By DAVID R. ROSS
Houston County Editor
     Erin and Houston County will soon be the home of a new industry that will be manufacturing state-of-the art acoustic panels and other acoustic products.
     Jay Perdue, and his wife Vicki Perdue, owners and managers of Perdue Acoustics, of Amarillo, Texas recently purchased the old Southern Gage Building in Erin.
     Southern Gage moved its operations from Erin to the Stewart-Houston Industrial Park years ago.
     Since then, the once bustling building has seen little use.
     "We were ecstatic to get such a nice building at such a reasonable price", Jay Perdue said. "We will need to do some work to the building, but it will suit our needs very well. There is also plenty of land to go with the building that will allow us to expand when that time comes and we expect for that to happen."
    Vicki Perdue said she has been impressed with the accommodating, friendly manner she has observed from Erin and Houston County citizens and other Tennesseans they have met while in the area.
     This is a beautiful friendly place and we are really looking forward to getting the operations going here in Erin and Houston County, she said.
     Houston County Mayor George Clark said the Perdue Acoustics Company has a superior product and a great reputation in its industry.
     We have had folks with various state departments helping us with this project and we know this company to be solid and thriving, he said. We really need jobs in Houston County and Erin and the area and we are looking forward to getting the plant operational.
    Clark said the news of more jobs coming to the Houston County and Erin area is very encouraging.
   We are always looking to bring jobs to our area, he said. In recent months we

 

Staff photo by David R. Ross

Jay Perdue and his wife Vicki Perdue, who own and operate Perdue Acoustics, of Amarillo, texas, stand in front of the old Southern Gage Building in Erin.

have had other potential industries looking at some of our sites in the county and at the industrial park. We believe things are looking up job wise and economically for our area. Getting a top rate company like Perdue Acoustics is great news for us.
     Information will be made available soon as to when and where applications will be taken.
     Jay Perdue said he hopes to have at least 44 employees working at the his new Erin plant by this time next year.
     Perdues customers include NASA, the U.S. government, and concert halls around the world.
     We have a variety of products, he said.
     Perdue said his company is expanding from its Amarillo, Texas home.
     We are servicing more and more clients on the East Coast and we needed to be closer to them, he said. We cant think of a better place to be than Erin, Tennessee. We hear the workforce here is very willing and dedicated and we are going to put as many people to work as possible.