The South’s Great Corporate Love Affairs -- Part II
Helping existing industry prosper and grow is a big part of economic development in the South.
By Laura Corbin, Don Hampton, Jennifer LeClaire and Trisha Ostrowski
Love. It’s a two-way street. Sure, there’s an immediate spark of attraction, anticipation, desire, but love takes real commitment. It means both parties have to continually work to make the relationship truly great.
The love affair between a company and a community is no different. When the right company meets the right location, it’s magic.
The communities we’ve profiled in this article do an exceptional job of standing behind the success of local industry. They have revealed their love by helping their companies overcome obstacles to growth and providing tangible support like infrastructure and incentives.
On the other side of the ledger, the companies featured here have shown love for their communities through consistent growth, investment and job creation as well as great corporate citizenship.
Here are some truly great examples of how sweet a corporate love affair can be.
Augusta, Ga., and NutraSweet
It’s been a long-time infatuation in Augusta for NutraSweet, producer of the branded sweetener aspertame – 23 years to be exact. In the years since 1984, the company has expanded several times and continued to increase capacity. All the while, the warm feelings have remained.
“The Augusta area offers great value,” says NutraSweet spokesman Jim Flynn. He adds that the community has been ideal for his company because of the ability to attract quality workers to its “low cost of living and other lifestyle benefits. The labor pool is stable and they have a great work ethic.”
Those benefits have led the company to relocate an ever-increasing number of its corporate functions to Augusta. The community has rewarded the company with government support, education, training, sales tax breaks and many other significant advantages.
Troy, Ala., and Lockheed
When Lockheed Martin created a production facility in Troy, Ala. , company leaders were “impressed with the quality of the labor force that was available.” That was in 1991. The company’s impression of the community and its workers has only improved since then.
“Lockheed attributes its continued success to the fact that their employees can produce the highest quality product in a short timeframe and usually under budget,” says Marsha Gaylard, president of the Pike County Economic Development Corp. The Troy facility continues to be cited by the company as one of its most productive facilities, which explains why company leaders have chosen several times to expand capacity and investment in Troy, where workers perform final assembly, test and store the company’s missle and fire control systems.
Troy loves Lockheed, too. The company’s commitment to the local school system, both financially and in a volunteer capacity, has been recognized as making a significant impact on the lives of local families and the community at large.
Baldwin County, Ala., and Quality Filters
Quality Filters hopes to keep its love affair with Baldwin County, Ala., secret. You see, they know they have a good thing here – low cost of living, great work force, beautiful weather and a tremendously pro-business local government.
That’s why they’d rather you not know about Baldwin County. The quiet, passionate relationship they’ve developed has led the company to expand its production facility nine times over the past 15 years. Quality Filters manufactures paint overspray collection filtration products as well as high efficiency bag and rigid cell filter products there.
“Quality Filters has grown here from nine jobs in 1984 to 90-plus,” says Robert Ingram, president and CEO of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance. “The work ethic and sense of family here is incredible.”
Add to that a very supportive local network of educational, government and business organizations, and you have a location that is hard to keep secret.
Newport News, Va., and Ferguson Enterprises Inc.
It's been a quiet, long-standing love affair for Ferguson Enterprises Inc. and its Newport News, Va., home. For more than 50 years, the company, the country's largest wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies and other related products, has flourished here and now manages 22,000 associates in 1,300 service centers located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Mexico from its headquarters.
Now, Ferguson brought its parent company, United Kingdom-based Wolseley PLC to Newport News, with a $30 million, 220,000-square-foot headquarters office that adds 400 jobs to the firm's Virginian work force of 3,000. The city will serve as a central location from which to manage the growth plans in the U.S. and Canada.
Ferguson figures heavily in Wolseley's plans to increase revenues, by increasing sales and making acquisitions. Known for its strong worker training program - named in 2006 by Business Week magazine as the 30th "best place to launch a career" - Ferguson is sure to continue to bring home the bacon and show its love to Newport News.
Atlanta, Ga., and Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest beverage company, has remained true to its first love - Atlanta - where it was founded in 1888. Now, the company, one of the top 100 companies in revenue in the country, has consumers in more than 200 countries and a diverse work force of 71,000 associates.
Coca-Cola is an integral part of all of the communities it serves around the world, but there is a strong love for Atlanta, where you can find the World of Coca-Cola (with a new location in May of 2007), a permanent exhibition featuring the history of Coke and its well-known advertising.
