Crossing the Line

The potential for interstate collaboration is often touted, but rarely exploited. However, the critical mass of industry in the southeast is engendering real collaborative progress.
        It can take effect in smaller ways, such as the addition of 25 employees to the payroll at Southeastern Anodizing Co. in Clanton, Ala., as a result of the firm's contract with the new Nissan plant in Canton, Miss. And it can take on a larger profile as well.
        In April 2003, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove announced their intention to form a regional alliance and an industrial park that will sit on both sides of the state line in the perpetually struggling Black Belt region of both states.
        "We are trying to make the best use of our resources, property and location to attract new jobs and industries to this area," said Musgrove. "With the impact of the national recession on every state, it's important to look for ways to combine strengths and improve the quality of life for our citizens."
        "Now, instead of bidding against each other for large industrial projects, we can partner our resources and each spend less incentive dollars," said Riley, adding that a prospective company will be able to draw on the work force from both states.
        Bob Rohrlack, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, and Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office, are working with their respective state legislatures on drawing up plans for regional economic development districts that cross the state line.
        In the meantime, Mississippi is pleased with having garnered its own legislature's support, first for the continuing efforts of the Mississippi Development Alliance and, second, for passage of a crucial $48-million bond issue to back Northrop Grumman's improvements at the state-owned Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is the state's largest employer, and will widen its lead during the expansion by adding 2,000 to its current payroll of 11,000.
        Among recent projects to land in the northern end of Mississippi is the $40-million distribution center in Southaven, just south of Memphis, Tenn., for semiconductor firm Future Electronics. The facility will employ up to 350 people within five years.
        "We considered seven different states and more than twenty communities before deciding to choose Southaven," said company CFO Pierre Guilbault at the February groundbreaking.
        The Montréal-based company is not the only one seeking the distribution advantage in DeSoto County, which as of June boasted some 47 industrial sites and 30 industrial buildings, including 6,600 acres (2,671 hectares) at the Newport Industrial Complex in Lake Cormorant and 2,100 acres (850 hectares) at the Tri-State Industrial and Business Park in Walls.
        Scottsdale, Ariz.-based retailer Wireless Retail will occupy 163,500 sq. ft. (15,189 sq. m.) at the city's Airways Distribution Center, employing more than 100. The facility will replenish 80 percent of the chain's direct-to-store orders and 100 percent of direct-to-consumer orders and services.
        "Location and accessibility are key components to ultimate success in any service business," said Paul Elliott, vice president, operations and supply chain for Wireless Retail. Among the facility's attributes is reduced freight costs, enhance operating efficiencies and improved service and market response.
        Yet another company has also made the Southaven move. El Paso, Texas-based Helen of Troy, a manufacturer of personal care products ranging from hair dryers to mirrors, has moved from leased to purchased space as part of its growth strategy, moving into a 619,000-sq.-ft. (57,505-sq.-m.) eastern U.S. distribution center that's also in the Airways Distribution Center.
        "This distribution center replaces leased warehouse space of approximately 300,000 square feet [27,870 sq. m.]," said Gerald J. Rubin, chairman, CEO and president of Helen of Troy, "and will provide additional space for our newly acquired Hair and Skin Care Products Division and for projected increased sales in our other product categories, by warehousing a variety of our existing personal care products."
        When combined with what Memphis, Jackson, Tenn., Marion, Ark. And northeast Mississippi are doing, Alabama's borderline activity carries some hefty momentum.
        "Thanks to a governors' alliance, there has been a renewed commitment to regional initiatives through the Memphis Regional Chamber and particular partners to not only identify and market key sites in the region, but to inventory our infrastructure, and to identify the advantages and seek ways to meet the challenges of that provision," says Jim Flanagan, president and CEO of the DeSoto County Economic Development Council.
        Among other measures, the partners, including Entergy and the Tennessee Valley Authority, are pooling their research in order to properly catalogue "mega-sites" in the region.