< Previousrex Company Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of high- performance composite decking and railing, cemented its long-term commitment to Arkansas on August , when it celebrated the topping out of its newest U.S. factory: a $ million plant in Little Rock. ree years in the making, this facility on acres at the Port of Little Rock will employ workers once it reaches capacity following buildout. Joining existing company plants in Nevada and Virginia, this new factory will be Trex’s most modern and most high-tech. “We are thrilled to reach this important milestone in the development of our new facility,” said Bryan H. Fairbanks, president and CEO of Trex. “We continue to experience broad-based demand driven by strong consumer interest in outdoor living. is new campus will enable us to provide our customers with signifi cantly better access to Trex products while strengthening our position for future growth.” Fairbanks was joined at the event by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who gave Trex a warm welcome. “Great things happen when every level of government and the private sector are working on the same page,” she said. “ at’s what this facility represents: not just one business investing in Little Rock, but an entire network working together to make it happen. As we cut taxes and invest in our workforce, companies like Trex are only going to grow.” Since Trex fi rst announced in that it would build a new plant in Little Rock, the state government of Arkansas has reduced taxes three times, eliminated burdensome regulations and tweaked its incentives programs to help growing companies expand in the state. On top of that, Arkansas has worked to improve its workforce training and development programs, earning the state the No. ranking for workforce development in the South-Central Region from Site Selection magazine. Greenville, South Carolina-based Global Location Strategies assisted Trex in the site search. “We had a great experience working with the state and local team for the Trex project,” says Sarah S. White, principal and vice president of site selection with GLS. “ e by RON STARNER T TREX CASE STUDY All Decked Out: Trex Builds on Commitment to Arkansas Photo courtesy of Trex 68 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDEteam was well organized and attentive throughout the whole project. If we ever ran into a hurdle, they were great at pivoting to find a solution. There was also great coordination directly with the governor, which further exemplified the teamwork at all levels.” Building a Bigger Path Forward Trex executives attending the topping-out ceremony noted that they were looking for a place that aligned with their values and paved the way for future growth. They said they found all that and more in Arkansas. “This new campus has the potential to be Trex’s largest and most productive,” said Adam Zambanini, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Trex. “The facilities will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, employ proprietary technologies and energy-efficient systems designed to drive optimal output with a focus on sustainability.” Trex’s composite outdoor products use no hardwoods and are 100% recyclable. The firm currently has 13% of the outdoor decking and railing market share, annual revenues of $1.25 billion, a profit margin of 21%, and a total market capitalization of $7.2 billion. The Winchester, Virginia-based company employs 1,765 people and has registered a 5-year return of 50% for its shareholders. Upon completion, the new plant in Little Rock will include buildings dedicated to decking manufacturing, plastic recycling, warehouse operations and administrative offices. Trex selected Lexington, Kentucky- based Gray Construction to design and build the new campus. “As we reach the topping-out milestone, we are not just marking the completion of the highest point of this structure, but also celebrating the hard work, dedication and collaboration of everyone involved in this project,” said Brian Jones, president and CEO of Gray Construction. “This achievement reflects the collective commitment to excellence and innovation from Gray, Trex and all our trade partners. We look forward to delivering a landmark that will stand as a testament to what we can accomplish together.” Talent Pipeline Full of New Recruits Trex has already begun hiring key facility management positions for the new plant, and recruiting of production workers will begin later this year. Trex is known throughout the industry for offering highly competitive wages and benefits to its personnel. Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said, “Trex’s announcement of its $400 million manufacturing facility was a major win for Arkansas, and we’re excited to see this important milestone. In the coming years, Trex will be creating hundreds of good-paying jobs, and Arkansas has an experienced manufacturing workforce and strong talent pipeline that can meet the company’s needs.” Trex was formed in 1996 and has grown steadily over the years. Its products are now carried in more than 6,700 retail outlets across six continents. Trex has been named to the Barron’s list of the 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies for 2024 and was named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2024 by Newsweek. ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 69 Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined Trex executives and other state leaders at the August 2024 topping-out ceremony for Trex in Little Rock. Photo courtesy of Trex “ This new campus has the potential to be Trex’s largest and most productive. ” — Adam Zambanini, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Trex70 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE Westrock Coff ee: Brewing Up Success in Arkansas WESTROCK COFFEE CASE STUDY T he name “Ford” is synonymous with “business” in the United States. In Detroit, it conjures up images of automobile manufacturing and assembly lines – dating back to Henry Ford and the Model T Ford. In Arkansas, though, the name “Ford” stands for another pioneering family. Joe Ford is an iconic Arkansas businessman who served as the president and CEO of Alltel Corporation, leading the company during a period of signifi cant change in the telecommunications industry. His son, Scott Ford, later became president and CEO of Alltel from to . Both Joe and Scott Ford have become synonymous with business success in Arkansas. Leading a Fortune telecommunications giant would be a career capstone for anyone – but for the Ford family, it was just the start of a bigger entrepreneurial journey. Following his retirement as CEO of Alltel, Scott Ford decided to take a year off to spend time in Rwanda and help develop the country’s economy. e primary cash crop in Rwanda is coff ee, and at the time, there were only two coff ee mills in the country. “And so maybe not the greatest business decision I ever made, certainly for a long time it didn’t look like it, but really out of anger and out of, just a sense of this just can’t stand, I called my wife and I said, ‘Let’s build a coff ee mill.’ And she said, ‘Fine. What are you doing?’ And I said, ‘I’ll fi ll you in when I get home.’ at’s where it started,” said Scott Ford. “And from that – just build a mill so that people can get a fair price, we then fi gured out that the best way to Westrock Coffee CEO Scott Ford speaks at the grand opening of the company’s 570,000-square- foot, $315 million manufacturing facility in Conway, Arkansas, in June 2024. The plant’s 45-acre campus is the largest “roast to ready-to-drink” manufacturing facility in North America. Photo courtesy of Westrock Coffee CompanyARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 71 grow that model around the world was to have a business that people gave us their demand. So, if we can go in, in the developed world, we get a greater book of business to go place orders for coffee around the developing world, and that way we can expand that model to impact millions of people. And that’s where Westrock Coffee kind of came from, and it’s the reason we’ve done everything since, in the last 14 years.” Scott Ford became the CEO and co-founder of Westrock Coffee with Joe Ford serving as co-founder. A major milestone for Westrock Coffee was its acquisition of S&D Coffee & Tea in 2020, which was the largest coffee and tea manufacturer in the U.S., as well as supplier to restaurants and convenience stores, for $405 million. A veteran of multiple mergers and acquisitions, Scott Ford saw the value in acquiring S&D to quickly expand Westrock Coffee’s offerings. “Everybody said, ‘But they’re three times our size,’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve done this before. I’ve seen this movie, it will work out, you just have to work it every day,’” said Ford. Following this acquisition, things quickly started percolating for Westrock Coffee. In 2021, Westrock announced that the company had purchased a 524,000-square-foot building in Conway, Ark. with the intent of establishing a new development, production, packaging, and distribution facility. This facility would be the largest roasting to ready-to-drink facility of its kind in the United States. “We could not be more excited to headquarter our state-of-the-art extracts and ready-to-drink facility in Conway and Central Arkansas,” said Scott Ford. “This decision represents our unwavering commitment to our employees, the community, and our customers. By expanding our jobs and packaging facility, we are strengthening our foundation for growth and reinforcing our dedication to delivering quality beverage solutions. We are grateful for the support of the governor’s office, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the community of Conway for its continued support.” This announcement was only the start of the company’s investment in its Arkansas operations. Westrock Coffee continued to scale its operations, and in 2023, the company announced that it would be investing $300 million in Arkansas and creating 600 new jobs at the Conway facility. Using state-of-the-art equipment, the Westrock Coffee employees in Conway will manufacture and package a range of products, including canned or bottled cold brew coffees, lattes, assorted teas, and juice-based products as well as single-serve coffee cups. This facility also includes an industry-leading product development lab and FDA-certified pilot plant, enabling Westrock to create, test, and produce new beverage solutions. Westrock Coffee held a grand opening for its Conway facility in June 2024 – ahead of schedule. For Scott Ford, this facility’s opening represents the start of what he hopes Westrock Coffee will accomplish. “My ambitions for this team are well- placed and embarrassingly high,” said Ford. “I think we’ll be the leader in this industry at least across North America, and probably over two if not three continents within the next 10 years.” Today, Westrock Coffee is headquartered in Arkansas and manufactures products that go all over the country. Co-founded by a father and son who have both made their mark on business in Arkansas, Westrock Coffee is a family affair – the company also employs other members of the Ford family – that is brewing up success in the Natural State. “This is the greatest place to be an entrepreneur, to be an investor, to be a capital deployer in commercial for-profit businesses in the world,” Scott Ford said. “I travel for a living, I always have. And people say, ‘You still live in Arkansas. Why?” And I said, ‘I hope that before your days are finish, you’ll come to realize you could’ve lived in Arkansas all these years too.’” 72 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE On a Mission: SIG SAUER Grows in Arkansas t all started with a phone call. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson called SIG SAUER President and CEO Ron Cohen during his first week in office, inviting Cohen to come to Arkansas and consider doing business in the Natural State. Cohen’s first response? “Is this real? Is he really the governor of Arkansas?” Cohen recalled during the opening of SIG SAUER’s latest expansion in Arkansas. Despite his incredulity, Cohen decided to make the trip to Arkansas to see what was happening in the state. It was a trip that would set in motion a long-lasting and fruitful relationship between SIG SAUER and the State of Arkansas. I SIG SAUER CASE STUDYARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 73 “I flew over and that started a romance with this state. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” said Cohen. “And it shows that you can build something together with the support of government. So thank you, Governor. And it’s not just the governor, it’s the state of Arkansas.” Following his visit to Arkansas, Cohen and SIG SAUER announced plans to invest in the state, locating a new ammunition manufacturing facility in Jacksonville. The Elite Performance manufacturing facility initially was set to have 50 employees. Even in the early days of SIG SAUER’s “romance” with Arkansas, Cohen indicated that the company would be a long-term partner with the Natural State. “SIG has invested $30 million in this facility in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and we are just starting,” he said during a 2018 event. What started out as a modest investment began expanding quickly. Since its beginnings in 2016, SIG SAUER’s operations in Jacksonville have expanded to produce ammunition for every branch of the U.S. military, special forces and NATO allies. By 2023, SIG SAUER had more than 340 employees at its Jacksonville facility. SIG SAUER announced its plans in October 2023 to expand its operations in Jacksonville, creating more than 600 new jobs. The company announced that it would be investing $150 million in component hybrid case manufacturing, primer manufacturing, and load/pack operations that would be supporting U.S. Department of Defense contracts. SIG SAUER began developing a 250,000-square-foot facility to house the manufacturing processes supporting its U.S. Army Next Generation Squad Weapons and 6.8 Hybrid Ammunition contracts. One short year later, SIG SAUER opened its Jacksonville Arkansas Ammunition Center (JAAC). In total, the facility represented a $225 million investment that will create 675 new jobs in Arkansas. This facility is estimated to have a more than $300 million annual economic impact in Arkansas. “We chose to do something that matters, matters to a lot of us that served and to everybody else at SIG. We understand the mission,” said Cohen. “We feel that we are on a mission to change the world.” Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, along with U.S. Senator John Boozman and local officials, joined Cohen for the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the JAAC facility in October 2024. “Arkansas is proud to be home to this facility. It isn’t just a quarter million square feet of manufacturing space and more than 600 jobs, it reinforces Arkansas’ place as the arsenal of America,” said Sanders. “To Ron and all the team at SIG SAUER: thank you for believing in Arkansas and investing in our state. And to everyone who played a role in bringing this facility here: thank you for your hard work.” With the opening of the JAAC facility, SIG SAUER plans to scale up production rapidly. According to Cohen, SIG SAUER’s investment in Arkansas has been a mutually beneficial one – and the company is looking to continue this relationship in the years to come. Cohen said, “I promise you that this is not the end. This is the beginning.” Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke on October 9, 2024 at the opening of SIG SAUER’s ammunition manufacturing expansion in Jacksonville. Photos courtesy of SIG SAUER74 ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE inning in economic development requires great infrastructure, favorable taxes, low business costs, and a strong workforce. ese factors are non- negotiable for companies that are locating a new facility or expanding an existing one. An equally important but less tangible factor essential to economic development success is teamwork. When companies are looking to grow, challenges will inevitably pop up. It might be an issue with energy generation or wetlands, or the company might decide to pivot to a larger site. Whatever the problem, a well-oiled economic development team needs to be able to work together and pivot to solve problems. In Arkansas, collaboration at the local, regional and state levels is how projects are won. Weyerhaeuser Company announced a $ million investment in November in southeast Arkansas, which was won because partners at every level joined together to solve challenges and bring this project home to the Natural State. e Weyerhaeuser project began life as Project North Star in mid-. e Arkansas Economic Development Commission received the RFI for Project North Star in July , kicking off the eff ort that would last well into . Weyerhaeuser’s team looked at multiple locations as part of a multi- state site analysis process. Arkansas had a range of factors working in its favor, including ready access to natural resources, a strong timber workforce, and overall low costs of doing business. Timber is abundant in Arkansas with W Winning Project North Star WEYERHAEUSER CASE STUDY TimberStrand® product made by Weyerhaeuser will be manufactured at the company’s new plant in southeast Arkansas near Monticello and Warren. Photos courtesy of Weyerhaeuser19 million acres of forestland, covering more than 56% of the state’s total land area. The forest volume has steadily increased in recent decades growing from 611 million tons of timber to 1,200 million tons in 2022. An experienced timber workforce was another key element that set Arkansas apart. The forest products industry provides more than 50,803 direct and indirect jobs in Arkansas at nearly 500 locations across the state. But the teamwork that went into Project North Star elevated Arkansas to success. Securing this project for the Natural State was a model of local, regional, and state collaboration. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) team collaborated with multiple partners, including the Monticello Economic Development Commission; local leaders in Monticello, Warren, Drew County, and Bradley County; the Southeast Arkansas Intermodal Authority; and multiple utilities, including the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives and C&L Electric Cooperative on the project. AEDC and the local economic development team worked closely with C&L Electric Cooperative, led by CEO David Vondran, to provide a competitive electrical package for Weyerhaeuser and its southeast Arkansas site. Providing the power generation needed for the timber facility was critical for winning this project. Weyerhaeuser ultimately selected a site near Monticello and Warren, Arkansas for a new TimberStrand® facility, which will expand the company’s engineered wood products (EWP) capacity in the southern United States. According to the company’s estimate, the Arkansas facility will have a production capacity of approximately 10 million cubic feet once it begins operations, which is expected in 2027. “This is an exciting opportunity to grow our EWP business, expand TimberStrand® into the U.S. South and provide an additional outlet for our fiber logs in Arkansas,” said Devin W. Stockfish, president and chief executive officer, in the company’s release. “Of the wood products we produce, EWP has the strongest tie to single-family housing construction activity, and this new facility aligns with our conviction that U.S. housing demand will remain favorable over the long term. In addition, this plant will allow Weyerhaeuser to better serve other customers and end markets in the region, including mass timber applications, and it supports our broader sustainability ambitions. I’d like to thank the state of Arkansas and local officials for working with Weyerhaeuser to site this facility. We look forward to building on our long history in the state and providing new employment opportunities in the Monticello community.” Locating the new TimberStrand® facility in southeast Arkansas reduces Weyerhaeuser’s supply chain for resources, given the proximity of abundant local timber. Weyerhaeuser will source fiber log materials from its own timberlands in the region. Weyerhaeuser owns approximately 1.2 million acres of timberlands in the south Arkansas area. In addition, the new facility complements Weyerhaeuser’s existing operations in Arkansas. The company currently operates a lumber mill in Dierks and a plywood and veneer plant in Emerson, as well as a seedling nursery and multiple offices in the state. “Weyerhaeuser’s $500 million investment is an incredible milestone in Arkansas’ rural economic development momentum,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “This project will be transformational for Southeast Arkansas, strengthening our state’s timber industry and creating 200 new jobs. We are grateful for Weyerhaeuser’s commitment to Arkansas, and we congratulate the local leadership for their hard work in securing this major economic development project.” Working with a single-minded mission to bring new industry to the state, Arkansas economic developers partnered and solved problems to win Project North Star. Weyerhaeuser’s new TimberStrand® facility will be a major part of the state’s timber industry, and it will create hundreds of jobs, both direct and indirect, for Arkansans throughout the southeastern part of the state. ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 75by LINDSAY LOPP QUALITY OF LIFE & OUTDOOR RECREATION Where Endless Adventures Await Pinnacle Mountain State Park Photo courtesy of Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourismrom the rugged peaks of the Ozark Mountains to the waters of Lake Ouachita, Arkansas’ natural beauty can only be described as awe-inspiring. Dubbed an “adventure paradise” by Outside Magazine, the state’s expansive network of trails and riverways gives visitors and locals alike opportunities to explore a diverse range of ecosystems in a single state. At Arkansas’ 52 state parks, outdoor enthusiasts can access mountainous terrain, bottomland channels and dense forests rich with unique wildlife and breath-taking views. Whether by hiking, biking, canoeing or kayaking, thousands of people a year come to see for themselves why Arkansas is often called “The Natural State.” A Tourism Hot Spot According to a recent report from the National Park Service, approximately 4.4 million people visited a National Park in Arkansas in 2023, spending an estimated $289 million in the local gateway regions. As a result, these expenditures helped support over 4,000 jobs, $111 million in labor income, $198 million in value-added and $375 million in economic output. Hot Springs National Park, the oldest national park in the nation, received 2.5 million visitors alone last year. Known for its 47 thermal hot springs, this natural wonder attracts tourists come from all over the world. People visited this area for centuries to soak in the mineral rich waters, once believed to have healing properties. Though the springs are no longer available for that activity, there are several nearby bathhouses that offer spa experiences using the water. ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 77 FNext >