Coke has been a strong supporter of the arts, education and other causes in the metro-Atlanta area. It became the first corporate cornerstone partner with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra by making the largest corporate foundation grant in the company's history - $10 million - to support the Atlanta Symphony Center.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast and Northrop Grumman Corp.
It's a great love affair that can weather devastating storms and come out stronger and more committed than ever. That's the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Northrop Grumman Corp., which dramatically demonstrated its commitment to recovery at its Hurricane Katrina-damaged Gulf Coast facilities by delivering two ships to the U.S. Navy in late 2006.
A $30 billion global defense and technology company that employs 120,000, Northrop Grumman - Mississippi's largest private employer - was one of the first major employers on the Gulf Coast to return to work after the devastating hurricane, providing employees full pay whether they could get to work or not - and workers who made it to help clean up and recover the yards were rewarded with additional pay. The company donated nearly $3 million directly to employees affected by the hurricane.
Employees who reported to work, but couldn't be assigned immediately to their production areas, were paid in full and sent into the community to help rebuild retiree's homes; Habitat for Humanity homes; local offices of the United Way, Red Cross and Boy Scouts; and local schools and parks.
New Orleans, La., and Shell Exploration & Production Co.
Call it a match made in the oil fields.
On Nov. 7, 2005, less than three months after Hurricane Katrina, Shell Exploration & Production Co. publicly announced its commitment to return its 1,000 displaced workers to New Orleans in 2006. The company not only chose to return to Greater New Orleans, but to the city’s central business district. The company, a subsidiary of the Shell Group, is responsible for exploring, developing and producing oil and natural gas in the U.S.
Throughout the recovery process, Shell has continued to show its love and remarkable generosity to Greater New Orleans. The long and growing list of examples include: donating 9,000 gallons of fuel for New Orleans City emergency vehicles; donating $100,000 to Greater New Orleans Inc., the area’s economic development agency, for the Hospital/Bio-Med initiative to help stabilize the region’s medical care and medical training resources; donating $500,000 to the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation for the housing initiative for first-responders; supporting major wetlands initiatives; serving as the presenting sponsor for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival from 2006 until 2010; funding volunteer housing centers; and assisting in recovery of Louisiana’s fishing industry.
An incentive program in New Orleans that’s won Shell’s heart is the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act, a congressional move to offer financial benefits to companies that invest in the hurricane-affected areas. Shell can depreciate its investment by 50 percent in the first year and is eligible for long-term financing through tax-exempt bonds.
Aiken County, S.C., and Bridgestone-Firestone
Aiken County has got to love Bridgestone-Firestone North America. At $417 million, the tire-maker’s 1998 investment in the southern city remains the single largest in its history, but Bridgestone-Firestone didn’t stop showing its love for the city there. The company announced a $33 million expansion in December 2006 and, all in all, has invested $477 million in what has become a strong relationship between the manufacturer and the community. Indeed, Bridgestone-Firestone also has given its time and money to many local organizations, such as the United Way, Habitat for Humanity and the Aiken Jaycees.
Aiken’s work force has embraced the company, too, pouring its heart and soul into the manufacturing process. Bridgestone-Firestone has won such prestigious honors as the Shingo Award for manufacturing excellence and was chosen as one of Industry Week’s Top Ten plants in North America. Aiken is one of two tire plants on the continent to earn star status from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Programs. The program recognizes the outstanding efforts of employers and employees that have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.
Alexandria, La., and Roy O. Martin Company
Building relationships requires hard work. The Roy O. Martin Co. and the state of Louisiana have been strengthening their bonds since the company opened its headquarters in Alexandria in 1923. Today, the lumber company, which produces plywood, hardwood lumber, utility poles and other similar products, employs more than 1,000 people across the state. Of course, relationships are often tested and this one was no exception.
When the firm set its sights on expansion, Texas courted it with its timber and tax advantages – and almost stole the company’s heart. Louisiana wasn’t about to let Texas woo the company – and its two new plants that would create 200 additional jobs – without a fight. Louisiana dug deep to show its appreciation for the Roy O. Martin Co. with an $8 million bond allocation to finance air pollution control equipment and partial tax equalization incentive of $20 million for 10 years. Combined with access to skilled workers to operate its computer-controlled manufacturing process, Alexandria convinced the company to build on the loving relationship they’d enjoyed for nearly a century.
