N.C. buyer acquires Lighthouse for Blind
Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind has been purchased by Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, and the combination of the two operations will create what is being described as the country's largest agency for the blind.
David Horton, executive director of Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, said the process of combining the two organizations that focus on employment of blind and sight-impaired workers would be "seamless." Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind will maintain its name and continue to operate its manufacturing facility at 6818 Murray St. in Little Rock. Founded in 1940, the organization produces a variety of textile and paper products for private industry and government entities including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army.
Industries for the Blind, which was founded in 1936, currently operates facilities in Winston-Salem and Asheville, N.C.
No blind or visually-impaired workers in Arkansas are expected to lose their jobs, according to a spokesman for Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind.
"There is a real interest in having local leadership and that it be in Little Rock, but in terms of any specific staffing changes, it's super early," said Laura Burrows of Two B Public Relations in Winston-Salem.
-- Chris Bahn
Gateway Tire plans LR wholesale outlet
Gateway Tire plans to open a wholesale tire distribution facility on Patterson Road in Little Rock in November, John Lovelace, the general manager of Gateway stores in Arkansas and Missouri, said Wednesday.
Gateway bought the 55,000-square-foot southwest Little Rock building and about 11 acres for $1.5 million, said Drew Mentzer of Flake & Kelley Commercial of Little Rock, which brokered the deal.
Gateway sells about a dozen brands of tires to retailers, Lovelace said.
The Little Rock facility initially will supply retailers in about a 25-mile radius, Lovelace said.
Gateway Tire, owned by Dunlap and Kyle of Batesville, Miss., has about 13 wholesale distribution centers and supplies more than 50 retail stores, Lovelace said.
-- David Smith
Arkansas Index slips as 9 stocks decline
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 0.73 to 354.55 Wednesday.
Nine stocks declined, seven advanced and one was unchanged.
Murphy USA rose 1.9 percent in light trading.
Windstream climbed almost 1 percent in below-average volume.
USA Truck dropped 4.7 percent on above-average volume.
Total volume of the index was 18.9 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 09/04/2014