HOT SPRINGS — A global consumer packaging company is expanding its operations in Hot Springs, adding more than 150 new jobs by the end of the year.
Rexam announced the new positions at an afternoon news conference outside the plant, 106 Delta Place.
Malcolm Harrison, group director of Rexam Plastic Packaging, said the expansion here is the result of a consolidation effort that shut six other plants in the last 18 months. About 100 jobs were lost at each of those plants, company officials said.
Harrison said all Rexam plants, including the one in Hot Springs, were reviewed as the company determined how it would consolidate. Ultimately, he said it was chosen for expansion instead of closure because of confidence in the workforce and incentives offered by the state.
"We all know the economic environment we're operating in continues to be a tough one," Harrison said. "And in that environment you have to make choices ... and then it's about where do we go, where we're confident that we have the right technology, the right skills and the right prospects."
Gov. Mike Beebe, who praised the new jobs in a brief speech at the announcement, said Rexam received "typical, performance-based incentives based upon new payroll, based upon sales taxes paid for any construction and equipment" and money from the Quick Action Closing Fund.
He said keeping the existing jobs and adding new ones are both especially good news given the tough economy.
"Every time we get new jobs or save existing ones - and both are occurring here - is something we all ought to celebrate," he said. "... It's a pretty successful day for Hot Springs and frankly that makes it a successful day for all of Arkansas."
The Hot Springs plant, which makes more than 12 billion plastic jars and closures each year, already employs more than 250 people. Hiring for the new positions, described as manufacturing and supervisory jobs, has already begun.
Anyone interested in applying for the new positions can visit the Arkansas Workforce Center in Hot Springs or call 501-525-3450.
In addition to the investment in jobs, the company will lease additional warehouse space in Hot Springs and invest in "new technology," though company officials did not divulge how much that would cost. The expansion will focus on creating caps for carbonated soft drinks and water bottles.
On its website, Rexam calls itself the world's second largest consumer packaging group and says it employs 24,000 people in more than 20 countries.