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Caterpillar to Locate North American Motor Grader Production Facility in North Little Rock; “Welcoming a well-known and respected company like Caterpillar to Arkansas is a great way to start 2009,” Governor Mike Beebe said. “We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Caterpillar that will serve as another example of the advantages Arkansas has to offer to companies increasing their presence throughout the world.” The Caterpillar location originated with and was coordinated by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Metro Little Rock Alliance and Arkansas Economic Development Commission. A full line of motor graders, with the exception of the 24M motor grader, which is used primarily for mining applications, will be manufactured at the North Little Rock facility. For decades, Caterpillar customers have used these motor graders to build and maintain roads, highways, airports and other construction projects on every continent. “Relying on the Caterpillar’s foundational values, and the Caterpillar Production System with 6 Sigma discipline, the North Little Rock facility will be a benchmark for manufacturing productivity, quality and safety,” said Jon Harrison, General Manager of North American Motor Grader Operations for Caterpillar, and the North Little Rock facility. “Moving motor grader production to North Little Rock is part of Caterpillar’s long-term, strategic plan to increase its large mining truck capacity in Decatur, Illinois and drive greater focus on improving motor grader production.” “For North Little Rock, central Arkansas, and the state, the benefits of being the home of an internationally known Caterpillar product are many and huge,” said North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays. “This decision is an announcement to the world that we are a major factor in the vehicle manufacturing industry.” Hays said the efforts to bring Caterpillar to North Little Rock involved the cooperation of local and state governments, as well as the North Little Rock Economic Development Corporation, Metro Little Rock Alliance, and North Little Rock and Little Rock Regional Chambers of Commerce. “Our successful team effort provides a textbook example of how important both regional and intergovernmental cooperation are to a winning economic development strategy,” said Hays. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, Caterpillar is a global operation with more than 400 locations in 50 countries. The company has more than 500 products sold worldwide, with sales totaling $44.9 billion in 2007. Those interested in employment at the Caterpillar facility can apply online at www.cat.com/careers. Hiring will begin in mid-2009. Polymarin, EWT Back to Stuff Polymarin, EWT Announce $20 Million Capital Investment, 830 New Wind Energy Jobs for Little Rock On October 8th, at a 2:00 pm news conference at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Polymarin Composites, an international developer and manufacturer of high performance rotor blades for the wind industry and a 100% subsidiary of Emergya Wind Technologies, announced it will locate a new manufacturing facility in Little Rock. The company will move into the former Levi Building on I-530. A Navigable Arkansas River Back to Stuff By 1886, the Chamber was already engaged in a quest to make the Arkansas River navigable. H.S. Tabor, of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, developed a plan to improve the river. He estimated a cost of $2.5 million for primary hurdles to control river deposits and make a channel at least three hundred feet wide and six feet deep from Little Rock to the Mississippi River. His plan included a canal from Little Rock to the White River at Devall’s Bluff. Pine Bluff and Little Rock supported Tabor’s plan and urged congressional representatives to lobby Congress for appropriate funds. The Chamber issued a memorial to congress extolling the Arkansas River Valley’s virtues as a “natural highway of commerce” and “one of the richest and most fertile (river valleys) in the south.” Many people along the river relied upon it for transportation of products in and out of the area, yet low water often cut these people off from commerce and communication. The Chamber called for river navigation improvements for many years before seeing results. In 1891, the organization again expressed its desire for good river transport by calling a meeting of the Arkansas Valley River Convention. The Chamber desired larger congressional appropriation for the river and sought support from other cities in Arkansas. The chamber’s vision for the future wisely included involvement with other organizations. The Chamber’s involvement with these organizations can also be found in 1927. It was a major ally of the Red Cross, the Arkansas Farm Credit Company, and the Arkansas Flood Relief Commission in flood relief work after the spring Flood of 1927. These alliances and actions aided the chamber’s public reputation and also underlined the need for river improvements to control flooding. By 1929, the Chamber turned its focus to the Arkansas River Channel Campaign, led by the Arkansas River Association. This campaign, with an annual budget of $10,000, secured the Arkansas channel project’s incorporation into the work of the Mississippi Valley Association. This much larger association gave Arkansans another voice for river improvements, such as making the river deeper and wider and building embankments. Other campaign achievements included the state of a tonnage survey to present to the War Department analyzing the costs for river improvements. The Chamber still supported Tabor’s idea of a Little Rock – White River canal in 