It’s not all doom and gloom in the industrial distribution world. According to the Nashville Business Journal, some companies are still finding opportunity. A new startup industrial distributor Alliance Distribution Partners LLC picked Gallatin, TN, to be its headquarters and will begin employing people immediately. (Full article can be read here.)

Though small – the company will employ 15 people initially, with expansion plans already in place to increase the workforce to 50 over the next two years – the move is a sign that there may still be opportunity for smaller distributors in certain markets. Of course, it’s yet to be seen whether the company succeeds.

But according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, small businesses are responsible for the creation of 60% to 80% of new jobs in the U.S. over the last decade. (Full article can be found here.) Alliance may help keep that trend alive.

Granted, there is still plenty of bleak news out there as well. That same Wall Street Journal article featured the story of Summitville Tiles Inc., Minerva, OH. The small manufacturer of specialty tiles had to lay off a third of its workforce in response to the economic conditions. But, people at the plant are still trying to keep a positive outlook: Those laid off have been guaranteed their old jobs and their preferred shifts when conditions improve. The article is a good look beyond the numbers at how the company made the difficult decision to cut jobs, and how both the laid off and those that kept their jobs are dealing with the change.”