Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Industries nix Clark County

Close didn't count in two cases for Clark County when it came to recruiting new industries.

According to Brown Hardman, president of the Clark County Industrial Council (CCIC), two industries had requested locations which included Clark County, but both decided the county was too far from where they actually wanted to be and declined to visit.

Hardman, at the August meeting of the CCIC, said the Arkansas Department of Economic Development (ADED) contacted the CCIC about the companies.

One wanted a location near Texarkana, while the other wanted to be between Clark County and Little Rock.

Information was gathered and presented to both companies showing what Clark County had to offer.

However, in both instances, the companies in question decided not to pay the county a visit because it was located too far from where they wanted to be.

The company interested in the Texarkana area looked, instead, at Prescott, Texarkana and Ashdown, while the other industry visited Malvern and Benton as these communities are closer to Little Rock.

According to Hardman, one company had stated it would hire about 200 people, while the other planned to hire about 100 workers, but would be paying $10 to $12 an hour, going up to $18 per hour.

At this point, he said, no decision has been made concerning the spec building, though meetings will be scheduled in the near future concerning it.

In addition, Hardman said, CCIC representatives will be meeting with the landscape architect on the satellite park on Malone Drive.

The results of the two meetings will be presented at the September meeting of the CCIC.

Christy Miller, with the Arkansas Workforce Development board, told the CCIC members about federal grant money available for the training of full-time employees.

She said the state has set aside $1.75 million for this program, which is open to for-profit businesses, but not for non-profit organizations.

Businesses and industries can apply for grants up to $175,000, with the funds, if approved, to be used solely for training current employees.

The AWDB, Miller said, will work with the Southwest Technical Learning Center to expedite the applications and speed up the process.

Those businesses and industries interested in applying for the grant can get an application on-line at www.arworks.org.

Following the business meeting, CCIC members were invited to tour Petit Jean Poultry and see how chicken is processed.

Petit Jean employs about 650 workers at the Gum Springs location and processes approximately 500,000 pounds of chicken daily. The industry has an annual payroll of $13 million.

Petit Jean was established in 1982, with the first plant located in Danville with a work force of 24 employees. By the end of 1983, the company had more than 500 workers.

The plant doesn't kill chickens, but debones them for Tyson Foods.

The Gum Springs plant opened March 11, 1991 with a staff of less than 100.

Seven years after opening, the plant hit a milestone, as one million man-hours were worked without a lost time injury.

Petit Jean is also a good corporate citizen for the area, as it donates to various churches, school organizations and community events, either by giving cash or products.

The company has cooked for the 4-H premium sale at the Clark County Fair, and donated chicken for the Gurdon Times Christmas Food Drive.