< Previous28 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE whose members — including Senators Rep. Steve Womack — enjoy powerful seats on congressional military affairs committees. Then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson played a key role as well, according to Tim Allen, the Fort Smith Chamber’s president. Allen recalls a dinner at which Hutchinson hosted a delegation from Singapore, a key participant in the program that also includes Poland, Germany, Finland and Switzerland. The Singaporeans, says Allen, were expressing a desire for a longer runway than what existed at Ebbing. “Gov. Hutchinson immediately took that issue off the table and said we’d extend it by 1,300 feet,” Allen says. “He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll have it ready before you get here.’ And that was a big, big moment. “Nobody thought we could do it,” says Allen, but the runway extension was completed in 12 months, with most of the $22 million cost absorbed by the state and the rest by local agencies. The F-35 program is expected to create hundreds of support jobs at Ebbing and more off-base, including construction jobs needed for the housing of foreign visitors associated with the mission. “Just think of the mission as a magnet for defense contractors coming to Fort Smith,” says Allen. “Lockheed is already here with more than 100 people. Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, both partners in the F-35, have said they’re interested in coming. We believe there’s a Department of Defense future here in Fort Smith.” Seizing the Momentum Ebbing is one of five military installations in Arkansas, the others being Little Rock Air Force Base, the state’s largest; Camp Robinson, located in Pulaski County and Joint Force Headquarters of the Arkansas National Guard; Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center near Fort Smith; and Pine Bluff Arsenal in southeast Arkansas. Together, according to Ator, these installations account for some 26,000 jobs and $6.3 billion in economic impact, up 33% since 2016. “You add on what’s beginning to happen at Ebbing and some other projects,” he says, “and I expect it to take another huge jump.” The 6,000-acre Little Rock AFB employs about 7,000 military and civilian personnel, making it the fifth-largest single worksite in Arkansas. It’s home to the C-130 School of Excellence, which trains aviators from 47 countries on the workhorse transport plane. “Everybody who flies the C-130,” says Ator, “comes to Little Rock to train.” In addition to a $1.9 billion economic impact, the base confers other benefits to the Little Rock community. Witness the cybersecurity program at nearby Jacksonville High School, which base officials helped to establish with a $600,000 grant meant to establish a needed pipeline of cyber warriors. A full four years of study, says Ator, can lead to a promising future for graduates. “We’re not just giving grades,” he says. “There’s a certificate on the back end. So, if a kid goes through the course of instruction, they’re going to be able to claim a job paying $70,000 a year or more.” Arming Friends Under Siege Occupying the grounds of the former Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot in Camden, the 19,000-acre Highland Industrial Park has become the economic backbone of Ouachita County in southern Arkansas. The park hosts major operations from some of the nation’s top military contractors, Lockheed-Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, General Dynamics and Raytheon among them. More are likely to follow. Lockheed-Martin and Aeroject Rocketdyne, the park’s largest tenants, each employ more than 1,000 defense workers. According to Ator, contractors at Camden are producing some of the most impactful weapons in use on global battlefields, including munitions being used to defend Israel from rocket attacks and Ukraine from Putin’s Russia. The General Dynamics facility, he says, recently won a billion-dollar contract to supply Ukraine with 155-millimeter artillery shells. Soon after, a General Dynamics-Lockheed partnership signed on to build rocket motors for Israel’s “Iron Dome” air defense system. “There’s a lot of stuff going on out there,” says Ator, “and all of it is very meaningful.” Fighter pilots are learning to fly the F-35 Lightning II at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Photo courtesy of DVIDSARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 29 rkansas Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald calls the gigantic lithium deposit discovery in the Smackover Formation a game- changer for the Arkansas economy, but that’s not the only change coming to the state, he says. Increasingly, people from all across the country are beating a path to the Natural State — and they are choosing to relocate for the career opportunities, quality of life and outdoor amenities that Arkansas offers, he said in a recent wide-ranging interview. Here is that discussion: What is the ultimate impact of the huge lithium deposit recently discovered in the Smackover Formation? MCDONALD: I think the potential is huge. It is a brand-new industry that has fallen into our lap. We have been pulling out brine for 60-plus years in the bromine sector. The largest lithium producer has been here for a long time: Albemarle. Technology for direct lithium extraction is new. World-class companies are here in the extraction sector. Many others across the globe are looking at the DLE technology. We believe that Commerce Secretary highlights multiple game-changers for Arkansas. by RON STARNER A COMMERCE SECRETARY INTERVIEW Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald: Putting Our Foot on the Gas Hugh McDonald, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Commerce. Photo courtesy of AEDC30 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE the research is going to prove that direct lithium extraction can be economical at scale. These companies would not be here if they did not believe it. In the recent U.S. Geological Survey, they have talked about 5 to 19 million tons of lithium in the Smackover Formation — roughly nine times what is needed to meet U.S. demand over the next decade. There is no other place in North America that has this level of concentration as a resource. Our goal is not to just pull it out of the ground but look at it for both downstream and upstream opportunities. The EV market is in a slump right now for various reasons, but all indications are that this industry is here to stay. Arkansas