|
|
| |
| Sat, May. 17, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Tyson Foods to expand Springdale plant, hire 370 Sunday, Mar 2, 2008 By Roby Brock Tyson Foods, which is facing higher grain prices, plans to add 370 jobs this summer at its Berry Street processing plant in Springdale. The plant currently employs about 700 hourly workers and 50 managers. Tyson leaders expect to invest about $17 million in facilities and equipment and another $10 million in personnel at the plant. Officials expect to gain greater plant efficiency to justify the costs.<br/><br/>The line expansion will allow the company to process a larger 8-pound chicken, which is becoming more popular with restaurants and other food-service providers. Most Tyson Foods poultry lines are designed to handle a 6.5-pound chicken.<br/><br/><br/><br/>$82 million operation coming to Searcy<br/><br/>BJ Services Co. will locate a new $82 million, 64,000-square-foot regional headquarters in Searcy to capitalize on activity in the Fayetteville Shale play. BJ Services provides pressure pumping and other oil field services to the natural gas industry in the region. The company will employ approximately 150 people by late 2008.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Southwestern Energy splits stock<br/><br/>Southwestern Energy Co., the largest leaseholder in the Fayetteville Shale play, is splitting its stock because of the potential it sees for its investments in Arkansas. The board of directors of the Houston-based energy firm declared a two-for-one stock split on Thursday. The board established March 14 as the record date and March 25 as the date upon which the additional shares will be distributed to shareholders. As of Feb. 22, Southwestern had approximately 170.97 million shares of common stock outstanding. Southwestern's stock price has climbed more than 70 percent in the last 12 months.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Severance tax talks continuing <br/><br/>Gov. Mike Beebe says that a special legislative session to consider altering the state's severance tax is still a possibility. Characterizing recent talks with natural gas company executives as having "moved a whole lot," Beebe contends that a call for a session before the end of March could happen. This past week, lawmakers suggested that time is running out. Beebe did tell the press that he would be willing to provide exemptions to natural gas companies drilling in north-central Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale play, similar to exemptions in surrounding states for a type of drilling known as "horizontal drilling."<br/><br/><br/><br/>Harvel to exit state chamber post <br/><br/>Paul Harvel, who has headed the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce for the past two years, will leave the business lobbying organization later this summer. He will become the new president and CEO of the Economic Development Corp. of Clark County in Arkadelphia sometime after July 1. Chamber chairman Hugh McDonald said that part of Harvel's work has been to help develop a plan of succession. The executive committee of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce will immediately put a process in place to find a successor. Prior to his tenure with the state chamber, Harvel served as president and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Acxiom consolidates campuses<br/><br/>Acxiom is consolidating about 240 employees from four locations to two, according to a statement released by the company late Wednesday. The database firm will move about 40 employees from its Riverdale offices in Little Rock to its downtown River Market headquarters. 200 workers in west Little Rock will relocate to Acxiom's River Market headquarters or the firm's Conway campus.<br/><br/>"This move from the two buildings resulted from a close look at all physical resources and determining their most cost-effective and cost-efficient uses," said new CEO John Meyer. "We're fortunate to have capacity at the River Market and in Conway to make that possible."<br/><br/><br/><br/>Entergy files for nuclear permit<br/><br/>Entergy Corp. and NuStart Energy Development, a consortium of energy providers, submitted a combined construction and operating license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a potential new nuclear unit in Port Gibson, Miss., the site of Entergy's Grand Gulf nuclear power station. The application seeks regulatory approvals to potentially build a new unit adjacent to Entergy's existing Grand Gulf unit. Entergy cautioned that it has not made a formal decision to pursue construction of a new nuclear plant, but the filing of the permit preserves the option for the future.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Dillard's talks strategy to industry publication<br/><br/>After a year of calls for change from an activist investor group, Little Rock-based Dillard's Department Stores representatives talk to Women's Wear Daily, a reputable industry publication, about the company's direction and future. Dillard's wants to position itself above Macy's and Belk, and below Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, with the goal of offering "affordable luxury and less promotion," Director of Investor Relations Julie Bull tells the magazine. The direction is inspired by specialty stores and suggests that Dillard's will abandon the "sea of racks" formula used in the past.<br/><br/><br/><br/>First windmill blade rolls out<br/><br/>Last summer, Danish wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber announced it would locate its $150 million North American headquarters, training complex and a new manufacturing facility at the Little Rock Port Authority. While construction of the port plant is under way, LM has been operating out of temporary quarters in southwest Little Rock.<br/><br/>This week, officials rolled out the first blades manufactured in Arkansas. According to state and LM officials, the windmill blade maker has already hired 190 workers in its efforts to meet strong customer demand, particularly in Texas, a booming wind energy region.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Whirlpool class action lawsuit gets green light<br/><br/>Whirlpool has found itself in the midst of a class-action lawsuit. Federal Judge Jimm Hendren denied Whirlpool's motion to dismiss a case that could cost the company up to $5 million. The class action lawsuit, filed in March 2007 by three plaintiffs, claims that customers "purchased defectively designed and manufactured refrigerators from Whirlpool."<br/><br/>The plaintiffs said the icemakers in the refrigerators didn't work and that the temperature controls fluctuated, causing the refrigerator to leak and foods to spoil. They also claim that Whirlpool did in fact know about the defects in the refrigerators but never notified other customers of complaints or issue a recall. <br/><br/><br/><br/>-------<br/><br/>Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is roby@talkbusiness.net; his Web site address is www.talkbusiness.net.<br/><br/><br/><br/> |
