Canadians pull out of deal to purchase Whirlpool property

— Fort Smith city and economic development officials are once again seeking a buyer for the idle Whirlpool Corp. plant after a potential buyer pulled out of the deal.

In September, Whirlpool said a Canadian firm, Infinity Asset Solutions, had agreed to buy the 2.19 million-squarefoot building. On Wednesday, Whirlpool said the deal was off.

“Whirlpool Corporation has learned that the potential buyer of our Fort Smith facility has withdrawn their offer. In cooperation with local and state economic development officials, Whirlpool is diligently working to identify potential buyers,” Deborah O’Connor, a Whirlpool spokesman, said in a statement.

Infinity Asset Solutions, based in Concord, Ontario, disposes of assets for private and public companies. A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at Infinity said no one would be available to talk about the company’s decision.

Whirlpool ceased operations at the plant June 28, laying off about 800 workers. At its peak production in August 2005, the plant employed as many as 4,600 workers. Employment at the plant dropped the next year when the company opened a plant in Mexico.

By 2009, the Fort Smith plant’s work force had shrunk to fewer than 1,500.

Chuck Fawcett, who runs Chuck Fawcett Realty Inc. in Fort Smith and handles com- mercial and residential properties, said he was disappointed the sale didn’t go through but is optimistic a buyer will be found.

“There will be a lot of other people looking at it. It’s a great building,” he said, adding that it also has rail service, is close to interstate highways and in a region that is home to a plentiful labor force.

“We have a lot to offer here,” he said.

The unemployment rate in the Fort Smith metropolitan area was 7.9 percent in October, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday. The figure was at 8.3 percent a year ago.

Arkansas’ unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in October and the national rate was 7.9 percent, the department said.

Fort Smith has long been one of the state’s major manufacturing centers but in recent years has seen a shift toward more service-sector jobs, which include financial services, information processing, health care and administrative and support services.

A recent analysis by the University of Arkansas’ Center for Business and Economic Development at Fort Smith documented the shrinkage in manufacturing jobs in the region, finding a decline from 16 percent of total jobs in 2007 to 14 percent in 2010.

Ivy Owen, executive director of the Chaffee Crossing development in Barling, said the Whirlpool plant likely will need to be divided into parcels to attract buyers.

“There’s all sorts of possibilities of what you can do with 2 million square feet,” he said. “Basically, you just divide it up. I’ve seen that work before and I know it can work.”

Several companies could be looking for smaller manufacturing space, and few would likely want the entire space, he said.

“I am convinced that we have got to reposition ourselves. We can’t wait around for somebody that wants a 2-million-square-foot building,” Owen said.

Business, Pages 27 on 11/29/2012

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