Maury County, Tenn., and Columbia Machine Works
Maury County and Columbia Machines were childhood sweethearts, so to speak. Columbia Machine Works was the first machine shop in Maury County and has enjoyed the reputation of being first in Maury County in many aspects of the industry. The machinery builder set up shop in Maury in 1927 and has expanded several times since, most recently into a 59,000-square-foot building in the Maury County Industrial Park.
Today, Columbia Machines serves most of the southeastern states from its Maury County facility, but it traces its early success to the loyalty of companies in the southern county. Chemical plants have come and gone, but Maury County businesses have supported Columbia Machines as it expanded from machine fabrication to maintenance to manufacturing and more. Columbia Machine President Jimmy Langsdon shows his appreciation by staying involved in the local Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, Rotary and community organizations. To be sure, Maury County considers the family-owned business “family” and the family-owned business returns the sentiment.
Jones County, Miss., and Laurel Machine and Foundry
Laurel Machine and Foundry (LM&F) began in 1904 as a manufacturer and supplier of metal parts for the local eight-wheel wagon factory. Now under its fourth generation of leadership from the same family, the company has continued to diversify its product offerings to include fabrication, casting, custom machinery and in-stock mill supplies, but the Mulloy family continues to run the company with the same sense of community as those early days.
The company’s commitment to Jones County, Miss., is evident in all they do – whether it’s company executives serving on local development boards or sponsoring the highly anticipated annual Crawfish Boil and Anvil Shoot.
“The fact that they’ve been in Laurel/Jones County for more than 100 years is proof that they believe in their home, their employees, their families and their community,” says Sandy Holifield, economic development director for Jones County.
In 1999, Laurel LM&F relocated into a new 30,000 square-foot facility in Laurel – the largest horizontal machining center in the state.
“With over 150 people employed at LM&F, the company could have expanded anywhere, but, fortunately for Jones County, it’s chosen to stay home,” Hollifield says.
Chattanooga, Tenn., and Hamilton Plastics
Twenty years of mutual admiration haven’t dulled the relationship between Hamilton Plastics and Chattanooga. Company President/CEO Harshad Shah is enamored with the amazing scenic beauty of the area – lakes, rivers, waterfalls, mountains. He is grateful for the area’s generous business incentives and outstanding work force.
Most of all, he continues to be impressed by the sense of community that exists in this special city. Shah says, “Everyone gets involved in the community and most everyone knows everyone else – like a small town.”
Which would be why he and his company, which produces mono- and multi-layer co-extruded plastic products, have gone to such great lengths to get involved. The company has a commitment to not only be involved in charitable giving, but to maintain profits within the area.
As Shah puts it, Hamilton Plastics is working to build “strong families by guiding, helping and promoting financially and morally. I treat my employees as if they were my own family.” That just makes the community better for everyone.
Franklin, Tenn., and BioMimetic Therapeutics
Franklin, Tenn., may not exactly be Boston or San Francisco when it comes to attracting biotech or life sciences companies, but that hasn’t kept BioMimetic Therapeutics (BMTI) founder Dr. Samuel Lynch from dreaming big. He is committed to this area and seriously desires to help attract other biotech companies.
Why? Quality of life, for one thing.
“You have everything at your disposal,” says Kearstin Patterson, associate director of corporate communications of BMTI, an emerging leader in the development and commercialization of drug-device combination products for the repair of orthopedic injuries to bone, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. “We can attract people from all over the country – really all over the world - to work for us. Franklin is just an outstanding place to live and work.”
As part of its ongoing vision to attract industry to the area, the company has invested greatly in education. Employees are regularly involved in career fairs, local school presentations, and exhibiting at state and county fairs as a way of increasing the next generation’s interest in life sciences. In addition, they have been integrally involved in the creation and development of Cool Springs Life Sciences Center, a research and development park for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Bob Iannacone, director of the Williamson County Office of Economic Development, sees the facility as an extremely attractive venture for the community and the company. He says, “This project will undoubtedly provide Williamson County with new avenues of marketing and advertising to knowledge workers worldwide.”
Pittsylvania County, Va., and Intertape Polymer Group
Intertape Polymer Group, leader in the packaging industry, has been stuck like glue to Pittsylvania County, Va. for 20 years now. As a matter of fact, it was the first company to locate in the area’s new industrial park. The relationship has proven so successful that the company has expanded operations in this community five times.
“We have enjoyed an excellent relationship in the Danville area for years,” says Melbourne F. Yull, IPG’s chairman and CEO.