1933. However, this plan was never implemented. Instead, the Chamber’s focus shifted even more to canalization of the Arkansas River itself. This year brought problems because of the War Department’s initial opposition to river improvement costs. Yet, in 1934, the Chamber’s affiliation with the Mississippi Valley Association grew, and it advised Arkansas congressmen to introduce a $300,000 bill for river revetments (embankments) above Little Rock. In 1946, the chamber finally saw some success with river issues when the House Rivers and Harbors Committee recommended $55 million for river construction projects. This bill, H.R. 6407, include 58 other construction projects besides that of the Arkansas River. Before 1954, little progress had been made on the Arkansas River and the Chamber petitioned Congress to instruct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction as outlined in the bill. Because of emergency conditions confronting the nation due to the Korean War, a Truman administration order stated that no new projects would receive money for construction efforts. However, in 1954, Congress made appropriations for new projects on rivers other than the Arkansas. Thus, the chamber felt that the federal government was ignoring Arkansas’s need for a river supporting industrial and agricultural development. In its petition to the federal government, the chamber outlined the need for flood control and development of hydroelectric power and navigation on the river. Chamber efforts concerning river navigation finally paid off with completion of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in the mid 1970s. Ed Penick, 1964 Chamber chairman, recalled that in the 1930s, river navigation “was a big joke.” He reminisced about a 1936 canoe float trip down the river from Conway to Little Rock during which, “we walked most of the way [because] there was about half-knee deep water.” He said people thought “it would be a whole lot cheaper to pave [the river] than to make it navigable by water.” However, the Chamber’s persistence made possible “this very important navigable stream running right through the middle of the heartland that only cost about $2 billion.” Today, the development of the Arkansas River into a modern, year-round barge navigation route to import and export products from the nation’s mid-continent is one of the country’s finest engineering feats. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System provides a 448-mile channel from the Mississippi River northwest to a point 15 miles east of Tulsa, OK, on the Verdigris River. The project includes 17 locks and dams, lifting the river a total of 420 feet. The channel is 200 feet wide, with a minimum depth of nine feet, enabling fully loaded barges to navigate the water during the entire year. In 2007, the Congress authorized a deepening of the navigation channel to 12 feet. All along this 448-mile navigable waterway are opportunities for major heavy industry to take advantage of low-cost, bulk transportation facilities. Tonnage moved on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in the fourth quarter of 2007 showed a record increase over last year. Major movements on the river included petroleum products, sand and gravel, coal, wheat and soybeans, steel, stone, pipe, aluminum and chemicals. The Little Rock Port Authority provides a 1,500-acre heavy industry park connected to two full-service river terminals and a switching railroad. The Port Railroad connects the industrial park and river trade cargo with the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway systems. This full-service public terminals offer all industry in the Port and adjacent sites the opportunity to ship by barge. The terminals are equipped to handle almost any product, therefore allowing a cost-effective, efficient mode of transportation. Little Rock has the designation as Foreign Trade Zone – 14. This zone is in the Little Rock Port Industrial Park and encompasses the entire port. A 104,000-square-foot commercial warehouse structure is dedicated to the Foreign Trade Zone. Sub-zones of FTZ #14 are located across the state of Arkansas. The Little Rock Port Authority, Fred I. Brown Slackwater Harbor, funded by a successful Chamber-led initiative election, is an excellent attribute of the port. This safe harbor is 4,500 feet long, 300 feet wide and 15 feet deep. It allows barges to get off the main current of the river into the zero current of the harbor for loading and offloading. The harbor is surrounded by developed land ready for occupancy by heavy industrial users. Little Rock is a U.S. Customs Port of Entry for freight with customs officials on call. The Little Rock Port Authority therefore facilitates import and export of products while providing an efficient manufacturing location for heavy industry. The Port of Little Rock completed its $12 million program to build the infrastructure in the Slackwater Harbor, including drainage, a new dock, two new warehouses, three new roads, construction of rail throughout the Harbor, a new bulk products pier, providing water and sewer service to all Harbor sites, and rehabilitation of the existing rail line. In 2007, the Port’s railroad underwent a $5,000,000 reconstruction of the existing track and expansion of the marshalling yard to accommodate future industrial growth. Most recently the Chamber and Metro Little Rock Alliance landed three largest manufacturing locations in the region’s history – Welspun, LM Glasfiber and Man Industries. All will construct facilities at or near the Little Rock Port, accounting for over $350 million in new capital investment and 1,650 new jobs. Little Rock Air Force Base Back to Stuff After World War II, in 1947, the government created the