But you don’t have to take our word for it. State economic development leaders are looking to West Memphis as a short-list topping first choice for businesses looking to start, expand or relocate in Arkansas.

In the office of Grant Tennile, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and nowthe Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), West Memphis is well-known.

“As part of one of the key distribution regions in the U.S., West Memphis has unlimited potential to lead the state in attracting new business and expanding existing ones that rely on dynamic logistic capabilities,” said Joe Holmes, spokesman for the AEDC. “We work with West Memphis on a constant basis to assist with the marketing of existing facilities and the development of new ones.”

And of course, the city’s new business incentive strategy is icing on the city’s economic development cake.

On Nov. 8, 2011, West Memphis voters approved a .25 percent tax to be added to the existing local sales tax to fund incentives for a prospective investment by a business. The tax is reaction to Arkansas legislation passed earlier last year that allows a city to apply up to a 1 percent sales tax to fund economic development incentives.

West Memphis was the first Arkansas municipality to take advantage of the legislation and propose the incentive strategy to voters. West Memphis native and State Representative Keith Ingram authored the legislation.

Holmes with AEDC says the voters embrace of Ingram’s plan was a smart move.

“West Memphis has clearly shown its commitment to identifying its strengths and developing them by the recent passage of special funding that will allow greatly enhance its recruiting efforts.”

Project coordinator Beth Wiedower says there’s plenty of potential for successful food service businesses in West Memphis and the surrounding area.

“From award-winning barbecue sauces to chocolate gravy recipes handed down from generation to generation, these culinary businesses draw on local resources, talent, and skill sets to create jobs and enterprises which can thrive in rural communities,” Wiedower said. “We are thrilled to partner with the Delta Regional Authority on this innovative project and thank the Chairman and the Board for their investment in Delta Cuisine.”

Successful local food-based businesses create opportunities for multi-generational investment and pair well with regional heritage tourism efforts to attract visitors to the Arkansas Delta, Wiedower says. Sustainable economic development, such as Delta Cuisine, is the basis for viable, sustainable communities with strong local economies and quality of place.

Delta Cuisine is a collaborative effort of the City of West Memphis, Main Street West Memphis, Mid-South Community College, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Arkansas Delta Rural Heritage Development Initiative, Arkansas State University and Arkansas Delta Byways. The project has also received a financial commitment from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to purchase commercial-grade kitchen equipment for the facility, as well as commitments from alt.Consulting and Winrock International to provide business and technical assistance. Total investments and commitments to date total more than $1 million.

Wiedower says a project manager should be hired in early 2012 and that the incubator should be operational by 2013. A final location has not yet been chosen, but Wiedower says it will likely be on the Mid-South Community College campus.

West Memphis, Ark. – a strategic business location with perks to spare
by Ward Wimbish

All you need to do is look at a map to get a handle on why West Memphis, Ark. makes strategic sense for any business relying on ready access to distribution channels. With I-55 and I-40 criss-crossing the city, any site in West Memphis is only minutes away from the third busiest section of interstate in the United States for truck traffic. And its central location makes it just a two-day truck drive to 75 percent of America’s population centers, as well as Canada and Mexico.

But West Memphis is much more than a spot on a map. The city can offer a list of perks for business and industry nearly as long as the Mississippi River on which it sits – and near the top of the list are multiple business parks, a strategically located port and an invaluable Foreign Trade Zone designation.

Business Parks
West Memphis has four business parks, all within sight of interstates 40 and 55: Import Park, Mid-America Park, J.W. Rich Park and Interstate Commerce Park. All four have full utility access, all have an Insurance Services Office (ISO) fire rating of 2, and all are minutes from the Union Pacific Intermodal Yard. The UP Intermodal Yard handles over 600,000 containers a year, 65% of which come from the Pacific Rim via the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Rail access is another appeal of West Memphis. That first glance at the map may not tell you that the city has access to five class-one railroads and is the only location on the south Mississippi River with two mainline rail-bridge crossings.

Mid-America Park provides a dual electrical feed and fiber optic capabilities. And if all that weren’t enough Interstate Commerce Park is a designated Foreign Trade Zone and the other three are eligible as sub-zones.

Foreign Trade Zone
City officials applied for the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) designation in 2007 and the FTZ status for Interstate Commerce Park was granted in 2008. Developed by Industrial Developments International (IDI), the 340-acre site that makes up FTZ #273 already has one pad-ready site of 453,600 square feet, which can be expanded to accommodate a facility of up to 900,000 square feet.

An FTZ is an effective cost-cutting perk for businesses that allows domestic activity on foreign items prior to a formal customs entry and essentially allows re-exported merchandise to receive duty-free treatment, while duty payment is deferred on items sold domestically. According to the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, the designation aims to offset “customs advantages available to overseas producers.”
In simple terms, FTZs save companies money because they don’t pay duties for products or components shipped into the zone and can assemble the components in the duty-free zones, then ship them out. Only when the final product is transferred from an FTZ and formally entered into U.S. commerce do duties and taxes become due. And, if the final product is exported from the U.S., no duties or taxes are levied.

Port
Mississippi River transportation plays an important role in grain, petroleum and steel logistics – and the Port of West Memphis is a huge advantage for any of those users locating here.

One of the port’s pluses is its dependability. Unlike regional, slack water harbors where silting causes ongoing maintenance issues or low water conditions cause closures, the Port of West Memphis is a deep water port located in the main channel and as never closed due to low water.