The feeling is mutual. Pittsylvania County has been the grateful recipient of the company’s generosity not only in providing 300 new jobs over the years, but also in a number of community-focused ways. IPG has created scholarships for local students, in addition to company employees serving on local boards and charities.
Liberty County, Ga. and Interstate Paper
Interstate Paper’s relationship with Liberty County, Ga. was love at first sight. The area had everything you could need to start a paper mill – a healthy supply of wood, a willing and dedicated workforce, plenty of land and the financial backing to make it all happen. So, in 1968, a torrid romance was born.
Today that mill has an annual economic impact of $400 million by producing 900 tons per day of high compression strength and kraft linerboard. The result has been the perfect marriage of an industrial leader and a grateful public.
“The community values our mill being here,” says Gene Millard, vice president and general manager. “We employ 230 people. Our jobs are some of the highest paying in the area. The people of this community know they can rely on us – and we certainly rely on them.”
A key asset that’s attracting new industry to Liberty County and helping existing industry like Interstate flourish is strong labor availability. Liberty County is home to Fort Stewart, the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi River. Fort Stewart produces about 4,000 military retirees per year, many of whom will stay in the area and enter the work force. In addition, Fort Stewart provides more than 13,000 military spouses who add to the labor quality and availability in Liberty County.
“There are as many as 330 military retirees entering our work force each month,” explains CEO of the Liberty County Development Authority Ron Tolley. “These ‘Heroes for Hire’ are highly skilled, motivated, and drug free.”
Along with providing a ready work force, Liberty County has also stepped up financially to help Interstate. For example, the Liberty County Development Authority secured money from the County Revolving Loan Fund on Interstate Paper’s behalf. The funding was used to add an additional roadway lane, making it easier for trucks to enter the plant. Liberty County also approved a major bond issue to Interstate Paper for plant modernization and new equipment, to help the company maintain its competitive position.
As it has received community support, Interstate Paper has gladly poured back into the area. Company team members donate considerable money and time to local causes, nonprofits, schools and special community development projects.
Another way the company works at being an asset to their community is by taking seriously the task of ecological stewardship. Interstate Paper strategically manages their “environmental performance to embody the values of a corporate citizen in touch with its community and the environment.” Interstate seeks to conserve resources, operate efficiently and generally support the community in any way it can.
“When you have a paper mill, you don’t just pick up and move,” Millard says. “This is an ideal location for us – we have a very good relationship with the community and all the resources we need are here. Even if we could move, we wouldn’t.”
Cullman, Ala., and REHAU
As a tier 1 supplier to Mercedes, you would expect REHAU to be a company with first-class taste. That’s why the choice to build a facility in Cullman, Ala., was a natural. Over the past 20 years in Cullman, the company has expanded its operation four times – now employing 550 people.
“Expanding our facilities in Cullman represents REHAU’s ongoing commitment to this community,” says Dr. Kitty Saylor, REHAU North America CEO.
The company continues to diversify its operation in Cullman, including the May 2007 launch of a new PEX piping facility. Saylor calls the facility REHAU’s “most sophisticated” North American factory in product development and technology.
In return, REHAU is doing its part for the region. Besides working with local schools, including Wallace State College, to foster better science education, the company also is involved in a number of community-enrichment activities. In 2007, REHAU is the sponsor of the annual community beautification program.
Sumter, S.C., and Thompson Industrial Services
Thompson Industrial Services (TIS) has offices stretching from Richmond, Va., to Jacksonville, Fla. With such a large territory and its diversity of products and services for heavy industrial cleaning, it could set up office pretty much anywhere in the South and remain successful, but Sumter, S.C., is home, and this 21-year corporate love affair remains strong.
While TIS has been growing at an amazing rate recently, the company believes in Sumter, so when the time came to develop a new facility, company leaders chose to and wanted to support the local downtown revitalization effort. As a result, TIS invested more than $5 million to renovate a trio of office buildings on Main Street as its new headquarters, the single largest investment in the history of downtown Sumter.
In addition to creating local employment, TIS also helps other companies create jobs, and is a founding member of the Sumter Smarter Growth Initiative. This private-sector effort is designed to make the local economic development office more competitive in an era of global competition for projects.
Thompson's newest endeavor probably will have a greater impact on this community than its investments in downtown and economic development. After spotting a shortage of welders in the community, TIS partnered with Central Carolina Technical College and created a new welding program designed to improve the skills of the local work force. Workers graduating the 14-week program can find jobs locally paying nearly twice the local average wage.
