Arkansas Gaining Momentum in FDI
Four international companies have created about 1,600 new jobs in Arkansas in the past year, and combined they invested $425 million in the state. They are Norwegian packaging company Elopak ($70 million, 100 jobs in Little Rock), French aerospace company Dassault Falcon ($100 million, 800 jobs also in Little Rock), German firearms maker Walther Manufacturing ($30 million, 76 jobs in Fort Smith) and another German firearms and ammunition producer, SIG Sauer ($225 million, 675 jobs in Jacksonville).
They’re in good company. Arkansas is home to nearly 530 international companies that employ 59,100 workers, according to the Global Business Alliance (GBA), which tracks foreign direct investment (FDI) on the national and state levels. Nearly 31,000 of those workers are employed in manufacturing — that’s 52% of all FDI employment. From 2016 to 2021, FDI employment in Arkansas jumped 30%. Overall private-sector employment grew 2% during that time.
“From Dassault Falcon Jet to L’Oréal, French-headquartered companies have found a home in Little Rock. It’s an example of how important cross-border connections are for great-paying jobs in communities across the country,” says GBA Executive Vice President Jonathan Samford.
Business Roundtable, citing data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Uniworld BP database of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States, reports the top five countries with companies employing Arkansans as the United Kingdom (6,900 workers), France (6,300), Japan (6,100), Switzerland (4,800) and Canada (3,500).
“Global investment is crucial for creating well-paying jobs in the Natural State,” adds Samford. “Most international companies in Arkansas come from countries that share our democratic values — including the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland. We must continue to support policies that encourage more of these firms to invest and create great-paying jobs here in America.”
Regional Growth Accelerator
Elopak’s Little Rock plant will produce cartons for dairy, juice and other food products. “Little Rock was a strategic and natural choice for us,” said Lionel Ettedgui, Elopak’s executive vice president for North America, in a statement. “This location will provide us with green energy, solid access to suppliers, a great transportation network by road and by train, and will enable Elopak to better serve our customers in the Americas and accelerate growth in the region.”
Also in Little Rock, Dassault Falcon is expanding its facilities — the aerospace company’s largest in the world — to accommodate completion and delivery of its new Falcon 6X business jet. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and state officials met with Dassault Falcon executives at the Paris Air Show in June 2023, setting the stage for the December 12, 2023, project announcement. The company has had operations at Little Rock’s airport since 1975.
“Today’s announcement cements Arkansas’ role as an aerospace powerhouse, growing our state’s largest export industry by 800 new jobs,” said Gov. Sanders. “I’m grateful to Dassault’s leadership for doubling down on their investment in Central Arkansas and will keep cutting taxes, growing our workforce and improving our schools to help Arkansas’ aerospace industry continue to expand.”
A Firearms-Friendly Choice
Firearms maker Walther Manufacturing is adding 40,000 square feet to its 185,000 square foot facility in Fort Smith, an investment the governor also attributes to meeting with the German manufacturer on a 2023 trade mission.
“Arkansas is proud to be home to Walther U.S. headquarters, both because we love jobs and because we love our Second Amendment,” she noted in a January 2024 statement. “After meeting with the company during my European trade mission this summer, I’m thrilled they’ve decided to double down on their investment and grow their facility here in the Natural State, helping Fort Smith and the entire River Valley grow.”
Fellow German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer announced plans in October 2023 to invest $150 million and create 625 new jobs at its ammunition production facility in Jacksonville where about 350 people work. SIG Sauer later increased this investment to $225 million and boosted the job count to 675. The company says it will be investing in “component hybrid case manufacturing, primer manufacturing and load/pack operations to support multiple contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.”
The new, 210,000 square foot. Jacksonville Arkansas Ammunition Center opened on October 11, 2024.
