The following is a transcript of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's radio column for the weekend of Dec. 18, 2015:
Over the past week, I have attended three major jobs announcements.
In Siloam Springs, Simmons Foods announced a new pet food ingredient facility near their company’s home office. According to Simmons Foods, the facility will create 78 new jobs with an economic impact of $50 million.
In Batesville, Bad Boy Mowers expanded its operations by investing nearly $7.8 million into a larger property for their existing facility. The expansion will add 160 new jobs and bring the total employment of Bad Boy Mowers to 750 people. In each of the past two years, the company has averaged more than 33 percent growth—and that is quite an accomplishment.
In Lowell, J.B. Hunt expanded its corporate headquarters and is adding more than 1,000 jobs in Arkansas over the next six years. As one of the largest transportation companies in North America, this is great news for our ever-growing Northwest Arkansas community.
When you do the math, these three announcements have added more than 1,240 new jobs to Arkansas’s economy in the last week alone. What a great way to cap off the year.
When you’re building the economy in Arkansas, or in any state, it’s important for people to have confidence in the direction we’re going. When people are optimistic about the future, it will increase spending and increase investment in our state.
Success is built upon how you invest your time and your leadership. Since I took office last January, there are now more than 33,000 Arkansans who are newly employed. We’ve announced thousands of new jobs and nearly $2 billion in investments through company expansions across every region of the state. As governor, I want to build a future for Arkansas including economic growth, job creation and expanding Arkansas’s economy.
What a great week, and tremendous year, for job creation in Arkansas. All of these milestones are physical evidence of Arkansas’s momentum. And as the New Year approaches, we’re not slowing down anytime soon.
