American Railcar Industries expands its Paragould operations, will add up to 60 jobs
by August 17, 2016 3:11 pm 431 views
American Railcar Industries will add up to 60 jobs at a new manufacturing facility in Paragould. Corbitt Manufacturing, a component manufacturing operation with ARI, will begin production at the new facility this month, according to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, along with local leaders, made the announcement Wednesday in Paragould. ARI already has plants in Paragould, and Marmaduke that employ about 1,000 workers, according to the company.
“We are pleased to welcome ARI’s Corbitt manufacturing operations to Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “Corbitt is a key part of the company, ARI, who has a long history in Arkansas and has undergone several expansions over the years that have resulted in high-paying jobs in Northeast Arkansas.”
ARI has operated a freight car assembly plant in Paragould since 1995. It opened a second plant in Marmaduke in 1999. The company with spend about $3.5 million on the new Corbitt facility, according to information released. Corbitt produces components that are used in the railcars ARI builds.
It will provide components for the Paragould and Marmaduke plants. When the new facility will be fully staffed and at full operation was not released.
“The proximity of the new facility to our railcar manufacturing plants and the work ethic of people in Northeast Arkansas were two of the factors in choosing to start up a new facility in Paragould,” Jeff Hollister, president and CEO of ARI, said in a statement. ‘We are excited with the possibilities the Corbitt operations will likely bring to the city of Paragould as we expand our strong workforce and continue to support the success of our business. The capital invested in this new facility will help us to meet current and anticipated demand for key components that go on the railcars that ARI produces, at both our Paragould and Marmaduke, Arkansas railcar assembly plants.”
The ARI announcement is just the latest in new or announced new jobs in Northeast Arkansas. Peco Foods told Talk Business & Politics earlier this month that it initially planned to hire up to 1,200 workers at its new poultry processing plant in Pocahontas and its feed mill in Corning. That employment number has ballooned to 1,400, according to company officials.
American Silica LLC is slated to open a hydraulic sand manufacturing plant near Black Rock this fall and it will employ at least 50 workers, including contracted truckers. Hytrol in Jonesboro announced it has hired 30 more welders in recent weeks to meet demands, and overall employment at the plant is about 1,000 after recent expansions.