Northwest Arkansas lost some manufacturing jobs over the last five years, but still has almost one and a half times as many per capita as the national average, figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show.
At least four factors are at work in retaining and possibly expanding the sector here, analysts and manufacturers said.
First, much of the region's manufacturing is in food processing: poultry and other industries.
"Food jobs don't go overseas," said Michael Harvey, chief operating officer of the Northwest Arkansas Council, a group of business, government and community leaders. The perishable nature of the product prohibits it.
Second, the manufacturing sector here, including the food industry, has a record of becoming more efficient, Harvey said.
"We're forcing people to get more education to make the same amount of money they used to make," he said. "It's unfair, but it's reality now, with globalization."
Third, Walmart Store's Inc. has increased its commitment to U.S. manufactured products. While the Bentonville-based retailer does not specify its headquarters region as a preferred site, the region is competitive in attracting new businesses, said Mike Malone, executive director of the regional council.
"Anything that draws manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. is likely to help us, because we're likely to be able to compete successfully," he said. He pointed to the decision of toy manufacturer Redman & Associates, a supplier of Walmart, to open a factory in Rogers.
Mel Redman, president and chief executive officer of Redman & Associates, announced last year that the company would hire 74 people over the next three years.
South Coast Baking Co., a California-based frozen cookie dough company, announced plans last year to renovate a 104,000-square-foot building in Springdale that will eventually employ 150 people. The company makes more than 2 million cookies a day and has been a Sam's Club supplier for 22 years.
And Hanna's Candle Co. points to a renewed commitment from Walmart for much of its boost in sales and employment.
The fourth reason for the area's manufacturing growth? Arkansas has proved to be a good site for a nanotechnology, said Jim Phillips, chairman of NanoMech.
"Yeah, we're tripling our size and expanding into about half the tech park, so its going well," he joked when asked if the company was glad of its decision to locate in Springdale.
Nanotechnology -- the ability to manufacture items with extreme precision, down to the atomic and molecular scale -- is the future of manufacturing, according to a report released Feb. 7 by the federal General Accounting Office, the research arm of Congress.
The report describes nanomanufacturing as a future megatrend that will potentially match or surpass the digital revolution's effect on society and the economy, according to the report's summary.
NanoMech products include a coating that greatly reduces wear on tools and machine parts used in manufacturing, products for defense, and "the best grease in the world," Phillips said.
The company has formed a close bond with the University of Arkansas and has benefited greatly from governor-approved spending on the university's nanotechnology program, he said. Government cooperation from the Springdale Chamber of Commerce and city government to state agencies and the governor's office has been outstanding, Phillips said, but balanced.
"They expect you to show some benchmarks," he said.
Another Springdale manufacturer, American Tubing, which makes copper assemblies and components, is adding an aluminum division. The $3.2 million expansion adds 20,000 square feet and 50 jobs.
Chung Tan, director of economic development for the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, said in December that four manufacturers in town are in the early stages of expansion projects, but like to do it under the radar.
One advantage the region has is its attractiveness to the talent that the company recruits from around the world, Phillips said.
"Wherever you come from, whatever your cultural background, the most important thing is whether this is a safe, good place to raise your kids," he said. "We have that. We're also attracting the cultural amenities."
"Getting people to come here is not the problem. Keeping them here is," Phillips said. "We've got to do something about our immigration laws for Ph.D.-level talent and their families. It's stunning how much I have to pay Washington, D.C. law firms just to keep people here."
NW News on 03/23/2014