Okaloosa County, Fla., and Crestview Aerospace
Crestview Aerospace is flying high in Okaloosa and local government and economic development officials have helped put some wind beneath its wings. The family-owned manufacturer of sheet metal aircraft structures and modification military aircraft is a homespun firm that took its name from its hometown: Crestview.
Launched in 1991, the company has seen dramatic growth in the Sunshine State, with a loyal, skilled work force that skyrocketed from 13 people to more than 1,200 associates. When Crestview landed a Boeing contract to refurbish and enhance C-130 gunship airplanes in 2001, the company demonstrated its love for the community and its workers by expanding there. In June 2005, Gov. Jeb Bush signed six bills from inside a Crestview Aerospace hangar that propelled the state’s economy by offering corporate tax refunds that directly benefited the aerospace manufacturer.
Crestview Aerospace got snapped up last spring by New York City-based L-3 Communications for $135 million. L-3 plans to take the aerospace firm to new heights. But L-3 plans to keep showing its love for the region by keeping its Okaloosa facilities intact for the next growth phase.
Laurens County, S.C., and ISO Poly Films
ISO Poly Films has enjoyed a long-term relationship with Laurens County. The company broke ground on its first-ever facility in the Gray Court community in December 1997 and was ready for expansion by June 2000. In fact, the company has expanded steadily there with plenty of assistance from government organizations and industry associations alike over the years.
The manufacturer of custom-engineered films for food and consumer products and medical and industrial markets recommitted itself to Laurens County when it broke ground on a $25 million expansion there in June 2005. The expansion is expected to add 50 jobs over the next few years, more than doubling ISO’s work force.
ISO Poly Films loves Laurens County because the region offers a skilled work force that will keep the company growing long into the future. The region’s largest manufacturer, Timken, will close this year and add another 1,000 skilled workers to the mix. Then there’s nearby Clemson University with its curriculum in Polymer Engineering that will supply the R&D labor needed to keep the company innovative. Of course, aggressive incentives also add to ISO Poly Films’ affinity for Laurens County, but the long-standing relationship has proven that their love one for another is solid and growing.
Paragould, Ark., and American Railcar Industries
Paragould and the railcar industry go hand in hand. The city’s history with railcars dates back to 1883. Though American Railcar Industries (ARI) didn’t make its permanent stop in Paragould until 1994, the city and the company have been embracing one another for nearly 13 years. ARI built a production plant in Paragould in 1995 to produce its covered hopper railcars and by 1998 had announced a tank car plant in nearby Marmaduke.
The company, however, demonstrated that its heart was in Paragould when it announced a new, 105,000-square-foot production plant in April 2004 to manufacture covered hopper cars. Paragould felt the love behind the $9 million investment that created 270 new jobs. But the love affair continued in April 2005, when ARI announced it would construct a second paint shop in Paragould, investing another $10 million and creating another 90 jobs.
As it turns out, ARI just couldn’t get enough of Paragould’s hospitality. The company constructed another 50,000-square feet in 2005. Altogether, ARI employs 1,400 Paragould area residents with new workers being added daily. If that weren’t enough, ARI offers continual financial support and volunteers to community organizations.
Dublin, Ga., and YKK AP America
Economic developers almost always call expansions a “win-win,” but the YKK AP America expansion in Dublin is more than a win-win - it’s the continuation of a beautiful relationship. In early 2006, the manufacturer of architectural building products announced a facility expansion in Dublin, an $80 million investment that will create about 200 jobs and double the operation’s capacity by 2010.
Dublin benefits from the jobs and the investment and YKK AP will enjoy the continued support from the state of Georgia and the local community. Company officials say the leadership is forward-thinking and the work force is well-trained. Economic development officials respond with kind words of their own: YKK is a great member of the industrial community; a true innovator that plays an important role in the regional economy.
YKK AP’s corporate philosophy proclaims, “No one prospers unless he renders benefits to others.” The company is benefiting workers at its manufacturing plant in Dublin, its sales branch in Atlanta and its corporate headquarters in Austell, employing about 530 Georgians as it leverages the region’s resources and pro-business climate.
LaGrange-Troupe County, Ga., and Duracell
LaGrange is home to dozens corporate giants, including Exxon-Mobil, Kimberly Clark and Dow Jones, and it loves them all, but one of its favorites, though, is Duracell. The company has been manufacturing its AAA and 9 volt batteries there for 20 years, employing 475 workers. When the going got tough in 2001, the company didn’t automatically look to mass layoffs, but rather sought to include the work force in the lean transformation process that would bring it back to profitability. Together, Duracell and its empowered employees achieved their goals.
Duracell is not only an innovator and smart manufacturer. The company also gives back to the local communities where it manufactures its batteries. Duracell employees are encouraged to offer their time and caring to a cause they believe in. In LaGrange, Employee Advisory Groups, local teams of Duracell employees, actually decide how available resources can best be deployed to help the local community.
Duracell employees from the LaGrange plant can be found volunteering at nonprofit organizations, including Troup County Parks & Recreation, and donating financial resources to the United Way. Duracell’s commitment to the community and to keeping the company profitable and growing in LaGrange has bred a loving relationship that has spanned two decades and promises to last for decades to come.
New Braunfels, Tex., and Great American Products
It’s a long way between Chicago and the Texas Hill Country. For Roger Tuttle, Great American Products’ president and co-founder, it took him 25 years to make the trip.
Tuttle never wanted his company to be in a big city. The entrepreneurial manufacturing and marketing firm, which specializes in licensed hand-crafted pewter emblems for belt buckles and drink ware, started doing business in Chicago in 1972. Business was good, but years later in the 1990s, Tuttle and his partner still spoke frequently about moving the company to “greener pastures.”
Then, on a fateful day, Tuttle received an economic development postcard with a photo of the Texas Hill Country and the words “Would you believe this is Texas?” It was love at first sight and the company started to explore a move to the Lone Star state.
During the search, no other community responded with more enthusiasm and optimism than New Braunfels, according to Tuttle. When company leaders made a site visit, what they found was the aesthetically pleasing environment with the great weather they had desired for so long. Three weeks later the decision was made and Great American Products (GAP) was headed to New Braunfels.
“I can’t say enough about the people of the New Braunfels Chamber. The chamber is entrepreneurial, visionary, and responsive. They are such great contributors to the business community and to the community in general,” Tuttle says. For example, he cites, when GAP looked for a new building, it found limited options to suit its unique needs. Chamber leaders directed GAP to a building that didn’t look so appealing on the outside, but had excellent construction and was in an area of town that was ready to boom. With renovations, the building has been the perfect home for GAP.
After more than a decade in New Braunfels, Great American Products has earned a reputation for generosity in the community through support of many charities and involvement in many civic organizations. The company also provides 150 jobs for the citizens of New Braunfels.
Greenwood, Miss., and Viking Range
Since its incorporation in 1984, Viking Range Corp. has been headquartered in and a part of Leflore County and the Greenwood community. The company’s owner and his wife both grew up in Greenwood and had very strong family ties to the community. They decided early on that if they were going to make Viking a success, they would do so in their hometown. Today, virtually everyone in Greenwood takes great pride in the fact that an internationally renowned company is based in their community.
Since it began, Viking has expanded continuously its product line and facilities to meet the ever-increasing demand for its high-end, commercial quality kitchen and other appliances. Today, Viking Range Corp. facilities in Leflore County include more than 550,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space. The company employs 1,354, making it the largest employer in the area.
As it has grown, Viking Range has worked closely with the city and county governments as well as the Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board in obtaining public grants and loan funds for infrastructure. The Viking Product Support facility was purchased by the city using a CAP (Capital Access Loan Program) loan from the state for $1.2 million. For Viking’s dishwasher manufacturing facility, Leflore County received a $3 million grant from the state to use for construction. Viking also worked in conjunction with the county for infrastructure improvements at the Viking West Site and has received state support in work force training.
As the largest employer in Greenwood/Leflore County, Viking donates time, money and equipment to a large number of civic and charitable organizations, both locally and statewide.
Dyersburg/Dyer County Tenn., and Caterpillar
The love of Dyersburg/Dyer County has helped Caterpillar thrive for the last 12 years. In June 1995, Caterpillar first announced that it would locate in Dyersburg. A year or so later, the company had a work force of 100 and within five years, it had a team of more than 200 working in Dyersburg.
