24 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.

com Salute to Industry

A LUTE TO
S

INDUSTRY

Incubator space adds to

Communiversity mission.....17
SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019

Airbus ‘center for excellence’ paying LINK: Infinity megasite ‘red hot’ with Industrial success starts
dividends .................................................3 prospects ................................................9 in the classroom ...................................15
2 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com
Advertiser Index
4-County Electric Power Association................. 2
Airbus................................................................. 5
Aurora Flight Sciences..................................... 23
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle........ 7
Brunini Law Firm...............................................14
C&P Printing......................................................16
Columbus Brick Company.................................. 2
Columbus Light & Water..................................... 7
Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce...... 7
East Mississippi Community College................. 8
Fastenal............................................................ 23
Flexsteel............................................................16
Greater Starkville Development Partnership.....18
International Paper............................................. 6
Lowndes County Board of Supervisors.............11
Neel-Schaffer..................................................... 4
Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 23
Newell Paper Products......................................18
PACCAR Engine Company...............................11
Phillips Contracting........................................... 23
Puckett-McGee Electric Supply........................ 22
Royal Trucking Company.................................. 22
Southern Ionics.................................................11
Southwire...........................................................18
Steel Dynamics.................................................19
Sullivan’s Office Products..................................12
Superior Catfish Products.................................. 6
The Clinic at Elm Lake........................................ 4
The Commercial Dispatch.................................17
The Link............................................................ 22
Tronox................................................................13
Valmet............................................................... 24
22 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 3

Airbus ‘center for excellence’ paying dividends

As contracts keep coming, company looks to Columbus
site to shoulder lion’s share of its U.S. manufacturing load
By AMANDA LIEN | alien@cdispatch.com

W
hen Airbus announced plans
to open a manufacturing lo-
cation in Columbus in 2005,
members of the Golden Triangle Devel-
opment LINK saw an opportunity for an
“industrial renaissance,” said LINK Chief
Operating Officer Macaulay Whitaker.
“Airbus’ arrival in Columbus, them
announcing they were coming here to
take advantage of our workforce was a
stamp of approval,” she said. “That really
sent us on our way. We really built a
manufacturing culture here and as they
continue to stay here, they continue to
invest in our community.”
Airbus is an international airplane and
helicopter manufacturing company with
nearly 25,000 employees worldwide,
including four locations in America. The
Columbus location, which manufactures
helicopters and helicopter parts, opened
in 2006 and has nearly 200 employees
who build two to three Lakota Helicop-
ters each month for the U.S. Army.
About 1,100 pilots per year are also
trained on-site to fly the Lakota UH-72A
helicopter. The Columbus facility —
located near Golden Triangle Regional
Airport off Highway 82 — produces
about 80 H125 aircraft per year, also
customizing those and other aircraft.
Courtesy photo
Last year, Airbus shifted the majority
Every Airbus employee has specialized training in a certain kind of manufacturing. If Airbus gets new contracts to manufacture differ-
of their manufacturing jobs to Columbus, ent components or helicopters, there is often a need for more employees.
creating what Vice President of Industry
Michael Spears called an “industrial cen- on-site to attract new talent.
ter for excellence.” Each Airbus employ- Airbus also works with the Columbus
ee works at specific stations: mechanical Air Force Base to connect airmen leaving
assembly, wiring installation, navigation the military with job opportunities, “Airbus’ arrival in Columbus, them announcing they were
systems and safety testing. Training for something Whitaker emphasized as part
every station is specialized, and with that of the value Airbus brings to the region. coming here to take advantage of our workforce was a
need for specialization comes a growing
need for more workers. Every time Air-
“It’s really important to know people
at the base have an option for employ-
stamp of approval. That really sent us on our way. We really
bus lands a contract for a new product,
specialized training is required to make
ment (at Airbus),” she said. “We want to
keep them here in the region.”
built a manufacturing culture here and as they continue to
those components. Sometimes, Spears “About 40 percent [of employees in stay here, they continue to invest in our community.”
said, workers can be shuffled around Columbus] are U.S. veterans and we’re LINK Chief Operating Officer Macaulay Whitaker
and trained in something new, but more
often than not, Airbus holds hiring events See Airbus, 4
4 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 21

Airbus Long Branch Co., Inc.