With a loading capacity of 100 tons, the port operates a general-purpose river terminal and a special-purpose grain terminal, some with direct-to-truck access. Both are within five miles of Interstates 40 and 55.

Recently, the city commissioned the creation of a Master Rail Plan for a 2,500-acre rail-port logistics park to be built adjacent to the port. The planned park will include approximately 11 million square feet of rail-served industrial space for distribution centers, light assembly facilities and packing/repacking operations.

Turn to West Memphis
Of course, these are just three of the perks that make West Memphis a list-topping choice for site selectors in multiple industries. Low utility and property taxes and a growing, made-to-order workforce – thanks in large part to Workforce Technology Center at the city’s Mid-South Community College – are also reasons this Northeastern Arkansas city is a no-brainer for business.

In an increasingly complex, competitive and global marketplace, leaders from companies large and small, and in just about any industry can’t go wrong when they choose to Turn to West Memphis.

DMN Inc. is investing more than $2.5 million to renovate 34,000 square feet of space and create a new manufacturing and distribution facility in West Memphis.

DMN is affiliated with DMN Valves of Brussels, Belgium, and makes valves used in the processing of dry goods such as powdered milk and sugar. Since 1995, DMN Inc. has been the North American distributor of the valves, which are manufactured at the company’s facilities in Holland and Germany and shipped to the company’s distribution facility in Marion, Ark. DMN moved to the region to take advantage of shipping opportunities through Memphis International Airport.

Chris Williams, the company’s general manager, has lobbied the board of directors for years to begin a manufacturing operation in the Memphis area to make it more competitive with the other 33 valve manufacturers in North America.

“We’re in the top eight, but we could be doing a lot better if we were producing here,” Williams says. “We met with the board of directors in April and they agreed with our proposal.”

Williams says once DMN Inc. hit the $4 million sales mark, DMN Valves began exploring the possibility of manufacturing locally. But U.S. economic conditions created concern about investing the money needed to get the facility up and running.

“It’s a tremendous investment, but we looked at the financing and we felt like now’s the time,” he says.

Williams says the company began looking for an existing site to speed the beginning of production. It entered into an eight-year lease on its new site and has an option to buy the facility. It previously was the location of Universal Labs and had been empty for eight years.

DMN Inc. currently employs 10 people, but could grow that number to as many as 32 when the facility is up and running. Williams expects it to be completed by April 2012. The company is working with Mid-South Community College in West Memphis to train its manufacturing employees.

Williams’ goal is annual capacity of 1,700 valves and sales of $18 million.

Ward Wimbish, director of economic development for the city of West Memphis, says DMN could have chosen a site other than Arkansas, thanks to incentives from the state, including tax credits and infrastructure improvements, the company opted to stay put.

“It means a lot to West Memphis to have a new manufacturer, particularly one establishing a North American office,” Wimbish says. “We will be working with DMN and the Arkansas World Trade Center to help DMN to also establish a presence in Latin America.”

Williams says new manufacturing operation will eliminate the cost of paying freight costs from Europe and allow the company to add customers in Central and South America. It currently serves Canada, the U.S., Mexico and clients in Brazil, Argentina, Panama and Chile.

While the cost to get the facility up and running is steep in the current economy, Williams is confident the company will be successful.

“We’re investing an awful lot in it, but there’s only a set amount of dollars and 33 other companies vying for that business,” Williams says. “In five years, I’ll either be a hero or the goat.”

Awesome Products, a California-based manufacturer of laundry detergent, fabric softener and household bleach, completed construction of its new manufacturing facility in West Memphis within six months of the official announcement last fall. With the completion of the facility, the company owns and operates more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse-distribution space in Eastern Arkansas and has created more than 120 jobs. (Watch a TV news report from Memphis station WREG below.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

In West Memphis, Awesome also has a 167,000-square-foot facility on Jefferson St. and a 208,000-square-foot facility on North 7th Street. In Marked Tree the company recently acquired a 280,000 square-foot facility and will soon begin facility renovations and equipment installations for a bleach manufacturing process.

The company has invested more than $40 million in Eastern Arkansas. “We are fortunate to have the resources in place here in Arkansas in which to continue to grow our business,” owner and president L.D. Hardas said when the new West Memphis project was announced last year. “This region is perfect – an available skilled workforce, proximity to key distribution points, quality infrastructure and collaboration among private and public entities.”

The day was doubly special for Hardas because he managed to fly his mother, Dr. Usha Hardas, M.D., to West Memphis for for the celebration. Now in her 80s, Dr. Hardas is a cancer survivor and the former dean of Government Medical College in Nagpur, India. (Watch a TV news report from Memphis station WPTY below.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hardas says he attributes the company’s successful growth locally to the leadership of West Memphis Mayor William Johnson and District 53 Rep. Keith Ingram along with the business-friendly practices of the City of West Memphis.

Awesome produces household cleaning supplies sold at discount stores across the country. The new West Memphis facility will initially blend, package and distribute liquid laundry detergent and bleach.

Introduced by District 53 Rep. Keith Ingram, the law allows a city to apply up to a 1 percent sales tax to fund incentives for a prospective investment by a business. West Memphis is the first Arkansas municipality to take advantage of the legislation and propose the incentive strategy to voters, opting for only a .25 percent tax.

Based on current estimates, the proposed tax could raise $4 million in three to four years. According to the law’s sunset clause, once the $4 million cap is reached, the tax is removed until it is needed to fund another project incentive.

Any three of a list of thresholds has to apply to the project: