New Jobs Coming Through 4 Announcements In Phillips County
by October 16, 2011 7:00 pm 190 views
Four companies in Helena-West Helena today announced they are opening or expanding operations in the area, creating a total of 87 new jobs and investing several million dollars.
The projects include the following companies: Enviro Tech Chemical Services, Inc., Delta American Fuel LLC, Quapaw Products LLC and Southern Hardware Co., Inc.
Enviro Tech Chemical Services, Inc., a chemical company based in Modesto, Calif., focuses on the food safety and water treatment industries. It will open a new Helena-West Helena facility that will produce peroxyacetic acid to be used in sanitizing meat and poultry to reduce or eliminate pathogenic organisms such as E. coli and salmonella. The company will invest $1.5 million and create 30 new jobs.
Delta American Fuel, a biodiesel production facility producing fuel from soybean oil, currently has 10 existing employees and plans to create 30 new jobs in an expansion. The company is co-located and co-owned by Planters, a fertilizer distribution company.
Quapaw Products, a manufacturer of specialty chemicals for industrial users, plans to add 18 new jobs and invest $1 million. The company, which currently employs three people in Helena-West Helena, is a subsidiary of Harcros Chemicals, a major distributor and producer of industrial chemicals.
Southern Hardware Co., a subsidiary of the Bostwick-Braun Company, of Toledo, Ohio, a wholesale distributor of hardware, plumbing, electrical and industrial supplies, has been in operation in Helena-West Helena since 1914 and plans to invest $2.14 million in an expansion, including nine new employees. The company, which is 100% employee-owned, plans to expand and modernize its warehouse facility to support planned increases in its customer base and product catalog. The existing facility serves a trade radius of 400 miles and has an active customer base of more than 500. It currently has 60 employees including 48 in Helena-West Helena.
Helena-West Helena is the county seat of Phillips County, which had an unemployment rate of 11.2% in August. Arkansas’ latest unemployment rate was 8.2%.
“It takes communitywide effort to improve a town’s future, and that’s what we’re witnessing today in Helena-West Helena,” said Gov. Mike Beebe (D). “To see four companies locating or expanding here at the same time is a tremendous show of faith in the skills and dedication of the people in Phillips County.”
“We appreciate the commitment of these four companies to doing business here and are committed to doing whatever we can to support their growth,” said Helena-West Helena Mayor Arnell Willis.