West Point
Orman’s Welding & Fabrication
West Point
Southern Reel
Starkville
Continued from Page 3 662-494-8860 662-494-9471 662-324-3636
very proud of that,” Spears added. “... And we are continuously Products: Structural steel fabrication Products: Conveyor/conveying equipment, misc. Products: Injection molding, extrusion, cable and
hiring in Columbus in line with the growth of our business.” Employees: 8 general purpose machinery manufacturing wiring packaging, plastic spools, plywood reels
Airbus also accepts between three and five interns studying Employees: 24 Employees: 35
business or engineering from East Mississippi Community College, Mississippi Precision Cast Parts, LLC
Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women and Columbus Paccar, Inc. Southwire Company
University of Alabama each semester. Interns work alongside full- 662-245-1155 Columbus Starkville
Products: Investment casting and foundry 662-329-6703 662-324-6600
time employees in human resources, shop floor control and finance.
Employees: 19 Products: Diesel engines Products: Copper building wire, power cable
The company continues to pursue Army contracts, which, in the
Employees: 600 Employees: 261
past, have made the company tens of millions of dollars. Currently,
Airbus is waiting to hear back on a proposal sent in for the man- Mississippi Steel Processing, LLC
Columbus Peco Foods Stark Aerospace, Inc.
ufacturing of the H135, a twin-engine military training helicopter West Point
662-327-3150 Columbus
that would require additional parts not currently manufactured by Products: Poultry cutting and distribution
Products: Steel fabrication 662-798-4075
Airbus’ Columbus location, something that would bring more jobs Employees: TBA
Employees: 71 Prudicts: UAVs
to the area, Spears said.
Employees: 46
“We feel very welcome here and have a great partnership with Rempel Roto-Cast Company
Monroe-Tufline Manufacturing Co.
Columbus and the surrounding areas,” he said. “... We feel like a West Point
Columbus Sqwincher Corporation
part of the community and are proud of the work that we are doing 662-328-8347 662-494-1094 Columbus
in Mississippi and that we can help contribute to the local econo- Products: Agricultural and dirt moving equipment Products: Plastic products manufacturing 662-328-0400
my.” Employees: 45 Employees: 5 Products: Electrolyte replacement beverage
Whitaker said the LINK is still “committed” to helping Airbus Employees: 70
succeed. Motion Industries S&N Wood Products
“We hope we can facilitate an environment where they can con- Columbus Columbus Sturgis Mat Company Inc.
tinue to grow,” she said. “We love to see our industry succeed and Courtesy photo 662-328-8041 662-328-0140 Sturgis
we’re very thankful that Airbus has been a part of that, and contin- Airbus’ Columbus location currently employs between 150 and 200 workers, but has the capacity to hire Products: Industrial parts Products: Wood pallets and skids 662-465-8879
ues to be part of that.” four times that. Workers manufacture helicopters and specialized parts. Employees: 10 Employees: 8 Products: Pipeline draglines and crane mats
Employees: 70
Mount Vernon Mills, Inc. Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Columbus Columbus Trimjoist Corporation
662-328-5670 66-245-4267 Columbus
Products: Textile, waistbands, slitting Products: Sheet metal 662-327-7950
Employees: 32 Employees: 740 Products: Floor systems
Employees: 45
Southern Ionics
Nammo Talley West Point
Crawford
662-494-3055
Valmet
662-272-6111 Columbus
Products: Inorganic chemical manufacturing
Products: Shoulder mounted rockets 662-328-3841
Employees: 350
Employees: 1 Products: Paper mill roll covering and
reconditioning
Southern Lure Co. Employees: 109
Navistar Defense Columbus
West Point 662-327-4548
662-494-0098 Xeruim
Products: Fishing lures Starkville
Products: Defense vehicles Employees: 10
Employees: 200 662-323-4064
Products: Papermaker’s felt
Southern Outdoor Technologies Employees: 220
New Process Steel West Point
Columbus 662-495-1050
205-281-8345 Products: Hunting blinds and stands Yokohoma Tire Manufacturing, LLC
Products: Steel fabrication Employees: 311 West Point
Employees: 41 800-423-4544
Southern Pharmaceuticals Corp. Product: Commercial tires
Columbus Employees: 668
662-327-2060
Products: Compounding of medications
(nebulizers)
Employees: 13
20 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 5

Golden Triangle Manufacturers Directory

Ace Decoy Anchors, LLC Columbus Marble Works, Inc. General Machine Works
West Point Columbus West Point
662-494-5092 662-328-1477 662-494-5155
Products: Decoy duck anchors, targets, etc. Products: Marble, granite monuments and Products: Machining, milling and tool repair
Employees: 176 mausoleums Employees: 3
Employees: 64
Airbus Helicopters, Inc. Glenn Machine Works, Inc.
Columbus Datco International Columbus
662-327-6226 Columbus 662-328-4611
Products: Helicopter manufacturing and assembly 662-327-3995 Products: Crane rentals, rigging, steel fabrication,
Employees: 180 Products: Tack cloth for automotive industry, lint industrial supplies
free wipers and wiping Employees: 160
Akzo Nobel/Nouryon Employees: 5 Harcos Chemicals, Inc.
Columbus West Point
662-240-8633 DPM Fragrance 662-494-5998
Products: Sodium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide Starkville
Products: Distributor and producer of industrial
Employees: 100 662-324-2231
chemicals
Products: Candles and fragranced wax
Employees: 350
American Power Source Employees: 176
Columbus Industrial Fabricators
662-328-2173 Dutch Maid Equipment Co. Columbus
Products: Military BDUs Columbus 662-327-1776
Employees: 98 662-328-3813 Products: Custom fabricating, sandblasting for steel
Products: Fabrication of car wash equipment and metal buildings
Employees: 10 Employees: 14
Aurora Flight Sciences
Columbus Ecolab Microtek Medical Inc. International Papers (CMF)
662-328-8732 Columbus Columbus
Products: Unmanned aerial vehicles, other aviation 662-327-1863 662-243-6934
related products Products: Disposable medical products Products: Modified paper
Employees: 68 Employees: 154 Employees: 100
B&M Pole Company Electric Motors Sales & Service International Papers
West Point Columbus, (Columbus Cellulose Fibers)
662-494-5092 662-327-1606 Columbus
Products: Fishing poles, bait, accessories Products: Electric motors, control, pumps, air 662-434-4000
Employees: 10 compressors, related products Products: Pulp and lightweight coated paper
Employees: 25 Employees: 324
Baldor Electric Company Janesville Acoustics
Columbus Ellis Steel Company Columbus
662-328-9116 West Point 662-327-0756
Products: Large industrial electric motors 662-494-5955 Products: Acoustical and thermal fiber insulation
Employees: 271 Products: Fabricated metal manufacturing Employees: 100
Employees: 150
Columbus Brick Company Johnston Tombigbee Furniture Mfg. Co.
Columbus Flexsteel Industries, Inc. Columbus
662-328-4931 Starkville 662-328-3346
Products: Face and common brick 662-323-5481 Products: Bedroom, motel furniture
Employees: 80 Products: Commercial seating, office/instructional Employees: 180
Employees: 180
Columbus Machine & Welding Works Kerby Building Materials
Columbus Garan, Inc. Starkville
662-328-8473 Starkville 662-323-8021
Products: Fabrication welding and machine works 662-323-4731 Products: Industrial/commercial metal
Employees: 20 Products: Toddler/infant fleece clothing Employees: 170
Employees: 140
6 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 19
18 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 7
8 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 17

Incubator space adds to Communiversity mission

Startups, industries can rent space in EMCC facility to open this fall
BY MARY POLLITZ | mpollitz@cdispatch.com