Air Force as an independent branch of the military, separate from its parent branch, the Army. The War set the stage for the federal government to begin expanding the military across the nation and allied countries. The Chamber coupled the advantages of this military expansion with the creation of the new Air Force and had the foresight to envision a potential new industry in Arkansas – the possibility of an air base situated near Little Rock. The presence of air troops in Arkansas actually began as a single Army Air corps unit that was displaced from Chanute airfield in Illinois. The unit was placed at Adams Field, since developed into Little Rock National Airport. The Chamber realized that an air base required large amounts of land, space and money that were beyond the budget of the Chamber alone. Therefore, it looked to the Pulaski County Citizens Council for assistance. The community’s initial lack of enthusiasm for the air base became apparent when the Council was only able to raise $31 million from the surrounding communities out of the estimated goal of $50 million. However, as plans continued, support from the community increased. Over a six-month period, negotiations with collaborating chambers, current private owners of the land, and the Air Force resulted in numerous meetings and letters. State and county officials collaborated with the Chamber to encourage the Air Force to station a permanent and active air unit in Arkansas. In a 1952 letter to the secretary of the Air Force, the Chamber wrote: …it is the wish of ourselves and of those for whom we speak that our genuine desire to have a permanent Air Force installation placed here, and the people of our community would welcome the officers, airmen and civilians employed by the military who would be assigned here…We attach a study which gives in detail statistics and facts concerning our community… A comprehensive study of the Little Rock area included in the letter covered topics such as the construction facilities in Little Rock and North Little Rock, utility supplies, and labor costs. It also went on to mention the amenities of Little Rock including excellent transportation systems, health and hospital facilities, and its central location in a state with a temperate climate. The federal government refused to pay for land in Arkansas to locate a base. The government’s position was that with suitable lands elsewhere, if Arkansas wanted an air base, Arkansas needed to furnish the land and utilities itself. Thus, the Chamber began a search for suitable land. The Industrial Development Committee members, including 1952 Chamber Chairman Richard Butler, raised $1 million dollars to purchase the land for the air base. Said Butler, “That was a lot of money then…[it] doesn’t seem near as much [now] as it was in those years.” The first place to be considered, Adams Field, lacked the proper size and the ability to expand, making it an unsuitable location. By 1952, the Chamber and other business people in Pulaski County had three suitable land choices for an airfield: Wrightsville, Woodson and Jacksonville. Gas pipelines, poor drainage, and lack of accessibility to Wrightsville and Woodson eliminated those two townships. Jacksonville, however, had 9,000 acres of developed land, thereby fitting the requirements of an air base. These 9,000 acres, set aside in 1941 for the Arkansas Ordnance Plant, were left unused when it closed in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. The War Assets Administration sold these buildings to several smaller industries such as the Hiwasse Manufacturing Co, and the excess land was then available for use. The Chamber now had the task of convincing the military of Jacksonville’s excellence as a base location. Pulaski County agreed to cover construction expenses of a full 11,000-foot runway, updated utilities, and properly maintained roads. The approval for Little Rock Air Force Base passed congress on July 3, 1952. “A lot of us pounded the pavement to get that accomplished,” said former 1974 Chairman Robert Taylor. The Chamber negotiated the purchase of the land and made the actual transactions from the small industries that tenanted the areas. The Base Fund Drive reimbursed the chamber with monetary and land gifts from many investors such as the Arkansas Power and Light Co. (now Entergy). The Little Rock Clearing House Association, the Arkansas Gazette, and Arkansas Democrat also donated monies. The final boundaries of the air base encompassed 6,500 acres of the Jacksonville site. The Jacksonville area felt the economic effects of the air base immediately. Property prices rose considerably and both construction and employment in the nearby communities increased. Unfortunately, however, the necessary relocation of families in the nearby town of Toneyville resulted in many residents moving completely away from the area, as rising property values forced families to search further afield for comparable land space. As soon as final approval was given, Little Rock began construction of a four-lane highway from Little Rock to Jacksonville. The Chamber conducted a survey of family homes in the Little Rock and North Little Rock area to find out what type of housing could be provided to the families of the airmen stationed at the air base. The military housing decided upon consisted of two and three bedroom duplexes and three and four bedroom units. They were build in three groups on a 330-acre plot of land south of the base. The Chamber and other Little Rock officials hoped to ensure that the Little Rock Air Force Base was “something both the Air Force and the people of Pulaski County could be proud of.” A close liaison between the Chamber and the officials at the air base achieved this