Tag: Whirlpool

Whirlpool’s spin cycle

The Fort Smith Board of Directors should put the brakes on this request by Whirlpool Corp. to ban the installation of groundwater wells in an area near the company's former…

Board asked to approve Whirlpool pollution plan

Tuesday's study session of the Fort Smith Board of Directors ran the gamut as Ward 4 Director George Catsavis fired and missed in his attempt to get a repeal of…

Fort Smith area resiliency, challenges noted

Umarex and Walther Arms, Inc., recently announced they would share a campus in Fort Smith, housing both the expansion of Umarex operations and North American headquarters for Walther, makers of…

Fort Smith Realtor questions Whirlpool’s ‘well’ request

Jerome Flusche is concerned that Whirlpool Corp. is trying to leave Fort Smith without cleaning up chemicals that may remain in the ground near the company’s large manufacturing facility. In…

Whirlpool touts its commitment to U.S. job creation

Whirlpool Corp. recently bought a full-page newspaper ad in the Tulsa World touting the appliance maker’s commitment to creating U.S. jobs by saying it is: "Building the best in the…

Officials respond to manufacturing rebound talk

News on Thursday (Dec. 6) that Apple plans to shift $100 million in spending to build Mac computers in the U.S. added energy to a nascent belief that American manufacturing…

Sources: Whirlpool Fort Smith plant deal dead

No deal. That’s the word from sources who say the sale of Whirlpool’s large Fort Smith manufacturing operation to Infinity Asset Solution is off. Officials with Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool…

Grad student researching Whirlpool impact

Leslie Hassel plans to be in the Fort Smith area several days during the fall 2012 semester to gather oral histories and other information for what she hopes will be…

Deal pending on sale of Whirlpool plant

There is some uncertainty about a deal being final, but Whirlpool Corp. officials say they have sold the more than 2 million square-foot plant in Fort Smith, but the new…

Economist: Lessons to learn from Beebe’s frustration

There are two primary lessons to learn from the verbal lashing Whirlpool Corp. recently received from Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe: 1) What the Governor thinks probably doesn’t matter to Whirlpool…

Beebe not happy with Whirlpool; talks tax cuts

Gov. Mike Beebe isn’t happy with Whirlpool, believes some of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s federal budget plans could be “problematic and troublesome,” and is willing to put his tax-cutting credentials…

300-plus attend regional job fair

More than 300 jobseekers had filed in to the Fort Smith Convention Center Exhibit Halls A and B during the first 50 minutes of the 7-hour Careers for Our Region…

Whirlpool workers: ‘Glad it’s finally over’

Fred Denney and Pete Galvan say Whirlpool officials are “cheap bastards.” And that was after they were given a few chances to soften their opinion. Whirlpool announced Oct. 27, 2011,…

Fitzpatrick left Whirlpool before it left her

Tamara Fitzpatrick feels like she’s losing a friend. More than a friend, really. A family member. The former Whirlpool employee grew up with the Fort Smith plant a central part…

2% or 20%?

A friend related to me a conversation he had a few years back with a yellow pages salesman. The salesman was explaining to him the difference, in his opinion, between…

Whirlpool closure appears clean from environmental view

The closure of the Whirlpool plant on June 29 may leave a crater in the Fort Smith economy, but the company appears to be ready to leave the facilities now…

Rheem layoffs not a sign of departure

Rheem Manufacturing laid off 16 salaried jobs at its Fort Smith plant and a distribution center in Lewisville, Texas, on Thursday (May 24), but a company official says the move…

ILPEA may close Fort Smith plant

The more than 40 jobs at ILPEA in Fort Smith could soon represent additional fallout from the closure of Whirlpool’s Fort Smith refrigerator manufacturing plant. ILPEA, which makes gaskets and…

Degree ‘options’ focus of new ATU-Ozark program

A new degree program at Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus is designed to provide students with more options and should be more “relevant” in a Fort Smith metro area plagued with…