ATTENTION INTERESTED DEVELOPERS:

 

 

^{Shovel-ready, 200 acre Industrial Park} 

_{^{located ajacent to I-55}}

 

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Congratulations to our very own Southwest

Mississippi Community College!

 

Southwest has recently be recognized as one of

the Best Colleges for 2020 by Niche

 

Ranking #1 in Mississippi and #16 in the

nation!

 

 

 

Local plastics company

keeps on growing

Mack Spencer - Enterprise Journal

 

Gigantic Bag and JD Warehouse are hiring.

John Westbrook, owner of both companies, told McComb Lions Club members last week that the combined workforce is about 72, and there are eight open positions at the moment.

“I’ve got ads out all over to hire people,” Westbrook said.

Beginner jobs, with on the job training, start at $10 an hour, but applicants who have taken the manufacturing course at Southwest Mississippi Community College can get an additional $2 per hour on their starting pay.

The program “is good for a lot of industries, not just us,” Westbrook said. “It can take a long time to train employees. This course can give people a boost coming into the manufacturing environment.”

Employees who come in with little to no experience at the entry level can be trained on the job and gradually work their way up the experience levels and the pay scale, he said. Training is done a piece at the time for various skills and tasks, and mastering each can move trainees up the ladder.

More experienced workers can make more than $20 per hour.

Westbrook’s companies offer the highest level of United Healthcare insurance coverage, he said, and cover much of the premium cost, as well as half of dependent coverage premiums, he said.

“Of every 10 employees who start at the entry level, maybe three stay,” Westbrook said. “Of those who have come in with experience, none have ever left. Other jobs offer higher starting salaries, like tugboats ... but those are more dangerous, with bigger, billion-dollar companies.

“The jobs we have are good opportunities.”

Employees of the companies work somewhat like police or fire department employees, he said. “If you work two days, you’re off two days. If you work three days, you’re off three days.

“We have some strict requirements,” he quipped. “You have to show up ... You have to pass a drug test.”

Gigantic Bag, housed in the former Polyflex building in Summit, heats and grinds polyethylene pellets to create a plastic film that can be extruded from machines to create bags as small as 4 inches, or big enough to contain a car.

Westbrook described the process as being “like chewing gum and blowing a bubble.”

The most familiar product to local residents is garbage bags, 30-gallon and 55-gallon, that many organizations in the area have sold as a fundraiser. Westbrook said he is looking at possibly adding 20-gallon and 40-gallon varieties.

JD Warehouse started in the building with Gigantic Bag, but, needing more room as business grew, Westbrook bought the former Kellwood building next door and moved the warehouse operation there.

“I thought the warehouse would be a supplement to the bag company, but the warehouse has become a major job,” he said.

The warehouse affiliate contracts with other companies to take in their products, package them and then distribute the products using contracted trucking companies.

That business has grown so much that, even with the Kellwood building, “we’re out of room again,” Westbrook said. “We’re looking for more space.”

 

 

Area getting $3.5M from BP Money

Matt Williamson - Enterprise Journal

(Excerpt from full article dated August 30, 2018)

 

Pike County and two of its municipalities are receiving a total of $3.6 million from the state’s BP oil spill settlement under a Senate bill passed during a special legislative session.

The big winner locally is the fledgling Gateway Industrial Park, which is getting a $3 million boost to help flesh out its infrastructure needs in the hopes of attracting more business.

Lawmakers also have been deciding whether to create a state lottery and how to divert internet sales tax proceeds to counties and municipalities during the session that Gov. Phil Bryant called last week.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 2002, which recommends how to divide $700 million worth of settlement money from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The House passed the legislation with a 99-10 vote on Wednesday. Gov. Phil Bryant signed the measure into law Wednesday afternoon.

The state has spent some $50 million of the $750 million settlement, has $100 million of it on hand and will receive 15 annual payments of $40 million beginning in 2019.

The bill would set aside nearly three-fourths of the money for Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and parts of George, Stone and Pearl River counties — all located near the coast and impacted the most by the spill — while the rest of the money would go to the state’s 76 other counties.

Under the legislation, the money for Gateway would go to installing and extending sewer lines, access roads and other related infrastructure.  