W
hen East Mississippi Community College’s
Communiversity opens in the fall, hundreds
of students will fill the main bays training to
one day work for an advanced manufacturing industry.
Down the hall, a handful of entrepreneurs will be start-
ing their own businesses.
EMCC has reserved laboratories and meeting spaces
at the Communiversity for startups and industries to rent.
Scott Alsobrooks, EMCC president, said he wanted to set
aside the incubator space to encourage potential business-
es to set up shop in the region.
“We want to play an important role in that,” Alsobrooks
said. “We know our role is not to attract them but to help
those here and get them a trained workplace. That’s the
partnership we want to play with (The Golden Triangle
Development) LINK.”
He added that spaces, which have high-bay doors,
open workspace, shelving, storage, and wash stations,
could be used by existing industries working to expand or
create new lines of product.
“It’ll be easy for someone to start up, back the vehicle
in, get the forklift out,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s ready to go.
Everything they would need is here. It would be very easy
for a company to come in here and set up shop.”
Macaulay Whitaker, chief operating officer for the LINK,
said the incubator space is modeled after a relationship
built between Paccar and EMCC whenever Paccar first
arrived in the Golden Triangle. When Paccar came to
Columbus, it was temporarily housed at EMCC’s (CMTE)
center for manufacturing technology excellence.
“That fostered a really great relationship between the
Chris Jenkins/Special to The Dispatch
workforce services department and EMCC and the com- East Mississippi Community College President Scott Alsobrooks stands in class laboratory for mechanical systems
pany,” Whitaker said. “We thought, ‘Let’s make sure we students in the Communiversity Tuesday afternoon. The Communiversity has 21 labs, three of which will serve as incu-
always have a space for that, for a prospective or existing bators for upcoming businesses to use temporarily. Alsobrooks said he hopes the space the Communiversity provides
company that may need some space to do things.’ It can will help recruit and retain the industrial boom in the Golden Triangle.
be a startup space when (companies) are under construc-
tion. It can be interview space for an existing industry who and Oktibbeha counties, a Golden Triangle decorates the
might want t do hiring ramp-ups off-site.” front of the building advertising the three counties’ efforts
Whitaker added that the facility, with the diverse space to increase industry.
it provides, captivates the mission behind the Communi- “There’s nothing like this in the southeastern United “That reserved space for our existing
States,” Alsobrooks said. “The part of getting students in
versity: community.
“That reserved space for our existing and potential em- and out into the workforce is important, but we could and potential employers really does
have done that in a metal building. What’s unique about
ployers really does wonders for fostering that really close
relationship for the community college but also creates this is it’s going to attract industry to the area. (These wonders for fostering that really close
counties) are willing to invest in that. That’s what really
an open-door policy for the facility,” Whitaker said. “That
building is not just intended for EMCC to train, but we sets this building apart. relationship for the community college
want it to be an open place so everyone in the community
can have some sort of ownership and role in it because
“I can’t help but believe when site selectors for compa-
nies come in and see this, they’re going to know this area
but also creates an open-door policy
that just further markets what it’s really there to do, to train is committed to work force development,” he added. “It’s
a huge investment in the present and the future. Without
for the facility. ”
the next level of employees for the region.” Macaulay Whitaker,
From looks alone, Alsobrooks believes the facility will a doubt, (potential industries are) going to have that wow chief operating officer for the LINK
attract the right business or industry to open in the area. factor when they see this. It will definitely attract business
With funding for the facility coming from Clay, Lowndes and industry.”
16 Sunday, May 26, 2019
Communiversity
Continued from Page 9
$2.5 million from Oktibbeha County, $1 million from Clay and
$400,000 from EMCC.
Alsobrooks said he hopes the facility itself will recruit students
in area middle schools and high schools to consider manufacturing
degrees. To do that, the facility will showcase an Imagination Cen-
ter decorated with airplanes hanging from the ceiling, helicopters
and 18-wheelers on floor level — all made in the Golden Triangle.
“This is going to be a museum. I think Smithsonian when I
look at a space like this,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s going to be a very
important part of what we do here, it’s going to reach down to
lower grade levels, middle school age kids and get them interested
in advanced manufacturing technology. We’ll have elementary
school, middle school, out-of-school, general public, wherever we
think we can get students to serve in these high-tech areas.”
The purpose of EMCC is to help fill the void of employees for
local industry by recruiting students to pursue manufacturing de-
grees, he said. Looking at the big picture, he hopes for the next big
industry to come from a student who studied in those classrooms
and worked on a Paccar engine in one of EMCC’s laboratory.
“I want the industry to have a good pool of applicants, but I
hope some students get the entrepreneurial itch,” Alsobrooks said.
“We want people to also think they can be a job creator. We’re
hopeful some students get that initiative and think, ‘Maybe one day
I’ll be the next Paccar or Aurora Flight or Stark Aerospace.’ There’s
going to be people that come into this facility and leave and do
great things. The sky is the limit. That’s the American dream.”
The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 9
LINK: Infinity megasite ‘red hot’ with prospects
Recruiting, improvements continue at Golden Triangle industrial sites
By Alex Holloway | aholloway@cdispatch.com
G
olden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe
Max Higgins says there’s no shortage of work
to continue strengthening industries in the
Golden Triangle’s industrial development sites.
In Lowndes County, Higgins said, the Infinity Megasite
is “red hot.”
The LINK is currently courting two significant poten-
tial projects, one of which received a proposed incen-
tives package in mid-May. Work continues to prepare an
offer for the other tenant.
Higgins said either project would be the largest the
LINK has ever recruited.
“We’ve got two projects looking at it that capital ex-
penditure is in the billions, let’s just put it like that,” Hig-
gins said. “Per project. We’ve never recruited a project
Chris Jenkins/Special to The Dispatch that we’ve known was a billion dollars, and the projects
East Mississippi Community College President stands in the Communiversity’s Imagination Center Monday looking at the Infinity Megasite are in excess of that.”
afternoon. The center will hold airplanes, trucks and helicopters from area industries and serve as a recruit-
The LINK unveiled the Infinity Megasite in August
ing tool for the facility. The Communiversity is the college’s advanced manufacturing facility geared toward
2016. It sits on 1,144 acres to the west of the Golden
students working on real-life projects made in the Golden Triangle.
Triangle Regional Airport and boasts a 100-megawatt
power capacity, with water pumping capacity in excess
of 7 million gallons per day.
A megasite, in economic development, is a large
parcel of land, with suitable infrastructure, designed to
house industrial production. The Infinity megasite is a
Tennessee Valley Authority-certified site. Higgins said
