New investment spurs burst of jobs at Franklin startup

September 12, 2016

Nashville Business Journal
by Adam Sichko

A startup in Franklin plans to hire 36 employees as part of a half-million-dollar investment in a new facility, the company announced Monday.

If all those jobs materialize, it would be a six-fold increase from the current headcount at AeroWall Dynamics. Twenty of those new jobs would be in production, while the other 16 would be management and office positions, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

AeroWall Dynamics is renovating a 15,000-square-foot office and lab space in Cool Springs, the region’s longtime corporate hub. The accolades don’t stop there: Williamson County ranks as one of the 20 most affluent counties in the nation, based on its median household income of more than $90,000. The county also is adding jobs faster than any in the nation, and its population is growing faster than anywhere else in Tennessee.

AeroWall Dynamics aims to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions for tractor-trailers, using an inflatable product that closes the gap between the cab and the trailer. The product reduces resistance from air as the trailers travel on the highway. AeroWall, founded two years ago, has been raising money for more product development.

The state’s economic development department anticipates that AeroWall Dynamics will qualify for a job-training grant in conjunction with the expansion, according to a spokesman. The size of the grant isn’t yet public information because the potential contract hasn’t been finalized, the spokesman said.