“These improvements will provide assistance to future economic development projects including plans by the Mississippi Military Department for a readiness center and a proposed fire station to serve the needs of the industrial park, the nearby airport and additional facilities in the surrounding area,” Rep. Sam Mims, R-McComb, said in a statement Wednesday. “Other projects will certainly develop due to these important improvements.”

 

 

Grant To Help Develop Site

Pike, Walthall Receive Entergy Funds To Attract Business

Staff Reports - Enterprise Journal

 

Pike and Walthall are among 10 counties serviced by Entergy Mississippi that will receive a grant from the electric company that will go to helping develop industrial sites.

Entergy officials said in a news release today that Pike County will receive $2,500 for a Phase 1 environmental site assessment for a 200-acre site in the Metro-Pike Industrial Park.

The site is adjacent to the McComb Pike County airport and just two miles from Interstate 55.

The 10 counties will share $75,000 in grants for projects to make them more competitive among companies looking to establish or expand their operations as part of Entergy’s Excellerator Competitive Communities program, which helps fund environmental site assessments, website development, marketing and more.

“When our communities win, we all win,” said Ed Gardner, Entergy Mississippi director of business and economic development. “That’s why we’re trying to make them as competitive as possible through grants that will let them address specific needs at their qualified sites or through their marketing programs.”

Other winning counties are Claiborne, Grenada, Madison, Montgomery, Tate, Tunica, Warren and Washington.  

Entergy officials say the communities receiving the grant funds can improve site readiness and market themselves to prospective businesses. The Excellerator program also offers training and workshops to all counties in Entergy’s service area.

“We’re investing in our communities so our customers can have opportunities without having to leave the state,” Gardner said.

“It’s about more than enhancing economic development. Through this program, we’re helping people stay and thrive in Mississippi.”

 

 

Pitching Pike County

State development officials tour area, mark expansion

Matt Williamson - Enterprise Journal

 

Pike County is growing, and has the potential to do even better.

That was the message local officials were sending last week when they invited a delegation from the Mississippi Development Authority to tour the area.

About a dozen officials arrived in McComb by train Thursday afternoon, where they were greeted with a reception before boarding a tour bus. They visited industrial parks, Percy Quin State Park, downtown Summit and Southwest Mississippi Community College, then cut the ribbon on an expansion at Summit Plastics and wrapped up the night at Shuffle to the Chefs.

Pike County Economic Development District Executive Director Jill Busby organized the gathering, seeing an opportunity to showcase the county to the people whose vast amounts of grant money and role as the state’s economic development arm carry considerable influence in shaping the state.

Speaking before local officials at Summit Plastics, MDA Director Mickey Milligan gave a favorable review of what he had seen so far.

“Mayor, we came through your downtown area — beautiful,” he told Summit Mayor Percy Robinson. “Jill said all of your storefronts are occupied, so that’s quite an achievement.”

“I want to thank y’all for coming down to Pike County and coming to Summit, so you all can see what we have down here,” Robinson said.

Summit Plastics was a fitting place for the assembly.

The plant is undergoing a $3.3 million expansion that is expected to increase capacity and bring 30 additional jobs. Part of that includes more than $400,000 in infrastructure improvements, including bigger water lines and a new road leading to the plant, paid for by an MDA grant along with $15,000 from Summit and $35,000 from Pike County.

Plant owner Tom Nathan-son praised state and local officials for helping the expansion become a reality.

“We’ve grown our workforce. We’ve grown our business 25 percent in the past two years,” he said. “We’ve added jobs and those jobs are good-paying jobs. ... The Pike County Economic Development District, the Mississippi Development Authority grant was very instrumental in providing a lot of our growth.”

Nathanson said he has worked in 24 states during his career, and he gave Mississippi high ratings for its business climate.

“In the last two years at Summit Plastics, I came to the realization that Mississippi is the best state I’ve worked with from a partnership standpoint,” he said.

Receiving an enthusiastic response from the room, he said, “I didn’t plan on getting an applause for that.”

Nathanson noted that the plant’s employees have a good benefits package, with the company paying 75 percent of the tab.

“We give bonuses every 90 days to employees in the plant,” he said. “It legitimately is a Mississippi success story.”

Milligan noted the void of gigantic car plants and other megasites in Pike County compared to other parts of the state, but he stressed that while such facilities can be a boon, the growth of smaller businesses is just as significant.  

