News in brief

Cargill mill marks 30 years of safety

Cargill's Springdale feed mill will celebrate 30 years of worker safety Friday.

Since 1984, none of the mill's employees have needed to take a day off because of an injury.

"Cargill was built on a firm foundation of respect, integrity and commitment to health and safety," said Shane Acosta, general manager for Cargill's turkey operations in Northwest Arkansas. "Employee and workplace safety is one of our top priorities, and the employees of the Springdale mill should take great pride in this tremendous achievement they have worked so hard to earn."

Each week, the Springdale mill receives about 110 truckloads of ingredients and ships about 112 truckloads of finished feed. The work involves handling rail cars and trucks as well as loading and unloading large grain silos. Nearly 40 employees work at the feed mill in 10-hour shifts.

"The Arkansas Department of Labor has been recognizing employers for safe work time for over 30 years," said Ricky Belk, director of Arkansas Department of Labor. "For a company to have a record of safety that spans nearly that entire time is an incredible achievement."

-- Brian Fanney

Wal-Mart to launch India retail website

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is launching a new e-commerce website in India aimed at smaller merchants, whom they consider their toughest e-sales converts in that country. The retailer estimates that the value of the market could be $50 billion by 2020.

Wal-Mart India's members-only, business-to-business services are only for mom-and-pop shops and other traders; government tax documents are required to become members. No one else can go in the stores or will be allowed to buy goods on the new e-commerce site, which cranks up in July.

The program will be piloted in Hyderabad in southern India and Lucknow in the north. It's expected to be available in the nation's 20 Wal-Mart stores by January. The company's sales representatives will train small business customers to use the website.

Previous attempts by Wal-Mart to gain a foothold in India's retail business have been unsuccessful.

-- Cyd King

State index up 0.64;Acxiom rises 1.3%

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 0.64 to 345.03 Monday.

Acxiom Corp. shares rose 1.3 percent to close at $21.21.

Windstream Holdings Inc. shares gained 1.3 percent to finish at a new 52-week high of $9.93.

Tyson Foods Inc. shares fell 0.79 percent to end at $35.15.

PAM Transportation Services Inc. shares hit $27.42 during intraday trading--just short of its 52-week high of $27.44. The company's shares closed at $26.59.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 06/17/2014

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