Horace Crowden

"The maintenance center was built in the 1960s by Reynolds to service its large manufacturing complex," said Horace Crowden, president of the new maintenance center."It is one of the largest facilities of its type in the Southeast."

It consists of over 180,000 square-feet of shop space and equipment, Crowden said, and will service Wise Alloys but its major growth will come from businesses other than Wise Alloys.

"We believe that there is a significant opportunity for a large facility of this type in our region and envision growing this business from the current handful of people to well over 100 employees," said Crowden.
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"We have negotiated an agreement with the IAM that provides the flexibility needed for a business like this to compete while maintaining the excellent pay and benefits that many of these employees enjoyed while they were employed by Wise Alloys," said Crowden."The formation of LTMC has also allowed us to hire many of the machinists that were on layoff from Wise."

According to Crowden, IAM job steward Terry Allen played a key individual in setting up this new business.
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"Terry was an important part of this effort, especially in working out the details related to the new contract," Crowden explained.
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"We have received very positive comments from our employees and the businesses that we have contacted," Crowden added."I believe that our employees are eager to show that they can operate a successful business."

In the near future, representatives of the LTMC will be contacting local area businesses that may require the services the maintenance center has to offer.

"Our goal is to be a very competitive world class operation," said Crowden.

Horace CrowdenChief Executive Officer, Listerhill Total Maintenance CenterCrowden comes to LTMC after owning and operating his own turbine and generator maintenance firm - Corona Engineering Corp. of Atlanta -- and following a long career with the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he served in a variety of positions from 1976 to 1994.He is a member of the Edison Electric Institute and the National Management Association.

"Listerhill Total Maintenance Center was named recently as one of two approved contractors in a 5-year project for up to $50 million to supply contracted equipment repair and maintenance services work for local Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)," said LTMC President and Chief Executive Officer Horace Crowden.

But if Horace Crowden has his way, the machine shop built in the 1950s will rise to prominence again as a new independent company possibly employing more than 100 people in the coming years.

"Not many people in the Southeast have this capability," Crowden said, walking among machines as tall as the men working on them."A lot of companies have gotten out of this type of work."

In a move a year in planning, Wise Alloys sold its machine shop to a new Wise Metals business, Listerhill Total Maintenance Center.

Crowden, who spent his career maintaining large pieces of equipment at TVA and later at his own turbine repair business, is the new company's chief executive officer,

The new company, which filed incorporation papers last week, will operate as a separate business from the Wise Alloys aluminum facility.It will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Wise Metals Group, the parent company of Wise Alloys.

Crowden said one of the reasons for creating a new company was to take advantage of the 130,000 square-foot facility and a skilled workforce.

He said the new operation wouldn't just service Wise Alloys machines, but its growth is expected to come from around the country.

"We have the expertise," Crowden said.
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With a large LTMC sign still being painted, Crowden is spreading the word of the new company and hiring new employees.Some of the work they will compete for may come from international companies, he said.

The new business recently doubled in employees to 25.He said it's possible that in the next six months to a year, that number could double again.

Crowden also has lined up several contracts, and he is in talks with a European energy firm.

"We are going to start marketing our services," Crowden said.
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Large-scale maintenance work is so specialized that factories in the South transport machines needing repair to larger industrial centers like Chicago and Pittsburgh, Crowden said.

The shop with 100 acres of space under a roof features several large cranes that glide above a wooden floor.One crane attached between steel beams can lift 40 tons.

"We can be our customers' maintenance shop," Crowden said.