SPRINGDALE -- While Springdale's workforce has grown rapidly in the past five years, much of the growth has come from modest increases at a variety of companies, and it happened without much fanfare.
"Since 2010, you can't name them all," Perry Webb, president and CEO of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday of the companies. "They have been spread out across all types of industries."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Springdale added 4,004 jobs between March 2010 and March 2015, the most recent data available.
Also, Bill Rogers, vice president of communications and special projects at the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is working on eight potential manufacturing projects that could add a couple of hundred jobs.
"In terms of activity, its continues to be steady and heavy," he said. "All are local expansion projects." He added that they range from wholesale distribution, to research and development, and to transpiration.
One business that recently expanded is Pratt & Whitney. The company spent $6 million on capital projects in the past two years, and hired 50 additional workers in the past 16 months at its Springdale facility. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and 3rd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., toured the plant Wednesday.
Based in East Hartford, Conn., Pratt & Whitney designs, manufactures and services aircraft engines and auxiliary power units for commercials and military clients. Its Springdale facility -- Pratt & Whitney PSD -- is one of 13 worldwide repair centers and has 184 employees. It opened in 1994.
Mike Finan, general manager of the company's Springdale operation, said the $6 million expansion included five pieces of equipment that allowed the company to increase capacity by about 60 percent.
Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Development at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said most community leaders like to see diverse economic development.
"I think being located in a growing area demonstrates to a company that there is not just an ability to grow our own workforce, but to also attract talent," she said.
Rogers said South Coast Baking recently added a third shift at the Springdale factory that the California-based company opened last summer with 50 workers. He said plans call for employment to reach 150 and for a second line to start by year's end. The plant plans to eventually run four lines.
South Coast makes frozen cookie dough for clients that include Sam's Club, Mrs. Fields and Panera Bread Co..
Ecotech Consumer Products, a division of Olivet International Inc., started processing resin April 15 and has 23 employees, said CEO Terry Muldoon. He said he plans to add about 10 workers this year.
The Springdale plant uses Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s plastic waste and turns it into pellets for plastic products.
Whitbeck Laboratories Inc. plans to build a new facility on land it purchased in Springdale's technology park. The firm started in 1978 doing microbial analysis and has expanded services to include food and product safety, veterinary diagnostic and poultry serology.
"It's a great homegrown business that has expanded and created some growth opportunities," Rogers said.
Another homegrown business that's expanding is Now Diagnostics, he said. The firm is creating a line of at-home and in-clinic diagnostic tests for ailments such as food allergies, sexually transmitted diseases and chronic illness. The company has about 25 employees.
"The company started about a year ago and is seeing rapid growth with a testing device in Europe," Rogers said. "They expect to have approval in the U.S. soon."
Business on 05/28/2015