Wright Medical expands in Arlington -- Company buys old airport next to its manufacturing campus

June 15, 2006 --

More than a year after it received tax incentives to relocate its operation to one of the sleekest business campuses in Memphis, Wright Medical Group has bought a 29-acre site in Arlington for $1.1 million.

The property is the old town airport on Airline Road that has been closed since 1998. The land is next door to Wright's orthopedic manufacturing facility.

It's a coup for Arlington, which touts Wright as its largest employer with 650 people on its payroll.

"We are very excited that they have taken this step in their expansion in Arlington," Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman said.

Economic development officials say it's a win for the area.

"This will give Wright the ability to grow in Shelby County for years to come, and that's a good thing," said Mark Herbison, senior vice president of economic development at the Memphis Regional Chamber.

Now the orthopedic manufacturer can focus efforts on expanding its manufacturing campus.

"They are cramped," Wiseman said, noting company officials "are working on (expansion) plans right now."

Kyle Joines, Wright vice president of manufacturing, said it was premature to talk about plans, but details would be available in about a month.

The move comes 13 months after the Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board granted Wright a 12-year, $6.8 million tax freeze to invest more than $117 million in a new corporate headquarters in Shelby County, creating 266 jobs over four years.

At the time, Wright officials said the jobs would pay a median salary of $60,000 a year, compared to the per-capita income in Shelby County of $32,914.

The project prompted IDB member James Kinney to say: "This is such a beautiful project. We wish they could all be this way."

The company had planned to relocate to a 285,000-square-foot building at Goodlett Farms, located south of Interstate 40 between Whitten and Appling.

The facility was built by Concord EFS, but Concord abandoned it before moving in when it was acquired in 2004 by Colorado-based First Data Corp.

But in September 2005, Wright backed out of the deal.

A month later, company president and chief executive Laurence Y. Fairey resigned suddenly a day after the company's stock plummeted on warnings of disappointing third-quarter earnings. The poor performance was blamed primarily on lower-than-expected growth in domestic biologics and international business in Italy and southern France.

Since Wright Medical has chosen a new location, the company could have to submit a revised PILOT request to the IDB. For example, if the new site requires fewer capital improvements, the PILOT savings could be reduced.

Meanwhile, Wright's decision to back out of the deal for the Concord building prompted Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc. to acquire the building. Harrah's won an eight-year tax freeze to relocate its regional headquarters to the site, a move that gives the gambling giant enough room to double the number of its local employees over the next 10 years.

Harrah's Central Division office, which is based in Memphis and oversees nine casinos in Indiana, Mississippi and Louisiana, would be moved to the Concord building from two leased buildings on Cherry Road.

- Shirley Downing: 529-2387

This article is ﾩ 2006- Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN)