Editor’s Note: “The Economic Development Side” originally appears in the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce’s weekly member e-newsletter. It is written by Rhonda Dishner, the Economic Development Alliance’s executive assistant.
Executives of Strong Manufacturing Company, Inc. in Pine Bluff submitted a letter to the Economic Development Alliance in late 2015 detailing their plans for an expansion at the company’s facility at 2301 University Drive.
Those plans included purchasing a new, high-tech machine to make the rotors they use daily in the production of a variety of other specialty machines and equipment for industrial and construction customers. They had an eye on a specific “next generation” model made in Austria that would significantly speed up production time on the rotors they use in-house and allow them to aggressively look at adding more contract customers and end users around the country.
Strong Manufacturing is a local, family-owned company established in the mid-1960s and it currently employs about 30 workers. Business has been steady through the years, but the cost of the new machinery, along with the infrastructure improvements needed at the plant to support its installation, was a steep investment for a small company at approximately $2 million.
That led to the proposal being forwarded to the Alliance for review, and Strong’s request that the project be presented to the Economic Development Corporation of Jefferson County — also known as the tax board — for consideration for assistance through incentives funding from the 3/8-cent economic development sales tax approved by county voters in 2011.
Strong’s incentives application was reviewed in December 2015 by the tax board, which approved an incentive amount of $62,400, provided Strong retains its 30 full-time jobs, creates four new jobs within three years, and makes the planned capital investment for installing the new machine. A contract to that effect subsequently was prepared, and Strong’s vice president, Kris Kline, signed the agreement in early 2016.
The new machine, installed over several weeks this fall, is now up and running. Kline says it is the first unit of its kind in North America. Quite an accomplishment for a small, home-town manufacturing business following through on big expansion plans.