it is the last TVA site available for development, which Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff
helps make the site more attractive for potential business Early work is in progress for an expansion to add a line to produce galvanized steel at Steel Dynamics Industries. The
developments. expansion is valued at $250 million, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins.
Meanwhile, Higgins said Steel Dynamics has initiat-
ed work on a $250 million expansion to add a line for where we are right now and we don’t want to stop.
galvanizing steel. Higgins said the addition will allow SDI People might not realize it but Lowndes County is the
to produce more high-quality steel that sells for a higher premier county in the region and we want to keep it that
price.
“That steel mill can only make 3.4 million tons of steel
way.” “We’ve got two projects looking at it
per year,” Higgins said. “The question is, do you want to Starkville that capital expenditure is in the bil-
make cheap steel or do you want to make value-added In Starkville, the LINK has its sights set on a new
steel that commands a higher price? That’s where these tenant for the eastern edge of a new industrial park north lions, let’s just put it like that. Per proj-
guys are going.”
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors recently
of the Highway 389 and Highway 82 intersection.
Much of Starkville’s ___-acre park is tied up while ect. We’ve never recruited a project
authorized a $3.5 million bond for infrastructure work at
the site that hosts Steel Dynamics. Much of the mon-
officials wait for a lawsuit against the site’s rezoning to
conclude. Nearby landowners sued to challenge the
that we’ve known was a billion dollars,
ey, $1.28 million, is to pave Charleigh Ford Road, with
additional money to build a new pump station near SDI,
rezoning of the land to suit the industrial park’s needs.
Most recently, the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled in
and the projects looking at the Infinity
repaint rusted water pipes and improve wastewater treat-
ment. Board President Harry Sanders said the work will
favor of the rezoning, and Higgins said the case has been Megasite are in excess of that.”
appealed to the court of appeals. Should that fail again, Golden Triangle Development LINK
help keep the park in top shape as Lowndes continues the landowners could take it to the state Supreme Court, CEO Joe Max Higgins
seeking to grow. which could take up the case or reject it.
“You never get complacent,” Sanders said. “You
always want to keep going. “We’re real pleased with See Industrial Sites, 16
10 Sunday, May 26, 2019
Industrial sites
Continued from Page 15
In the meantime, the LINK is marketing
about 80 acres on the park’s east side,
which are already zoned for commercial
development.
While Higgins was mum on much in
the way of details, he said an announce-
ment is drawing near for a piece of that
property. He said the site will take up to
about seven or eight acres.
“We are working on a memorandum
of understanding,” he said. “I would an-
ticipate that by mid-June we will be over
there in front of the community present-
ing the project.”
The LINK is also in talks with a po-
tential tenant for a 150-acre parcel in
the park’s western end. Higgins said
the capital expenditure on the project
would be “very high.” However, whether
the project comes through may, in part,
depend on when and how the lawsuit is
finished.
“We are marketing it for a standalone
facility,” he said. “That would take up
everything we have purchased west of
Sudduth Road. That wouldn’t just be pret-
ty big — it’d be real big.”
Mayor Lynn Spruill said the industrial
park will play a crucial role in continuing
Work continues near the entrance of an industrial park in Starkville, including the recent paving of the road through the park. LINK and city officials are hoping to announce a
tenant for the eastern portion of the park by mid-June.  max capacity of 400. Macaulay Whitaker, chief operating
The Dispatch
to strengthen Starkville’s industrial base,
and noted that having strong industries
is an important piece for helping cities
thrive.
“If there’s an industry up there that’s
employing 100 people, 150 people, I
can’t imagine that someone would not
find that as a catalyst or a good reason
to have their business up there,” Spruill
said, “whether it’s a new McDonald’s or a
Whataburger or whatever. I can’t see why
they wouldn’t want to come up there and
be a part of the activity I feel sure will be
generated to the north.”
West Point
In West Point, Higgins said Peco Foods
is preparing to get its refrigeration facility
up and running.
Higgins said the company faced some
delays, due to unexpected work that
needed to be done on the building. How-
ever, he said Peco will use its refrigeration
facility as a distribution point for all of the
products the company makes.
Peco has also started construction on a
facility that will house three food produc-
tion lines, Higgins said. Most of the com-
www.cdispatch.com
Work continues near the entrance of an industrial park in Starkville, including the recent
paving of the road through the park. LINK and city officials are hoping to announce a
tenant for the eastern portion of the park by mid-June.
pany’s 300 jobs will go toward the lines.
Higgins said the LINK has also recently
gotten options to market about 500 acres
on Yokohama Boulevard, near a sub-
station, that could house “high-energy”
users.
“Everyone thinks big smokestacks but it
doesn’t have to be,” Higgins said. “Some
Salute to Industry
Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff
of these data centers that are out looking
around right now — those facilities use
hundreds of megawatts too.
“We think this site offers West Point a
very, very unique niche that you can’t get
in most places,” he added. “We’re going
to try to exploit that, and companies are
already looking at it.”
Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff
Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 15
Industrial success starts in the classroom
EMCC Communiversity slated to open this fall
BY MARY POLLITZ | mpollitz@cdispatch.com
M
ore than 200 students will study advanced
manufacturing on helicopters, engines and
machinery this fall in East Mississippi Com-
munity College’s Communiversity in Lowndes County.
For EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks, the industrial
boom in the Golden Triangle will start with these stu-
dents’ education at the state-of-the-art facility. Located
on Frontage Road, the school’s advanced manufacturing
building will offer classes throughout the day in the $42.6
million, nearly 150,000 square-foot facility. The facility
boasts 21 class laboratories designed to teach students
the fundamentals of engine building, wiring, comput-
ing and more. With technology and careers changing
rapidly, Alsobrooks said the structure is designed evolve
with the times. The laboratories have high, roll-up doors
designed to easily move machinery in and out.
“There’s an immense amount of flexibility in this
building,” Alsobrooks said. “We know what we are
doing today but that changes so fast and so rapidly. Who
knows what we are doing in five years with automatic
and unmanned-vehicles? It’s going to be real easy to
change from technology to technology. The one constant
we have in this world is change.”
Area industries, such as Paccar, Aurora, Stark Aero-
space and Airbus, have donated technology, engines,
18-wheelers and helicopters to help students fill the void
in industrial and manufacturing jobs in the Golden Trian-
gle. This, he said, will allow students hands-on training
with real-world equipment in pursuing advanced manu-
Chris Jenkins/Special to The Dispatch
facturing certifications. For example, he added, when a This mechanical systems laboratory is one of 21 labs opening this fall for advanced manufacturing students at East
student decides they want to learn avionics, they learn Mississippi Community College’s Communiversity. Students will earn technical and manufacturing degrees by working
