Mars Petcare opens at Chaffee; officials praise workforce

Chris Hunter began his comments at the official grand opening of the 305,000-square-foot Mars Petcare plant at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith with a sentiment that captured the mood of the day.

“Ain’t it cool,” Hunter, site manager for Mars, noted with what was more of an exclamation than an interrogative.

Acknowledging the coolness of the 11 a.m., Wednesday (Sept. 30) ceremony was Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe; Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker; Luc Mongeau, president of Mars Petcare U.S.; and more than 100 state, county and local officials and guests.

Mars Petcare announced November 2007 it would build the $80 million pet food plant at Chaffee Crossing and employ 200 full-time workers when the plant was fully operational. At the time of the announcement, the city of Fort Smith estimated the plant would result in an annual payroll of $7.07 million, with the average annual salary around $35,300. The plant produces higher-end pet foods, including the Cesar brand of wet dog food.

State and local officials stepped up financially to convince Mars to build in Fort Smith. The company received $2.2 million from Beebe’s quick-action closing fund, and other state incentives that totaled more than $19 million — with many of the incentives rewarded only when Mars begins hiring. The city of Fort Smith agreed to significant drainage upgrades near the plant site that, according to estimates in late 2007, could cost up to $1 million.

Hunter said during Wednesday’s event that the three main factors in the decision to build the plant in the Fort Smith area were location to ingredients, national logistics and the workforce. Hunter said the most important of the three was access to a regional workforce that is “smart, responsible and efficient.”

Mayor Baker, who thanked Mars for the decision to locate to Fort Smith, told a story about his family’s finicky 14-year-old dog. The dog, Baker said, would not eat commercial dog food. Then they by chance bought Cesar’s dog food, a Mars brand.

“Now that dog has two cans a day,” Baker said with an ensuing roar of crowd laughter.

Mongeau praised the Mars staff for constructing a building that was certified as a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building. The building is Arkansas’ first manufacturing plant to gain the certification, according to Mongeau.

Beebe’s comments were almost more of a pep talk. He noted that Fort Smith has probably “suffered as much as anyone” during the recession because of the loss of manufacturing jobs.

“It’s a great day when you can offset some of those losses,” Beebe said of the Mars opening. Continuing, Beebe encouraged area residents to not get their “dawbers down,” but to keep working toward more plant openings. He said Arkansas and Fort Smith have been hit hard by the recession, but not as hard as many other areas of the country.

Beebe also praised the region’s workforce, saying that the state can offer financial incentives, but that the “most significant” factor in economic development is having a capable workforce.

Cheryl Garner, vice president-economic development with the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, said having Mars, Graphic Packaging and Umarex all within close proximity is a great selling tool for the chamber. Indeed, the three large manufacturing and distribution operations are within easy view of each other.

“This makes it very attractive,” Garner said, “when we recruit, because they (prospects) are able to see what is happening with other national and global companies.”

Franklin, Tenn.-based Mars Petcare U.S. is a subsidiary of McLean, Va.-based Mars Inc., a privately-held company with $27 billion in global sales and 65,000 employees. The pet care operation has 20 facilities and 3,000 employees nationwide.