Bemis to sell branch to Hood Packaging
Wisconsin-based Bemis Company Inc. is selling its paper packaging division, including a plant in Crossett, to Hood Packaging Corp.
A spokesman for publicly traded Bemis said Friday that the Crossett plant makes multiwalled paper bags used in industrial applications and for packaging items such as dog food.
She said the plant employs nearly 250.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close sometime in the first quarter. The Bemis Company paper division had sales of $160 million in 2013 and in addition to the Crossett plant, includes operations in Omaha, Neb.; Vancouver, Wash.: and Minneapolis.
A spokesman for privately held Hood Packaging, which has headquarters in both Mississippi and Canada, did not return calls seeking comment Friday.
The company has operations across the U.S. and Canada, including a plant in Monticello.
- John Magsam
Electronics recycler planned in Osceola
Blue Oak Resources of Burlingame, Calif., plans to build a $33 million facility and create 75 jobs in Osceola, The Associated Press reported Friday.
However, a source who asked not to be identified said the deal for the project is about 95 percent completed and has not been finalized.
Blue Oak Resources will begin construction on the facility next month, the AP report states. The building will be constructed on 30 acres near the American Greetings factory in Osceola.
The business will remove gold, silver, copper and scrap metal from cellphones and other electronic devices and will be the first of its kind in the country, the source said.
John Correnti is chairman of Blue Oak Resources. Correnti also is chairman of Big River Steel, which plans to build a $1.1 billion steel mill near Osceola.
- David Smith
State index jumps 2.99, closes 322.62
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, jumped 2.99 to 322.62 Friday.
Twelve stocks rose and five fell.
Shares of Home Banc-Shares gained 6.5 percent in heavy trading.
Murphy Oil was up 5 percent with more than 5 million shares traded.
P.A.M. Transportation Services dropped 1.2 percent on light volume.
For the week, 13 stocks advanced and four declined.
Home BancShares rose 8.8 percent for the week.
Windstream shares climbed 7.6 percent for the week.
USA Truck lost 7.2 percent for the week.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 29 on 02/15/2014