by pulling wires through a Lakota helicopter donated by on area industry’s projects, machines and engines in the nearly 150,000 square foot facility.
Airbus.
While local industrial partners are looking to glean officer for the Golden Triangle Development LINK, views
their own workforce from the Communiversity proving the facility as a way to expand students’ education with
ground, skills the students learn there can help them
secure careers outside the Golden Triangle.
the ever-changing industrial world.
“That facility, not just being a larger space that can
“The skills that are taught here cross-
“The skills that are taught here crosscut many fields,”
Alsobrooks said. “If you learn to pull wire in a helicopter,
accommodate a larger enrollment of students, but also
a more high-tech facility that can allow us to grow and
cut many fields. If you learn to pull
you can probably go to Toyota across the road and pull adapt to the changing needs of our employers in the wire in a helicopter, you can probably
wires in a Toyota. We are teaching them problem solving area,” Whitaker said. “This space will do a number of
and how to think critically. things to encourage young students to pursue a life of go to Toyota across the road and pull
“You may get some specific hands-on stuff geared STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathemat-
toward a Paccar engine, but you’re learning how to solve ics) careers. We look forward to how it will change this wires in a Toyota. We are teaching
problems and that applies to any industry,” he added. region.”
“There’s higher level learning here that cross cuts many The facility was funded with $18 million from state them problem solving and how to think
industries.”
The facility will start with approximately 200 students,
bonds, $10.7 million from the Appalachian Region-
al Commission, $10 million from Lowndes County,
critically.
EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks
Alsobrooks said, but hopes to soon reach the facility’s
See Communiversity, 10
14 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 11
12 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 13
12 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 13
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10 Sunday, May 26, 2019
Industrial sites
Continued from Page 15
In the meantime, the LINK is marketing
about 80 acres on the park’s east side,
which are already zoned for commercial
development.
While Higgins was mum on much in
the way of details, he said an announce-
ment is drawing near for a piece of that
property. He said the site will take up to
about seven or eight acres.
“We are working on a memorandum
of understanding,” he said. “I would an-
ticipate that by mid-June we will be over
there in front of the community present-
ing the project.”
The LINK is also in talks with a po-
tential tenant for a 150-acre parcel in
the park’s western end. Higgins said
the capital expenditure on the project
would be “very high.” However, whether
the project comes through may, in part,
depend on when and how the lawsuit is
finished.
“We are marketing it for a standalone
facility,” he said. “That would take up
everything we have purchased west of
Sudduth Road. That wouldn’t just be pret-
ty big — it’d be real big.”
Mayor Lynn Spruill said the industrial
park will play a crucial role in continuing
Work continues near the entrance of an industrial park in Starkville, including the recent paving of the road through the park. LINK and city officials are hoping to announce a
tenant for the eastern portion of the park by mid-June.  max capacity of 400. Macaulay Whitaker, chief operating
The Dispatch
to strengthen Starkville’s industrial base,
and noted that having strong industries
is an important piece for helping cities
thrive.
“If there’s an industry up there that’s
employing 100 people, 150 people, I
can’t imagine that someone would not
find that as a catalyst or a good reason
to have their business up there,” Spruill
said, “whether it’s a new McDonald’s or a
Whataburger or whatever. I can’t see why
they wouldn’t want to come up there and
be a part of the activity I feel sure will be
generated to the north.”
West Point
In West Point, Higgins said Peco Foods
is preparing to get its refrigeration facility
up and running.
Higgins said the company faced some
delays, due to unexpected work that
needed to be done on the building. How-
ever, he said Peco will use its refrigeration
facility as a distribution point for all of the
products the company makes.
Peco has also started construction on a
facility that will house three food produc-
tion lines, Higgins said. Most of the com-
www.cdispatch.com
Work continues near the entrance of an industrial park in Starkville, including the recent
paving of the road through the park. LINK and city officials are hoping to announce a
tenant for the eastern portion of the park by mid-June.
pany’s 300 jobs will go toward the lines.
Higgins said the LINK has also recently
gotten options to market about 500 acres
on Yokohama Boulevard, near a sub-
station, that could house “high-energy”
users.
“Everyone thinks big smokestacks but it
doesn’t have to be,” Higgins said. “Some
Salute to Industry
Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff
of these data centers that are out looking
around right now — those facilities use
hundreds of megawatts too.
“We think this site offers West Point a
very, very unique niche that you can’t get
in most places,” he added. “We’re going
to try to exploit that, and companies are
already looking at it.”
Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff
Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 15
Industrial success starts in the classroom
EMCC Communiversity slated to open this fall
BY MARY POLLITZ | mpollitz@cdispatch.com
M
ore than 200 students will study advanced
manufacturing on helicopters, engines and
machinery this fall in East Mississippi Com-
munity College’s Communiversity in Lowndes County.
For EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks, the industrial
boom in the Golden Triangle will start with these stu-
dents’ education at the state-of-the-art facility. Located
on Frontage Road, the school’s advanced manufacturing
building will offer classes throughout the day in the $42.6
million, nearly 150,000 square-foot facility. The facility
boasts 21 class laboratories designed to teach students
the fundamentals of engine building, wiring, comput-
ing and more. With technology and careers changing
rapidly, Alsobrooks said the structure is designed evolve
with the times. The laboratories have high, roll-up doors
designed to easily move machinery in and out.
“There’s an immense amount of flexibility in this
building,” Alsobrooks said. “We know what we are
doing today but that changes so fast and so rapidly. Who
knows what we are doing in five years with automatic
and unmanned-vehicles? It’s going to be real easy to
change from technology to technology. The one constant
we have in this world is change.”
Area industries, such as Paccar, Aurora, Stark Aero-
space and Airbus, have donated technology, engines,
18-wheelers and helicopters to help students fill the void
in industrial and manufacturing jobs in the Golden Trian-
gle. This, he said, will allow students hands-on training
with real-world equipment in pursuing advanced manu-
Chris Jenkins/Special to The Dispatch
facturing certifications. For example, he added, when a This mechanical systems laboratory is one of 21 labs opening this fall for advanced manufacturing students at East
student decides they want to learn avionics, they learn Mississippi Community College’s Communiversity. Students will earn technical and manufacturing degrees by working
by pulling wires through a Lakota helicopter donated by on area industry’s projects, machines and engines in the nearly 150,000 square foot facility.
Airbus.
While local industrial partners are looking to glean officer for the Golden Triangle Development LINK, views
