< Previous58 MI S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G UI D Eeing located in the heart of one of the country’s fastest growing regions, Mississippi is an increasingly attractive location from which to distribute all manner of finished products.Just ask Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. One of the largest industrial companies in the U.S., Cooper recently selected the town of Byhalia in Mississippi’s northwest corner for its biggest warehouse in the country. The 1 million-square-foot facility represents a $50.5-million investment — $10 million by Cooper and $40.5million by private developers — and creates approximately 100 jobs.Cooper is leasing the facility in the Gateway Global Logistics Center in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park in Marshall County. The new location will allow the company to efficiently consolidate and distribute products directly to its customers, as well as supply its regional distribution centers.“The new facility will enhance our logistics infrastructure, which supports our efforts to offer exceptional service to our customers by helping us get tires to them when and where they want them,” said Cooper’s Director of Supply Chain, Bob Sager. “This facility is a complement to our current U.S. distribution network that includes six regional distribution centers and three plant manufacturing warehouses, adding to our capability to be flexible and responsive.”Mississippi’s location is ideal for distribution companies interested in taking advantage of its proximity to 100 million people — 32percent of major U.S. population and business centers — within one day’s drive. Locations in Northern Mississippi are but a short drive to Memphis, Tennessee, and the massive FedEx U.S. distribution hub, proximity to which provides Mississippi shippers with an added advantage.BD I S T R I B U T I O N A N D W A R EH O US I N GMISSISSIPPI OFFERS A PRIME LOCATION AND A WELL-INTEGRATED TRANSPORTATION NETWORK FOR WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTION.by G A RY DA U G H T E R SSephora, the international beauty products retailer, recently cut the ribbon on a new distribution center in Olive Branch, just below the Tennessee line and 25 miles from Memphis. The 720,000-square-foot facility in DeSoto County’s Prologis Park created an estimated 400 jobs.Another company newly taking advantage of Mississippi’s strategic location is Mueller Industries, which makes and distributes plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration and industrial products. The company has opened a warehousing and distribution operation in Fulton, along Interstate 22 in northeast Mississippi. The 74,000-square-foot facility represents a $3.83-million investment and created 60 new jobs.“Mueller’s location in northeast Mississippi provides numerous benefits, including exceptional access to a well-integrated transportation system so the company can quickly and efficiently reach its customers,” said Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant.A number of other companies, including Cardinal Health, Fiskars, Helen of Troy, Williams-Sonoma, FedEx and Wal-Mart also have found success in Mississippi’s distribution and warehousing arena, which is bolstered by six interstates and 14 federal highways. The state also boasts 15 ports — including two deepwater ports — as well as international airports in Jackson and Gulfport. Railways provide access to 25,000miles of track leading to Canada, Mexico and the central U.S.Mississippi also offers incentives to distribution and warehousing companies locating within the state, including the Free Port Warehouse Property Tax Exemption, which allows local governing authorities to grant full exemption on personal property held before being transported. M I S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 5960 MI S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G UI D EThe PlasticsMississippi: The PlasticsMississippi: P L A ST I C Sf you thought the world was going away from using plastics, think again. Just because more restaurants are replacing plastic straws with paper ones does not mean that demand for plastic products is declining.Case in point: Mississippi. Plastics and advanced polymer science are big business in the Magnolia State. According to the Plastic Industry Association, Mississippi is home to plastics manufacturers and establishments engaged in plastics processing, marketing, support and captive activities that directly employ 8,160 workers. The state is also home to many plastics-dependent industries that use plastics to make products or provide services. Plastics and dependent industries combined employ 377,960 workers in Mississippi.The payroll impact of these establishments is mind-boggling. Plastics firms and plastic-dependent companies RESEARCH CENTERS FUEL GROWTH OF POLYMER SECTOR ACROSS THE STATEby RO N S TA R N E RIM I S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 61in Mississippi together account for an annual payroll of $14.369 billion.The tax impact is substantial too. Plastics companies and the industries that depend on plastics contribute $3.1 billion in state and federal personal income taxes, plus another $1.5 billion in payroll or FICA taxes.The Plastics Industry Association also reports that plastics industry shipments in Mississippi totaled nearly $4.1 billion in 2016, ranking the state No. 25 in plastics industry shipments.As a result, firms that employ plastics manufacturing workers in Mississippi are growing. McNeely Plastics recently invested $6.5 million to expand its manufacturing operations at its plant in Hazlehurst. The company added 25new jobs to its 59,000-sq.