Bekaert High on Wire, Wages

Major Rogers employer Bekaert Corp. connects an international legend of success across the sea from Belgium to Northwest Arkansas. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Bekaert Group of Zwevegem, Belgium, the company is the world’s largest independent producer of high-grade steel cord and wire.

rHowever, the company operates quietly, hardly calling attention to itself as it daily produces enough brass-coated wire to circle the earth six times. A single thread of Bekaert’s of wire can support 2,000 pounds.

rAt more than 1 million SF, five Wal-Mart Supercenters could fit inside the mammoth Bekaert plant in Rogers’ industrial park. Originally building the plant for $188 million, the company also expanded the space twice, each for about $30 million. Last month, the plant celebrated 10 years in the Rogers location.

rAbout 270 employees operate the plant’s three-shift cycle.

rRogers fills the needs of the manufacturing plant by being located near a major highway, Interstate 540, and an active port that’s operated by Global Materials Services LLC in Fort Smith, said Bekaert plant operations manager Rick McWhirt.

rStrategically locating the plant in Rogers also placed the plant directly in the middle of its circle of clients.

r”We don’t want to be too far away from our customers,” McWhirt said.

rTwo-ton spools of dirty gray steel, each about the size of a small car, stack to the ceiling of the plant’s warehouse, waiting to be stretched, whipped and spun into various sizes of cord for radial tires.

rBraiding the cords into specific patterns for Bekaert’s main client, Goodyear Tire, the machines are operated 24 hours a day to fill the demand.

rNone of the tire materials from the Bekaert plant supply Firestone tires, McWhirt said.

rDeclining to provide production figures for the site, he said fierce industry competion restricts him from detailing dollar figures.

rPlants producing the designs for steel reinforcement in tires must use layers of precaution to keep their products secret, he said. A competitors clause in each employer’s contract and a strict prohibition of photography within the plant are two protective measures used by Bekaert.

rSecrecy doesn’t ward off any potential employees, because Bekaert pays higher wages than most industrial positions. But an agreement with other Rogers Industrial Park firms prevents Bekaert from disclosing its wage rates.

r”We try to stay on the very top edge of wages,” McWhirt said.

rRelying heavily on automated machinery, the plant roster includes manual laborers, engineers and a small administrative staff. Attendants maintain the machines and stock the raw materials, while driverless transporters operate on a time schedule to move the finished product between stations for shipping.

rAdding to the efficiency of its operations, the plant’s parent company uses its engineering firms to create all of the automated machinery for steel cord production.

rTrying to avert any copying from competitors, all of the engineering devices remain unpatented. Rogers’ Bekaert Corp. is backed by a wealth of experience in many different industries.

rFounded in 1880 in Zwevegem, the Bekaert Group produces wire and steel cables for automobiles, champagne cork wire, telecommunications, staples, fish hooks, windshield wiper blades and fencing.

rDuring the last year, Bekaert Group stock prices ranged on the Brussels exchange between $36.8 and $50.8 per share. At the end of the fiscal year in December 1999, Bekaert had 22.4 million shares outstanding. Earnings per share stood at $3.11.

rUp from consolidated profits of $37.3 million for the first half of 1999, the Bekaert Group increased by 22.8 percent to $45.8 million for the first half of 2000. Net sales for the parent company were $1.5 billion in 1999.

rAbout 18,000 people in more than 70 locations around the world work for Bekaert. Aside from manufacturing wire applications, Bekaert also owns 16 financial and engineering companies and several software entities.