their own workforce from the Communiversity proving the facility as a way to expand students’ education with
ground, skills the students learn there can help them
secure careers outside the Golden Triangle.
the ever-changing industrial world.
“That facility, not just being a larger space that can
“The skills that are taught here cross-
“The skills that are taught here crosscut many fields,”
Alsobrooks said. “If you learn to pull wire in a helicopter,
accommodate a larger enrollment of students, but also
a more high-tech facility that can allow us to grow and
cut many fields. If you learn to pull
you can probably go to Toyota across the road and pull adapt to the changing needs of our employers in the wire in a helicopter, you can probably
wires in a Toyota. We are teaching them problem solving area,” Whitaker said. “This space will do a number of
and how to think critically. things to encourage young students to pursue a life of go to Toyota across the road and pull
“You may get some specific hands-on stuff geared STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathemat-
toward a Paccar engine, but you’re learning how to solve ics) careers. We look forward to how it will change this wires in a Toyota. We are teaching
problems and that applies to any industry,” he added. region.”
“There’s higher level learning here that cross cuts many The facility was funded with $18 million from state them problem solving and how to think
industries.”
The facility will start with approximately 200 students,
bonds, $10.7 million from the Appalachian Region-
al Commission, $10 million from Lowndes County,
critically.
EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks
Alsobrooks said, but hopes to soon reach the facility’s
See Communiversity, 10
16 Sunday, May 26, 2019
Communiversity
Continued from Page 9
$2.5 million from Oktibbeha County, $1 million from Clay and
$400,000 from EMCC.
Alsobrooks said he hopes the facility itself will recruit students
in area middle schools and high schools to consider manufacturing
degrees. To do that, the facility will showcase an Imagination Cen-
ter decorated with airplanes hanging from the ceiling, helicopters
and 18-wheelers on floor level — all made in the Golden Triangle.
“This is going to be a museum. I think Smithsonian when I
look at a space like this,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s going to be a very
important part of what we do here, it’s going to reach down to
lower grade levels, middle school age kids and get them interested
in advanced manufacturing technology. We’ll have elementary
school, middle school, out-of-school, general public, wherever we
think we can get students to serve in these high-tech areas.”
The purpose of EMCC is to help fill the void of employees for
local industry by recruiting students to pursue manufacturing de-
grees, he said. Looking at the big picture, he hopes for the next big
industry to come from a student who studied in those classrooms
and worked on a Paccar engine in one of EMCC’s laboratory.
“I want the industry to have a good pool of applicants, but I
hope some students get the entrepreneurial itch,” Alsobrooks said.
“We want people to also think they can be a job creator. We’re
hopeful some students get that initiative and think, ‘Maybe one day
I’ll be the next Paccar or Aurora Flight or Stark Aerospace.’ There’s
going to be people that come into this facility and leave and do
great things. The sky is the limit. That’s the American dream.”
The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 9
LINK: Infinity megasite ‘red hot’ with prospects
Recruiting, improvements continue at Golden Triangle industrial sites
By Alex Holloway | aholloway@cdispatch.com
G
olden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe
Max Higgins says there’s no shortage of work
to continue strengthening industries in the
Golden Triangle’s industrial development sites.
In Lowndes County, Higgins said, the Infinity Megasite
is “red hot.”
The LINK is currently courting two significant poten-
tial projects, one of which received a proposed incen-
tives package in mid-May. Work continues to prepare an
offer for the other tenant.
Higgins said either project would be the largest the
LINK has ever recruited.
“We’ve got two projects looking at it that capital ex-
penditure is in the billions, let’s just put it like that,” Hig-
gins said. “Per project. We’ve never recruited a project
Chris Jenkins/Special to The Dispatch that we’ve known was a billion dollars, and the projects
East Mississippi Community College President stands in the Communiversity’s Imagination Center Monday looking at the Infinity Megasite are in excess of that.”
afternoon. The center will hold airplanes, trucks and helicopters from area industries and serve as a recruit-
The LINK unveiled the Infinity Megasite in August
ing tool for the facility. The Communiversity is the college’s advanced manufacturing facility geared toward
2016. It sits on 1,144 acres to the west of the Golden
students working on real-life projects made in the Golden Triangle.
Triangle Regional Airport and boasts a 100-megawatt
power capacity, with water pumping capacity in excess
of 7 million gallons per day.
A megasite, in economic development, is a large
parcel of land, with suitable infrastructure, designed to
house industrial production. The Infinity megasite is a
Tennessee Valley Authority-certified site. Higgins said
it is the last TVA site available for development, which Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff
helps make the site more attractive for potential business Early work is in progress for an expansion to add a line to produce galvanized steel at Steel Dynamics Industries. The
developments. expansion is valued at $250 million, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins.
Meanwhile, Higgins said Steel Dynamics has initiat-
ed work on a $250 million expansion to add a line for where we are right now and we don’t want to stop.
galvanizing steel. Higgins said the addition will allow SDI People might not realize it but Lowndes County is the
to produce more high-quality steel that sells for a higher premier county in the region and we want to keep it that
price.
“That steel mill can only make 3.4 million tons of steel
way.” “We’ve got two projects looking at it
per year,” Higgins said. “The question is, do you want to Starkville that capital expenditure is in the bil-
make cheap steel or do you want to make value-added In Starkville, the LINK has its sights set on a new
steel that commands a higher price? That’s where these tenant for the eastern edge of a new industrial park north lions, let’s just put it like that. Per proj-
guys are going.”
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors recently
of the Highway 389 and Highway 82 intersection.
Much of Starkville’s ___-acre park is tied up while ect. We’ve never recruited a project
authorized a $3.5 million bond for infrastructure work at
the site that hosts Steel Dynamics. Much of the mon-
officials wait for a lawsuit against the site’s rezoning to
conclude. Nearby landowners sued to challenge the
that we’ve known was a billion dollars,
ey, $1.28 million, is to pave Charleigh Ford Road, with
additional money to build a new pump station near SDI,
rezoning of the land to suit the industrial park’s needs.
Most recently, the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled in
and the projects looking at the Infinity
repaint rusted water pipes and improve wastewater treat-
ment. Board President Harry Sanders said the work will
favor of the rezoning, and Higgins said the case has been Megasite are in excess of that.”
appealed to the court of appeals. Should that fail again, Golden Triangle Development LINK
help keep the park in top shape as Lowndes continues the landowners could take it to the state Supreme Court, CEO Joe Max Higgins
seeking to grow. which could take up the case or reject it.
“You never get complacent,” Sanders said. “You
always want to keep going. “We’re real pleased with See Industrial Sites, 16
8 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 17