can have a significant role in supplying other downstream products. How is the steel industry progressing in Arkansas? MCDONALD: Very well. We have steel fabrication. We have the whole materials sector. We have some of the most efficient and high-quality green steel plants in the world with the new Big River Steel and now U.S. Steel mills. The second big steel mill is starting up this week. NUCOR and Big River Steel will be up and running in Mississippi County. We will produce more steel in Mississippi County than any other county in the country. The late steel industry executive John Correnti called this place Steel Mill Heaven. Do you foresee Arkansas making a play to get into the data center business? MCDONALD: We are certainly talking to them. I expect that we will have some. I would also say that this is not a strategy for us to have data centers all over the state — because of the power capacity you have observed. I used to run Entergy Arkansas. That whole industry sector uses a tremendous amount of power. I cut my teeth working on a nuclear reactor in Southern Louisiana. We have to have more nuclear generation in this country if we are going to get to a carbon-free energy future. About 65% of the energy for Entergy Arkansas comes from nuclear power. “ There is a whole different vibe coming out of Arkansas now. We are trying to bring attention to what a great place this is. ” — Hugh McDonald, Secretary of Commerce, ArkansasARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 31 Over the last five years, Arkansas has been ranked as a top five state for people relocating to new homes. Why are they choosing to move to Arkansas? MCDONALD: They are saying: I am tired of the rat race. I am tired of the stress. I am tired of the high cost of living. I am tired of the whole metroplex way of living. Arkansas has done a pretty good job of telling its story from a tourist perspective. Northwest Arkansas has done a better job of talking about its quality of life and from a recreation standpoint. That region of the state has been one of the fastest growing regions of the country for the past 20 years. I have a daughter and son-in-law who moved from Houston to Bentonville. It is like they have died and gone to heaven. They love the outdoors. They found a great place to live. Their home has doubled in value in the last five years. People are also moving here for the value. Little Rock was ranked by Realtor.com as the No. 3 place in the country for lowest cost of living. You can also get to anywhere you want easily here. You will see these trends in our middle-sized cities. Arkansas has lots of outdoor recreational activities. In my case, I can be at an outdoor preserve very quickly and easily.32 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE How has the perception of Arkansas changed during your time here? MCDONALD: The perception has indeed changed. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is very pro-business. She is a millennial and she brings a new perspective to leadership. She promotes our outdoor opportunities every chance she gets. Bentonville and the Walton Family Foundation have led the effort to make Bentonville the mountain biking capital of the world. The Ozarks is the place to be right now. Arkansas has a cool factor that it did not have 10 years ago. A lot of good things are happening here. I moved here 24 years ago for my career. We thought we might go back to Austin or to Minnesota, but we decided this is our home. Our kids all moved back here as well. This is a great place to live and a great place for business owners too. What is Arkansas doing on the talent attraction front? MCDONALD: We have been working on a talent attraction campaign for the past eight months or so. We will go live soon. We will look at veterans to start. That is a demographic that has been overlooked. These people are all well- trained and well-educated. This is just the first of many targeted areas. We will also reach out to millennials and target them for talent attraction. We will launch that campaign very shortly. Are there any specific workforce development strategies that you would like to mention? MCDONALD: Yes. One of the Governor’s main priorities is to get our workforce development better aligned with our workplaces. We have 48 higher- ed institutions around the state. Are they aligned to what employers need? Over the last two years, we have worked to get 2-year colleges more aligned and more directly focused on their customers. Their customers are the employers — not the students. Our goal is to get them more aligned with what employers need and want. We are making very good progress across the state. #1 State for Affordability Source: U.S. News & World ReportARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 33 Is there anything else you would like to say to the site selectors and CEOs who will be reading this interview? MCDONALD: Yes. The Governor has placed a higher priority on supporting entrepreneurs in our state. Sam Walton was an entrepreneur from the very start. Tyson and Hunt were entrepreneurs. William Dillard of Dillard’s and Charles Murphy of Murphy Oil and Jack Stephens of Stephens Investment Banking were all entrepreneurs before they became global iconic names. Within state government, we are doing more work and doubling down on supporting entrepreneurial organizations. We are getting chambers of commerce across the state more engaged in supporting entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are people we love to recruit as well. We have done a great job in Northwest Arkansas of recruiting people and companies in the outdoor recreation economy. Arkansas has had a perception of not being the most positive location. I do believe that is changing. There is a whole different vibe coming out of Arkansas now. We are trying to bring attention to what a great place this is. We are at a turning point with the external perception of the state. People are coming here of their own volition. We are working on strategies to create more economic development sites and tweaking our energy policy to encourage more energy projects with an all of the above energy focus to meet the growing energy needs of the state. So, my message is simple and direct: Take the risk to start up a new business and grow your business here, and you will be rewarded for choosing to make that investment. “ Take the risk to start up a new business and grow your business here, and you will be rewarded for choosing to make that investment. ” — Hugh