According to company officials, key reasons the company chose Dyersburg include the Dyer County work force and the willingness of the community to be “an invaluable business partner.” Specifically, Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce worked aggressively to facilitate several state and county incentives, help the company utilize local resources, and assist with funds for worker training. With community support, Caterpillar was able to ramp up to 100 employees its first year of operations rather than the 50-70 originally planned. Only one year into production, Caterpillar announced an expansion that would bring its total in Dyersburg to 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
“Since the day Caterpillar located in Dyersburg, the company has set an example of corporate citizenship for others to follow. When the community needed to build a new conference center and Chamber of Commerce office, Caterpillar stepped up and made a major contribution to the effort not just once, but twice during the fundraising phases of the project. Caterpillar has also supported a number of other worthy causes throughout the community,” says President and CEO of the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce Allen Hester. “Every plant manager who has been assigned to Caterpillar Dyersburg has immediately jumped in to help our Chamber by serving on the board of directors and the industrial roundtable. They have been great partners with us.”
“Most recently, when we were trying to land another industry in Dyer County, Caterpillar helped out by relocating some of their warehouse space to make room for the new company. They did not have to do it, but they were glad to do so when we asked them for help,” Hester says. “In fact, the plant manager said to me: ‘Whatever is best for the community, that’s what we want to do.’ You just can’t beat that for community spirit.”
Fayetteville/Cumberland County, N.C., and Goodyear
Goodyear’s love for Fayetteville, N.C. has only grown stronger over the years, evidenced by expansion after expansion. Now in its 38th year, the company’s Fayetteville plant has grown into one of the largest tire manufacturing facilities in the world, producing a mixture of passenger, high performance, and light truck tires.
Goodyear (then Kelly-Springfield Tire Company) began construction of its Fayetteville plant in April 1969 and the first tire rolled off the assembly line in December 1969. The original ticket - the number of tires produced in one day - was 12,500, and the plant produced only bias tires. The plant’s name was changed to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 2006 when Kelly-Springfield became a division of Goodyear.
Today, there are nearly 2,650 associates on three shifts working a six-day operation. The plant has just over 2.2 million square feet - about 46 acres - under roof and is located on a 403-acre site. In its history, Goodyear-Fayetteville has undergone approximately 14 expansion or modernization projects. The most recent expansion, announced in September 2004, is a 196,000 square-foot warehouse.
The community and Fayetteville Area Economic Development Corporation (FAEDC) have supported Goodyear’s growth in many ways. For example, they have provided expansion incentives and assistance with work force development. In addition, FAEDC has organized a local plant managers association, and through that association has worked for positive legislative action that will help Goodyear and other area companies.
Conway, Ark,. and Acxiom
Through the years, Acxiom has remained true to its first love, Conway, Ark. Acxiom was incorporated in Conway in 1969. The community has supported this company from its humble beginnings to its rise as one of the world’s leading information management service providers. Acxiom now has 15 other U.S. locations and 15 international locations.
A technology company in central Arkansas may seem like a May-December romance. In reality, Acxiom has thrived in Conway and now has 2,100 employees there—the company’s largest concentration anywhere in the world. For Acxiom leaders, Conway has provided an “unbeatable quality of life” and a “great place to raise a family”—those intangible but priceless business benefits.
Along with a great place to live, Acxiom also found a “wonderful knowledge-based work force,” company leaders say. Conway is home to three universities. For graduates, working for Acxiom gives them the opportunity to stay in Conway. Those graduates give Acxiom a steady flow of talent.
Through all of its 38 years in Conway, community and state leaders have supported Acxiom’s growth. For example, Arkansas Department of Economic Development has provided incentives and bonds to help the company expand and create jobs. Local utility Conway Corporation and the City of Conway have also been on board with Acxiom’s success.
Perhaps the most innovative expression of love has come from Conway Development Corporation (CDC), the local economic development group. CDC has provided a $300,000 grant to the University of Central Arkansas to help build Acxiom’s future work force. The grant was given to UCA’s department of computer science with the goal of recruiting and retaining high-quality faculty, so that UCA can produce more computer science graduates.
“For an economic development group, sometimes it’s easier to provide tangible product,” says CDC Director Brad Lacy. “We chose to invest in our work force. It was a risk, but it’s already paying dividends and will continue to pay them for the future.” With all it’s received from the community, Acxiom has given back through many expressions of great corporate citizenship.
“Conway is truly unique. Not many communities our size have an information technology company as their dominant employer. Better yet, we’ve watched a technology company grow up,” Lacy says. “As we recruit other technology firms, we can point to Acxiom’s huge campus and record of success in Conway and say ‘we understand what you need.’” |