Incubator space adds to Communiversity mission

Startups, industries can rent space in EMCC facility to open this fall
BY MARY POLLITZ | mpollitz@cdispatch.com

W
hen East Mississippi Community College’s
Communiversity opens in the fall, hundreds
of students will fill the main bays training to
one day work for an advanced manufacturing industry.
Down the hall, a handful of entrepreneurs will be start-
ing their own businesses.
EMCC has reserved laboratories and meeting spaces
at the Communiversity for startups and industries to rent.
Scott Alsobrooks, EMCC president, said he wanted to set
aside the incubator space to encourage potential business-
es to set up shop in the region.
“We want to play an important role in that,” Alsobrooks
said. “We know our role is not to attract them but to help
those here and get them a trained workplace. That’s the
partnership we want to play with (The Golden Triangle
Development) LINK.”
He added that spaces, which have high-bay doors,
open workspace, shelving, storage, and wash stations,
could be used by existing industries working to expand or
create new lines of product.
“It’ll be easy for someone to start up, back the vehicle
in, get the forklift out,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s ready to go.
Everything they would need is here. It would be very easy
for a company to come in here and set up shop.”
Macaulay Whitaker, chief operating officer for the LINK,
said the incubator space is modeled after a relationship
built between Paccar and EMCC whenever Paccar first
arrived in the Golden Triangle. When Paccar came to
Columbus, it was temporarily housed at EMCC’s (CMTE)
center for manufacturing technology excellence.
“That fostered a really great relationship between the
Chris Jenkins/Special to The Dispatch
workforce services department and EMCC and the com- East Mississippi Community College President Scott Alsobrooks stands in class laboratory for mechanical systems
pany,” Whitaker said. “We thought, ‘Let’s make sure we students in the Communiversity Tuesday afternoon. The Communiversity has 21 labs, three of which will serve as incu-
always have a space for that, for a prospective or existing bators for upcoming businesses to use temporarily. Alsobrooks said he hopes the space the Communiversity provides
company that may need some space to do things.’ It can will help recruit and retain the industrial boom in the Golden Triangle.
be a startup space when (companies) are under construc-
tion. It can be interview space for an existing industry who and Oktibbeha counties, a Golden Triangle decorates the
might want t do hiring ramp-ups off-site.” front of the building advertising the three counties’ efforts
Whitaker added that the facility, with the diverse space to increase industry.
it provides, captivates the mission behind the Communi- “There’s nothing like this in the southeastern United “That reserved space for our existing
States,” Alsobrooks said. “The part of getting students in
versity: community.
“That reserved space for our existing and potential em- and out into the workforce is important, but we could and potential employers really does
have done that in a metal building. What’s unique about
ployers really does wonders for fostering that really close
relationship for the community college but also creates this is it’s going to attract industry to the area. (These wonders for fostering that really close
counties) are willing to invest in that. That’s what really
an open-door policy for the facility,” Whitaker said. “That
building is not just intended for EMCC to train, but we sets this building apart. relationship for the community college
want it to be an open place so everyone in the community
can have some sort of ownership and role in it because
“I can’t help but believe when site selectors for compa-
nies come in and see this, they’re going to know this area
but also creates an open-door policy
that just further markets what it’s really there to do, to train is committed to work force development,” he added. “It’s
a huge investment in the present and the future. Without
for the facility. ”
the next level of employees for the region.” Macaulay Whitaker,
From looks alone, Alsobrooks believes the facility will a doubt, (potential industries are) going to have that wow chief operating officer for the LINK
attract the right business or industry to open in the area. factor when they see this. It will definitely attract business
With funding for the facility coming from Clay, Lowndes and industry.”
18 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 7
6 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 19
20 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 5

Golden Triangle Manufacturers Directory

Ace Decoy Anchors, LLC Columbus Marble Works, Inc. General Machine Works
West Point Columbus West Point
662-494-5092 662-328-1477 662-494-5155
Products: Decoy duck anchors, targets, etc. Products: Marble, granite monuments and Products: Machining, milling and tool repair
Employees: 176 mausoleums Employees: 3
Employees: 64
Airbus Helicopters, Inc. Glenn Machine Works, Inc.
Columbus Datco International Columbus
662-327-6226 Columbus 662-328-4611
Products: Helicopter manufacturing and assembly 662-327-3995 Products: Crane rentals, rigging, steel fabrication,
Employees: 180 Products: Tack cloth for automotive industry, lint industrial supplies
free wipers and wiping Employees: 160
Akzo Nobel/Nouryon Employees: 5 Harcos Chemicals, Inc.
Columbus West Point
662-240-8633 DPM Fragrance 662-494-5998
Products: Sodium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide Starkville
Products: Distributor and producer of industrial
Employees: 100 662-324-2231
chemicals
Products: Candles and fragranced wax
Employees: 350
American Power Source Employees: 176
Columbus Industrial Fabricators
662-328-2173 Dutch Maid Equipment Co. Columbus
Products: Military BDUs Columbus 662-327-1776
Employees: 98 662-328-3813 Products: Custom fabricating, sandblasting for steel
Products: Fabrication of car wash equipment and metal buildings
Employees: 10 Employees: 14
Aurora Flight Sciences
Columbus Ecolab Microtek Medical Inc. International Papers (CMF)
662-328-8732 Columbus Columbus
Products: Unmanned aerial vehicles, other aviation 662-327-1863 662-243-6934
related products Products: Disposable medical products Products: Modified paper
Employees: 68 Employees: 154 Employees: 100
B&M Pole Company Electric Motors Sales & Service International Papers
West Point Columbus, (Columbus Cellulose Fibers)
662-494-5092 662-327-1606 Columbus
Products: Fishing poles, bait, accessories Products: Electric motors, control, pumps, air 662-434-4000
Employees: 10 compressors, related products Products: Pulp and lightweight coated paper
Employees: 25 Employees: 324
Baldor Electric Company Janesville Acoustics
Columbus Ellis Steel Company Columbus
662-328-9116 West Point 662-327-0756
Products: Large industrial electric motors 662-494-5955 Products: Acoustical and thermal fiber insulation
Employees: 271 Products: Fabricated metal manufacturing Employees: 100
Employees: 150
Columbus Brick Company Johnston Tombigbee Furniture Mfg. Co.
Columbus Flexsteel Industries, Inc. Columbus
662-328-4931 Starkville 662-328-3346
Products: Face and common brick 662-323-5481 Products: Bedroom, motel furniture
Employees: 80 Products: Commercial seating, office/instructional Employees: 180
Employees: 180
Columbus Machine & Welding Works Kerby Building Materials
Columbus Garan, Inc. Starkville
662-328-8473 Starkville 662-323-8021
Products: Fabrication welding and machine works 662-323-4731 Products: Industrial/commercial metal
Employees: 20 Products: Toddler/infant fleece clothing Employees: 170
Employees: 140
4 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 21

Airbus Long Branch Co., Inc.