-ft. facility in the Copiah County Industrial Park.Indiana-based Richardson Molding, meanwhile, announced in early 2018 that it would invest $5.3 million to expand its plant in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and hire 53new workers. The company, which is buying new equipment, said it was increasing production to meet higher demand. The move came just one year after the firm spent $1.25 million to expand its facilities.Expansions continued in 2018, as Summit Plastics announced a $3.3-million investment to expand production lines and the footprint of its facilities in Pike County. The expansion of the plant on Highway 51adds 30 jobs to the local economy and increases the workforce at the Summit plant to 80.Approximately one year earlier, B&D Plastics LLC announced its intent to expand its plant in Gautier on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The $750,000 expansion created 35 jobs. B&D is one of the largest fabricators and manufacturers of dual-laminate equipment in the U.S. The expansion added 16,375 square feet to the firm’s 50,000-sq.-ft. facility in Gautier.Many of these companies are drawn to Mississippi by the research institutions located at the various state universities. Two that are pivotal to the growth of the plastics sector are the Composites Materials Research Group at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and the Mississippi Polymer Institute (MPI) at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.MPI is a national leader in the study of composites, advanced materials, polymers and plastics. MPI helps companies in the plastics/polymer industry find solutions, train employees, and improve processes and products. The institute has one of the most advanced rapid prototyping systems in the world. MPI is housed at the Accelerator, a $28-million complex that offers more than 60,000square feet of space for work in advanced polymer R&D.Mississippi’s four public universities (Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Jackson State and USM) offer undergraduate degree programs certified by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in 16 different fields, including polymer science and engineering at USM. 62 MI S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G UI D EA G R IB U S IN E S SSuc cessSuc cessFarmMississippi has more than 35,000 farms covering 10 million acres.PHOTO BY SHAY LA’VEEby S AVA N NA H K I NGM I S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 63griculture is big business in Mississippi — the biggest in fact. Nearly 30 percent of the state’s workforce is employed in agriculture and forestry. And with more than 35,000 farms covering 10 million acres, there’s plenty of room to grow. Mississippi is among the top 20 producers for 15 agricultural commodities. For years, companies like Borden, Koch Foods, Sanderson Farms, Tyson and Uncle Ben’s have enjoyed success in The Magnolia State. In 2017, Mississippi produced $2.79 billion of poultry products. Cal-Maine Foods is the largest producer and distributor of fresh eggs in the U.S. and has its headquarters in Jackson. And in 2017, Pearl River Foods invested $2 million into a new processing plant in Carthage that created 150 jobs. After more than 70 years in the state, Sanderson Farms is a Fortune 1000 company and has grown to be the third largest poultry producer in the country. The company’s headquarters is still located in the Sanderson family’s hometown of Laurel. In 2017, Sanderson Farms was named one of Mississippi’s Healthiest Workplaces. “Sanderson Farms is proud of its roots in the American South,” said Joe Frank Sanderson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. “Though the company has grown in size, our commitment to the values of honesty, hard work, and innovation has remained steadfast.”Mississippi’s No. 2 industry is steadily growing as lumber producers continue to invest in the state. “With 66 percent of the state’s geography comprising approximately 20-million acres of forestland in Mississippi, forestry is a strong and growing economic driver throughout the state,” said MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough, Jr. “The state’s abundance of natural resources make Mississippi the ideal location for the state’s new and existing forest products companies to achieve their goals.” Only two years after opening its first sawmill in the south, Biewer Lumber announced plans in MISSISSIPPI’S AGRICULTURAL ROOTS RUN DEEP WHILE BUSINESSES REAP THE BENEFITS. ASuc cessFresh 64 MI S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G UI D ENovember to expand in Newton. The state-of-the-art sawmill will increase production by more than 100-million board feet annually. The $40-million expansion will create 45 jobs.