Resin maker to bring 121 jobs to Crossett

A company based in Ireland that produces resins for printing ink announced Monday (Nov. 8) it will build a new plant in Crossett, Ark., resulting in 121 new jobs for the southern Arkansas city.

AREZ International Ltd., of Ireland, will invest $6.8 million in the 270,000-square-foot operation that will also serve as the company’s North American headquarters for its subsidiary that produces “rosin-based resins for the printing ink industry,” according to the statement from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

The primary supplier of rosin to AREZ will be Georgia Pacific in Crossett. The Crossett facility will have the capacity to produce 25 million pounds of resin annually. AREZ will begin construction immediately and hopes to begin initial production by October 2011.

In addition to its headquarters in Ireland, AREZ International also has locations in mainland Europe and China. With the China manufacturing facility at capacity, the company chose to locate in Crossett to better meet the needs of clients in the U.S.

“With options throughout the country, AREZ chose to locate its first U.S. facility in Arkansas, and they will be pleased with the talent and work ethic they find here,” Gov.Mike Beebe said in the AEDC statement. “Paired with Georgia Pacific’s recent announced expansion, AREZ’s arrival builds the positive momentum for Crossett and Southeast Arkansas.”

Georgia-Pacific announced Oct. 20 that its mill in Crossett will receive investments of more than $250 million to upgrade one of its existing paper machines with the advanced technology and to install associated converting equipment. The investment could add up to 40 jobs.

John Smith, the chief operations officer of AREZ LLC, praised the efforts of state and local officials.

“We at AREZ are thankful for these attitudes because we saw the local manufacturing infrastructure, talent pool, and quality of life as very desirable for us to place our facilities in Crossett,” said Smith. “The government streamlined the process whereby we can get into operation much faster than we would have ever thought possible.”

The new jobs are obviously welcome news in Ashley County where the September 2010 unemployment rate was 9.2% among the county’s estimated workforce of 9,475. The rate also stood at 9.2% in September 2009.

Arkansas’ September unemployment rate was 7.7%, up from 7.5% in August and up from 7.5% in September 2009. The U.S. unemployment rate in September was 9.6%, unchanged from August and down from the 9.8% in September 2009.