McDonald, Secretary of Commerce, Arkansas34 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE OVERVIEW Members of the AEDC team gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of Elopak’s new facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, in March 2024. Photo courtesy of AEDCARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 35 hen it comes to economic development, there’s a lot of momentum in Arkansas. From entrepreneurs to established companies expanding and locating new facilities, Arkansas is winning more than its fair share of economic development projects with more in the project pipeline. At the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), our initiatives and resources, and most importantly – our team – are focused on keeping this momentum going by helping communities be prepared to win economic development projects and on helping businesses be successful in Arkansas. This is encapsulated by our mission statement: “At AEDC, we know economic advancement doesn’t happen by accident. We work strategically with businesses and communities to create strong economic opportunities, making Arkansas the natural choice for success.” Our team at AEDC tackles a wide scope of responsibilities – from working to recruit new businesses, helping entrepreneurs succeed, partnering with rural communities, and putting Arkansas on the radar screen of executives through our marketing initiatives. But there is one quality that unites all these divisions – no matter what their job responsibilities are. From our Business Development team to the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development team and from Community Development to our Business Finance teams and beyond, AEDC strives to provide the highest levels of customer service to help businesses and communities reach their full potential in Arkansas. Every day, the AEDC team is motivated to help businesses and communities by collaborating with them to meet their goals and by being forward-thinking to anticipate any challenges or opportunities for growth. We are dedicated to our mission, and we’re committed to getting results for Arkansans. W Culture of Excellence: Arkansas Wins in Economic Development ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 3536 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE It’s that customer service that is helping Arkansas get results and win economic development projects. In October 2024, Luxembourg- based trailer manufacturer Faymonville Group announced plans to locate its first U.S. manufacturing facility at the Port of Little Rock. This $100 million investment will create 500 new jobs in the central Arkansas region. It was not a given that Faymonville would choose Arkansas. The company conducted a nationwide site selection search for suitable locations before learning more about Arkansas from one of their major distributors, Hale Trailer Brake & Wheel in North Little Rock. From this point, the AEDC team, working in collaboration with the Little Rock Regional Chamber, began actively pursuing the project, providing high-touch customer service to reel this project in. AEDC’s Business Development team and the Little Rock Regional Chamber’s economic development team hosted Faymonville executives in June 2024 for a tour, showing the company potential locations in the region and introducing them to key business stakeholders. This was followed by a meeting between Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, Little Rock Regional Chamber President and CEO Jay Chesshir, and company executives at the Farnborough International Airshow in July. Faymonville executives returned to Arkansas in August for a final visit. This is when the Arkansas team turned up the heat to win the project. Knowing that the company executives were car connoisseurs, Governor Sanders sourced a classic car to chauffeur the Faymonville executives during their stay in Little AEDC employees Mallory Race, Cory Ingram, and Laura Kingrey. Photo courtesy of AEDCARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 37 Rock. In between visiting potential sites, Faymonville executives got the chance to see Arkansas landmarks and eat at Natural State staples like Wright’s Barbecue. “We explored numerous states, yet nothing truly resonated with us until we discovered Arkansas,” said Anne Faymonville, team leader for marketing, Faymonville Group. “After my initial visit, I was truly blown away. The economic and political advantages are impressive, and it’s the beautiful surroundings, the vibrant community, and the warmth of the people that truly captivated me.” Faymonville is only one of the companies that AEDC has provided this white-glove service for. The AEDC team meets with companies across the world, including traveling to Japan and South Korea with Governor Sanders to meet with executives and having a whirlwind tour of India, visiting with companies that have operations in Arkansas and companies considering new locations. When Arkansas was competing to win a project with Tate Inc., a global leader in raised access floors manufacturing, AEDC worked alongside the local team in northeastern Arkansas to treat company executives to a duck hunt dinner. This dinner gave Tate executives a slice of what life is like in Arkansas – and they took this experience back home with them to Ireland. It led to a new manufacturing facility in Pocahontas that will create 148 new jobs. Cutting-edge information technology company Provalus also made a significant investment in northeastern Arkansas after executives were treated to a fine dinner at the local mayor’s home in Walnut Ridge. Provalus saw the customer service that Arkansas brings to the table, and they decided to put a facility in Walnut Ridge, creating up to 200 new jobs. This high-level customer service is what it takes to win in economic development, and it is what companies and communities can always expect when working with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “AEDC has a culture of excellence that drives everything that we do, whether that is working with entrepreneurs or helping a local community,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “We know that Arkansas is a great state to live and do business, and we work hard to ensure that our stakeholders and prospective companies get the best experience possible in the Natural State while working alongside our team.” AEDC’s Fred Lewis and Alicia McCloria. Regan Pugh and Bethany Duncan are part of AEDC’s Business Development team. Next >