“These big plants get all of the publicity and announcements, but I can tell you it’s people like Summit Plastics and Tom’s operations here that are the lifeblood to our cities,” Milligan said.

Robinson echoed those sentiments.

“I would like to thank Mr. Nathanson for the job he has done since taking over Summit Plastics,” he said. “Not only is this plant a good plant to work at, I can’t think of any other employer around here that has the type of benefits that they have. He has great benefits for his employees.”

Nathanson said he has embraced what the area has to offer. He said he has a “great partnership” with Southwest Mississippi Community College, which helps train plant workers, and he uses Mississippi companies for banking and insurance.

Nathanson said he could grow his business by opening up other plants elsewhere, but that’s no longer on his mind.

“After my experience here, I would like to expand here rather than move out of state,” he said, adding that he hopes to keep growing and bring in about another 20 jobs in a couple of years.

Emphasizing the importance of the state agency, Robinson noted that Summit has been the beneficiary of many MDA grants and he hopes to see that continue.

If anything, he hammered the central message from local officials to the visitors from Jackson — that Pike County has potential and it’s just as good as anywhere else to set up shop.

“We’re glad to have you here, that you came down to see us,” Robinson told Milligan. “Like I said before, remember us when you go back.”

 

 

Plastics Plant Adding 30 Jobs

From Staff Reports - Enterprise Journal

 

A $3.3 million investment to expand production lines and the footprint of its buildings is bringing 30 additional jobs to Summit Plastics, Pike County Economic Development District officials announced Friday.

The plant on Highway 51 will now have a payroll of more than 80 people, according to Jill Busby, executive director of the economic development district.

Part of the expansion focused on infrastructure, including a new road leading to the plant. A Mississippi Development Authority grant with matching contributions from the Town of Summit and Pike County paid for that work.

Summit councilmen also plan to vote Tuesday on site plans for the construction of a new maintenance facility at the plant. They had earlier agreed to plans that would allow plant officials to install larger silos used to store plastic pellets.

Other aspects of the expansion have included new manufacturing lines, employee breakrooms, executive meeting rooms, additional office space and a new quality control lab.

Summit Plastics is looking into acquisitions that will expand the company even further, Busby said.

“I am thrilled with the partnership we have with the Town of Summit,” Summit Plastics President and CEO Tom Nathanson said in a news release. “The mayor and town council have been incredibly supportive and have been instrumental in helping us achieve our goal of making Summit Plastics a premium employer in the area.”

Summit Plastics has implemented bonuses for every employee that pay out every 90 days. Additionally, the company offers employees a comprehensive health and wellness program.

The company is using Southwest Mississippi Community College’s Workforce Development Center to train its employees.

“This process has been a great deal easier because of the dedication of our employees,” Nathanson said. “We have great people that work hard. I have had business ventures in many states and I’m very pleased with Mississippi’s one-of-a-kind workforce programs.”

Summit Plastics makes polyethylene film and bags, including bags on rolls, separated bags, centerfold bags, gusseted and flat bags, single-wound sheeting, perforated sheets, centerfold sheeting, tubing, center slit gusseted tubing, perforated sleeves and shrink bundling film, among other products.

The products are manufactured to various customer specifications, with a variety of color and printing options, as well as anti-static and insect repellant additives, and biodegradable and antimicrobial plastics.

 

 

Pike County Certifying Workforce

 

Pike County, along with Amite, Walthall, and Wilkinson Counties, is currently undergoing the process of being designated as an ACT Work Ready Community. The ACT Work Ready Community is a designation earned by counties who work with ACT to close the labor skills gap within their communities. Participating counties must go through a yearlong implementation process in which county leaders attend four academies facilitated by the ACT. As a part of the program, each individual county is given goals by the ACT to obtain, as well as to maintain, their certification status as a Work Ready Community. Upon completion of the four ACT academies, counties have two years to meet their goals provided by ACT.

The ACT Work Ready system relies on the ACT WorkKeys assessment, which is a three-part examination which tests applied mathematics, reading, and locating information. Local workforce participants take the WorkKeys assessment and, upon completion, are awarded the National Career Ready Certificate, better known as the NCRC.