Business news in brief

Plant board to hold ash-tree hearing

The state Plant Board will hold a public hearing Thursday on a proposal to make permanent an emergency order barring the shipment of firewood as well as raw wood products from ash trees because of the presence of the emerald ash borer in Arkansas.

The board adopted the emergency rule Sept. 11 in an effort to stop the spread of the borer.

The emerald ash borer is a half-inch-long beetle first detected in Michigan in 2002. Its larvae eat into ash trees and can kill the tree within two to five years. The insect was found in Arkansas earlier this year.

The rule to bar ash tree shipments out of the quarantine covers nursery stock, green lumber with the bark still attached, logs, pulpwood, stumps, roots, branches, mulch and compost.

Counties subject to the quarantine would include Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Drew, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Little River, Miller, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Saline, Sevier and Union.

The public hearing is 9 a.m. at the state Plant Board's office at 1 Natural Resources Drive in Little Rock.

-- Glen Chase

Ikea plans to open store in Memphis

MEMPHIS -- Swedish furniture company Ikea said Tuesday that it plans to open a store in Memphis.

Construction of the new store, on a 35-acre site in the Wolfchase corridor about 15 miles east of downtown Memphis near Germantown Parkway, depends on government approval, an Ikea news release said. The store would employ about 225 people.

The retailer, whose stadium-sized furniture stores draw shoppers from miles around, said the store would increase its presence in the Southeastern U.S. and would be its first store in Tennessee.

The company said it has 40 stores in the U.S. The closest ones to Memphis are in Atlanta and Frisco, Texas. It also has a store under construction in St. Louis.

The announcement comes after at least two other recent economic boons for Memphis: Target announced it will open a 400-employee distribution center near Memphis International Airport, and Graceland, the historic home of Elvis Presley, is planning a 450-room hotel in Whitehaven.

-- The Associated Press

Survey: Arkansans cautious about debt

Arkansans are feeling cautions about taking on debt and are increasing their savings, according to the findings of a survey gauging regional consumer sentiment released Tuesday.

The Arvest Consumer Sentiment Study examines consumer outlook in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Results are released twice a year in three phases. This report is the third phase for the fall period.

In Arkansas, 31 percent of those surveyed said they held a mortgage, down 6 percentage points from June. When asked, only 3 percent of those polled said they planned to obtain a home mortgage in the next six months. Savings rates in Arkansas households stood at 11.9 percent of income, up from 9.5 percent in June.

Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said Tuesday that Arkansas consumers are acting conservatively. She said the survey shows many have learned the lessons of the recession in 2008 and have kept expectations about the future in check.

Across the region, which includes Oklahoma and Missouri, 33 percent of those surveyed said they had a mortgage, with 3 percent saying they planned to acquire a mortgage in the next six months. In the three-state area, current household savings stood at 12.1 percent of total income.

The survey is based on phone interviews of 400 residents from each state taken in October.

-- John Magsam

Wachter expands operation in Lowell

Wachter Inc. is expanding its Lowell operation, investing $2 million and adding 20 jobs.

Kansas-based Wachter provides electrical, data, communications, automation and other building systems. Wachter provides on-site wired and wireless networks, design, installation and electrical services. It operates in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

Grant Tennille, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and Raymond Burns, president and CEO of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, praised Wachter's decision to expand the Lowell operation.

"We appreciate Wachter's continued commitment to growing and investing in Arkansas," Tennille said in a release.

The expansion of the Lowell facility comes as part of company's continued growth, according to a release. Wachter has operated in Lowell since 2003 and currently employs 240 workers there.

-- John Magsam

New York firm buys Fayetteville malls

New York-based DLC Management Corp. has purchased two malls in Fayetteville.

The owner and operator of open-air shopping centers acquired Steele Crossing for $10.4 million and Spring Creek Centre for $33.5 million, according to Washington County records. The two Arkansas properties were part of a deal for a total of 11 retail properties in New York, North Carolina and Tennessee, according to a release earlier this month.

DLC is a private real estate company with a portfolio of 115 open shopping centers with more than 19 million square feet of retail space in 29 states.

Steele Crossing is 262,000 square feet and located on North Shiloh Drive. It includes a Kohl's and PetSmart location. Spring Creek Centre is 589,000 square feet and is located on East Joyce Boulevard. It includes Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, and The Home Depot.

Both malls were acquired in 2012 by a partnership between New York-based investment firm Blackstone Group and Ohio-based DDR Corp., which owns and manages shopping centers.

-- John Magsam

Business on 12/17/2014

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