reality. The official ground breaking ceremony took place on December 8, 1953, but construction immediately stopped a week later due to union strikes. Four months later, the construction resumed with a no-strike and no-lockout clause in the workers’ contracts. The first base commander, Col. Joseph A. Thomas, helped to oversee the construction of the base. Although 12 names were submitted for the title of the base, it has always been called Little Rock Air Force Base. The official dedication occurred on October 9, 1955. Over the next few years, the base won the Strategic Air Command’s “Base of the Year” and several other distinctions. The increased housing and personnel to the area gave Little Rock’s economy a significant boost. Even small businesses such as pharmacies, mechanic shops, real estate companies, and home furnishings stores reported a tremendous boom in sales since the beginnings of the air base. The 1960 announcement that the air base would support the Titan II inter-continental ballistic missiles meant an even larger contribution to the economy and increased prestige for Little Rock as construction for the missile sites began in north central Arkansas. By 1980, the air base was one of the largest industries in Arkansas, exceeding $90 million in payrolls alone. According to Robert Taylor, the air base is one of the best contributions to the area in which the Chamber was involved. Today, the home of Combat Airlift is at Little Rock Air Force Base. The base is the world’s premier C-130 training facility – training all Department of Defense and 31 allied nations’ aircrews and maintainers on the C-130. Alltel Arena, Statehouse Convention Center Back to Stuff In 1995, the Chamber raised $280,000 and managed the county-wide election campaign that led to the construction of Alltel Arena and the expansion of the Statehouse Convention Center. Regional Economic Development Back to Stuff Metro Little Rock Alliance (MLRA) is a coalition of 11 counties (Conway, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Jefferson, Lonoke, Perry, Pulaski, Saline and White) dedicated to central Arkansas’s becoming recognized as the premier location for new and expanding business within the mid-south. MLRA is staffed by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Back to Stuff On June 30th, Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Ltd. (W.G.S.R.L) announced plans to build a manufacturing facility in Little Rock on a 740-acre site adjacent to the Little Rock Port Authority. Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce Chairman Russ Harrington (Baptist Health) hosted the event before a standing room only audience in the Chamber’s Deltic Timber Atrium. LM Glasfiber Back to Stuff On July 18th, at the Governor’s Conference Room, Governor Mike Beebe announced that Denmark-based LM Glasfiber will construct a new manufacturing facility in Little Rock. The site will feature a blade manufacturing plant and a dedicated training facility. The plant is scheduled to begin operations in first quarter 2008 and will employ over 1,100 people within five years. The LM Glasfiber location originated with and continues to be coordinated by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and Metro Little Rock Alliance. “We are very pleased to announce our new facility in Little Rock, which will become our largest facility world wide. The Little Rock plant is key to enabling us to serve our growing portfolio of customers in North America”, said LM Glasfiber CEO Roland M. Sundén. “The facility will help secure our customers’ long term blade supply thereby enabling their ambitious growth strategies while also increasing the robustness and visibility of LM Glasfiber’s North American sales.” LM Glasfiber will invest $160 million in the facility which will be located on a 135 acre site in the Little Rock Port. “We couldn’t be happier with the location” said Sundén. “Not only is the site ideally located to serve some of the central US demand for wind development, but Arkansas was able to accommodate our aggressive ramp up schedule and we have every confidence they will exceed our stated goals. The site itself offers excellent logistical options, whether by road, rail, air or marine. And when we considered the kind of amenities that are conducive for LM Glasfiber to attract and retain the people and talent we need, Little Rock was the natural choice for us.” “Renewable energy is a vital resource for the future of Arkansas and the United States,” said Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe. “Locating LM Glasfiber’s North American headquarters in Little Rock not only creates another flagship company with top-quality jobs for Arkansans, it also puts us on the global map as part of the effort to expand renewable-energy industries.” The Little Rock plant will be LM Glasfiber’s third North American production facility; effectively doubling the capacity of the existing factories in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Gaspé, Quebec. This latest capacity expansion reflects an overall strong market demand coupled with optimism for continued stability in the U.S. market. The U.S. is currently the highest growth market for new wind projects and the second globally in existing wind project installations. “We welcome LM Glasfiber and are confident they will find a dedicated and talented workforce here that is eager to get started,” said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, adding that bringing the company to Arkansas was a cooperative effort among City of Little Rock and Port Authority, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Metro Little Rock Alliance and Arkansas Economic Development Commission. For several weeks leading up to and following the announcement, representatives of LM Glasfiber quietly officed at the Chamber, planning the company’s entry into the region. LM Glasfiber is the world’s leading manufacturer of blades for wind turbines. The Group has approximately 4,200 employees in eight countries. LM Glasfiber is located in or close to the key geographic markets for wind energy, and the highly specialised R & D organization provides the most comprehensive industry know-how on the development and production of rotor blades. Manufacturing facilities are located in Denmark, Spain, the USA, Canada, India and China. For additional information, see the company’s website: www.lmglasfiber.com. Man Industries Back to Stuff At a March 14th news conference, Man Industries, a leading pipe manufacturer based in India, announced plans to locate a new manufacturing plant on a 162-acre site just south of the Little Rock Port. The company will invest approximately $100 million in the facility, which will employ 250 people. The facility will also serve as Man’s headquarters for North and South America. 8,017 New Jobs Back to Stuff
$280,537,208 New Payroll Back to Stuff $935,865,211 New Capital Investment Back to Stuff Since February 2005, the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and Metro Little Rock Alliance, Central Arkansas’s eleven-county economic development coalition, have partnered in generating the following economic development successes for the region:
Little Rock Film Commission Back to Stuff In 2006, the Chamber found the region’s film and content development efforts virtually nonexistent. Arkansas’s share of the annual $65 billion production industry was a paltry $4 million – almost two hundred times less than neighboring Louisiana’s $700 million. So, the Chamber began creating the economic development infrastructure to enable the region to compete with comparable metropolitan areas. The first step was to partner with the inaugural Little Rock Film Festival, founded by the Renaud Brothers (Dope Sick Love, Off to War), Little Rock’s own award-winning documentary filmmakers. Our partnership included having the Chamber Building serve as filmmaker headquarters for the festival, as well using our 88-seat, rear projection auditorium as the screening venue for films with Arkansas connections. The result was an immediate establishing of credibility among Arkansas’s small, but accomplished cadre of filmmakers. Capitalizing on the momentum of the festival, the Chamber then initiated the Little Rock Film Commission and joined the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), the global professional association of city, state and national film commissioners. Full membership required completion and passing of an online Film Commissioner Fundamentals course, as well as an onsite Film Commission Professional course at AFCI’s International Cineposium in Santa Fe. We then wrote, constructed and launched, in-house, an industry-targeted website – www.littlerockfilmcommission.com. We also assembled an A-list advisory council, consisting of active Arkansas resident filmmakers and producers. In order to raise public consciousness of the value of production to our region, we hosted, with the Clinton School of Public Service, a premiere of Randy and the Mob, the latest comedy feature from Oscar®-winning filmmakers Ray McKinnon and Lisa Blount, who recently chose to make Little Rock their home. With the inauguration Governor Mike Beebe in 2007 and his appointment of Maria Haley as director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, for the first time in over a decade, the State of Arkansas demonstrated the will to again become competitive in film development. With our Chamber’s efforts gaining traction and notice, we were asked by the AEDC’s deputy director to work closely with Christopher Crane, who was soon to be named the new Arkansas Film Commissioner. While attending Cineposium in Santa Fe, Commissioner Crane and the Chamber forged a fast partnership and pledged mutual support to reinvigorate the production industry in Arkansas. Recognizing that all successful economic development programs are centered on retention and expansion, Commissioner Crane and I made targeted industry visits to our region’s most prolific production companies – among them, JM Associates, Inc., which had quietly become the largest independent producer of network television series in the world. Through these visits, we were able to assess the companies’ infrastructure and workforce needs. The second question of every location inquiry is: “How deep is your workforce?” In order to grow our pool of skilled, below-the-line talent, we met with the region’s major university and two-year technical college to begin formulating industry-driven training, education and internship programs to grow a workforce capable of supporting the industry. The first question of every location inquiry is: “What are your incentives?” Arkansas was the first state to offer an incentive to the film industry – a 5% (nickel) rebate on all expenditures made in the state. Ironically, over 25 years later, we are now one of only seven states with no incentives. Working smartly as economic developers, in full partnership with the AEDC, we are laying the groundwork to change that in the next legislative session. Arkansas and the Little Rock region are blessed with some of the most diverse and envied locations in the world. With a unified, statewide, team approach to developing workforce and incentives, in less than a year, we have positioned the state and region to not only compete, but win in the fiercely competitive, but lucrative world of film production and content development. Back to Stuff
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