“Since opening its sawmill in Newton two short years ago, Biewer Lumber has been an active and supportive member of the Mississippi business community. The company’s expansion and creation of 45 new jobs speaks volumes to the strong business environment found throughout our state — and environment that fosters growth and innovation for all of Mississippi’s corporate partners,” said Gov. Phil Bryant. In Vicksburg, another new lumber mill recently opened with the creation of 125 new jobs. In March 2018, Anderson Tully Company announced the closure of its Vicksburg operations as of May 15th. Jackson-based Vicksburg Forest Products purchased the assets associated with Anderson Tully and is investing in significant plant upgrades. Once operational, Vicksburg Forest Products will manufacture Southern Yellow Pine lumber with a goal of producing up to 100-million board feet per shift. The company plans to purchase raw materials from a number of landowners in the surrounding area. “Our company is proud to be investing in Vicksburg, where we believe there is both a talented workforce and a strong sense of community. We are especially appreciative of the pro-business environment that the State of Mississippi and Vicksburg have showcased to us through the coordinated efforts of the Vicksburg-Warren Economic Development Partnership and the Mississippi Development Authority,” said Billy Van Devender, manager of Vicksburg Forest Products. “We look forward to having a long and prosperous future in the Vicksburg community and the Warren County area.” Mississippi 2017 Commodity ValuesPoultry$2.79BForestry$1.39BSoy$1.11BCotton$562MCorn$337MSOURCE: MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY66 MI S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G UI D EF I RE A RM SA###LEAD IMAGE: GUNS/BULLETSSource: Getty Images GETTY IMAGESM I S S I S S I P P I D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 67ccording to a 2017study by John Dunham and Associates, released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the economic output of Mississippi’s firearms and ammunition industry totaled nearly one-half billion dollars in 2016, good for an 18th-place ranking among the 50 states.In addition to serving hunters and other gun owners, Mississippi’s firearms industry helps bolster the United States Armed Forces. Nammo Talley, based in Mesa, Arizona, produces ammunition for the Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) system at its facility in Lowndes County in Mississippi’s Golden Triangle. The $97.2-million contract created 12new jobs at the facility in Crawford, which was specifically designed for the high-volume final assembly of shoulder-launched munitions like SMAW projectiles. The facility is also designed for high-rate pyrotechnic operations and storage.“Mississippi has a strong, growing presence in the defense sector, and Nammo Talley’s contract further strengthens the state’s foothold in the industry,” said Gov. Phil Bryant.The Nammo Group, Nammo Talley’s Norway-based parent company, recently took an ownership position in the technology company MAC Ammunition LLC, another Mississippi-based supplier to the Armed Forces. Based in Bay St. Louis, MAC is a leader in the development of lightweight polymer cartridges for small- and medium-caliber ammunition. MAC has developed a polymer-based round for the U.S. Marines that weighs about 92 grams, a crucial 25 percent lighter than traditional rounds. “Twenty-five percent might not sound like a lot,” says Joe Gibbons, MAC’s co-founder, “but it’s huge for the fighters who carry it. And since the fighters aren’t loaded with all that extra weight, the helicopters flying combat support can carry more fuel, and that’s huge, too.”Nammo’s executive vice president for Small and Medium Caliber Ammunition, Reijo Bragberg, describes MAC as “a company that is the front-runner in development of lightweight technologies, which are of great importance to our defense customers. “This,” said Bragberg, “is a very exciting opportunity for Nammo.”As a firearms-friendly state that offers a “Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday” before hunting season, Mississippi actively recruits and supports gun and ammunition manufacturers. Helanbak, Precision Delta and Olin Winchester are among the Magnolia State’s best-known arms makers.“In our state,” declares Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn, “you will not be criticized for providing goods to the law-abiding citizens who enjoy hunting, shooting, or who just want the peace of mind that comes with the constitutional right to protect their families.” MISSISSIPPI WELCOMES MAKERS OF GUNS AND AMMUNITION.by G A RY DA U G H T E R SFFFFIREARMS RIENDLYNext >