five brands Chattem acquired for $410 million from Johnson & Johnson. The others brands acquired in the transaction were the sleep aid Unisom, anti-itch cream Cortizone, anti-diarrhea product Kaopectate and diaper rash reliever Balmex.

The expansion plans represent a 35 and a half million dollar investment and will lead the creation of 70 new jobs.  This is in addition to the 33 new jobs created with the initial expansion caused by the acquisition of the Johnson & Johnson product lines.

“It is an honor to have Chattem as a member of our local business community,” said Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield.  “This company continues to show its dedication and commitment to Chattanooga through expansions that reflect well on the commercial climate here.” 

“I am always happy when a manufacturer of long-standing and distinction, such as Chattem, announces that it will contribute even more to the local economy by creating new jobs,” said Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey. “The project Chattem envisions will also offer opportunities for the local construction industry.”

Trevor Hamilton, vice president of economic development at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, said Chattem’s growth reflects the strength of local industry. “One reason we are weathering the economic downturn is the diversity of our economic base,” he said. “We are fortunate to have a strong foundation of local companies such as Chattem.

The new facility will be built behind their existing plant on Broad Street in the old Double Cola building.