West Point
Orman’s Welding & Fabrication
West Point
Southern Reel
Starkville
Continued from Page 3 662-494-8860 662-494-9471 662-324-3636
very proud of that,” Spears added. “... And we are continuously Products: Structural steel fabrication Products: Conveyor/conveying equipment, misc. Products: Injection molding, extrusion, cable and
hiring in Columbus in line with the growth of our business.” Employees: 8 general purpose machinery manufacturing wiring packaging, plastic spools, plywood reels
Airbus also accepts between three and five interns studying Employees: 24 Employees: 35
business or engineering from East Mississippi Community College, Mississippi Precision Cast Parts, LLC
Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women and Columbus Paccar, Inc. Southwire Company
University of Alabama each semester. Interns work alongside full- 662-245-1155 Columbus Starkville
Products: Investment casting and foundry 662-329-6703 662-324-6600
time employees in human resources, shop floor control and finance.
Employees: 19 Products: Diesel engines Products: Copper building wire, power cable
The company continues to pursue Army contracts, which, in the
Employees: 600 Employees: 261
past, have made the company tens of millions of dollars. Currently,
Airbus is waiting to hear back on a proposal sent in for the man- Mississippi Steel Processing, LLC
Columbus Peco Foods Stark Aerospace, Inc.
ufacturing of the H135, a twin-engine military training helicopter West Point
662-327-3150 Columbus
that would require additional parts not currently manufactured by Products: Poultry cutting and distribution
Products: Steel fabrication 662-798-4075
Airbus’ Columbus location, something that would bring more jobs Employees: TBA
Employees: 71 Prudicts: UAVs
to the area, Spears said.
Employees: 46
“We feel very welcome here and have a great partnership with Rempel Roto-Cast Company
Monroe-Tufline Manufacturing Co.
Columbus and the surrounding areas,” he said. “... We feel like a West Point
Columbus Sqwincher Corporation
part of the community and are proud of the work that we are doing 662-328-8347 662-494-1094 Columbus
in Mississippi and that we can help contribute to the local econo- Products: Agricultural and dirt moving equipment Products: Plastic products manufacturing 662-328-0400
my.” Employees: 45 Employees: 5 Products: Electrolyte replacement beverage
Whitaker said the LINK is still “committed” to helping Airbus Employees: 70
succeed. Motion Industries S&N Wood Products
“We hope we can facilitate an environment where they can con- Columbus Columbus Sturgis Mat Company Inc.
tinue to grow,” she said. “We love to see our industry succeed and Courtesy photo 662-328-8041 662-328-0140 Sturgis
we’re very thankful that Airbus has been a part of that, and contin- Airbus’ Columbus location currently employs between 150 and 200 workers, but has the capacity to hire Products: Industrial parts Products: Wood pallets and skids 662-465-8879
ues to be part of that.” four times that. Workers manufacture helicopters and specialized parts. Employees: 10 Employees: 8 Products: Pipeline draglines and crane mats
Employees: 70
Mount Vernon Mills, Inc. Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Columbus Columbus Trimjoist Corporation
662-328-5670 66-245-4267 Columbus
Products: Textile, waistbands, slitting Products: Sheet metal 662-327-7950
Employees: 32 Employees: 740 Products: Floor systems
Employees: 45
Southern Ionics
Nammo Talley West Point
Crawford
662-494-3055
Valmet
662-272-6111 Columbus
Products: Inorganic chemical manufacturing
Products: Shoulder mounted rockets 662-328-3841
Employees: 350
Employees: 1 Products: Paper mill roll covering and
reconditioning
Southern Lure Co. Employees: 109
Navistar Defense Columbus
West Point 662-327-4548
662-494-0098 Xeruim
Products: Fishing lures Starkville
Products: Defense vehicles Employees: 10
Employees: 200 662-323-4064
Products: Papermaker’s felt
Southern Outdoor Technologies Employees: 220
New Process Steel West Point
Columbus 662-495-1050
205-281-8345 Products: Hunting blinds and stands Yokohoma Tire Manufacturing, LLC
Products: Steel fabrication Employees: 311 West Point
Employees: 41 800-423-4544
Southern Pharmaceuticals Corp. Product: Commercial tires
Columbus Employees: 668
662-327-2060
Products: Compounding of medications
(nebulizers)
Employees: 13
22 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 3

Airbus ‘center for excellence’ paying dividends

As contracts keep coming, company looks to Columbus
site to shoulder lion’s share of its U.S. manufacturing load
By AMANDA LIEN | alien@cdispatch.com

W
hen Airbus announced plans
to open a manufacturing lo-
cation in Columbus in 2005,
members of the Golden Triangle Devel-
opment LINK saw an opportunity for an
“industrial renaissance,” said LINK Chief
Operating Officer Macaulay Whitaker.
“Airbus’ arrival in Columbus, them
announcing they were coming here to
take advantage of our workforce was a
stamp of approval,” she said. “That really
sent us on our way. We really built a
manufacturing culture here and as they
continue to stay here, they continue to
invest in our community.”
Airbus is an international airplane and
helicopter manufacturing company with
nearly 25,000 employees worldwide,
including four locations in America. The
Columbus location, which manufactures
helicopters and helicopter parts, opened
in 2006 and has nearly 200 employees
who build two to three Lakota Helicop-
ters each month for the U.S. Army.
About 1,100 pilots per year are also
trained on-site to fly the Lakota UH-72A
helicopter. The Columbus facility —
located near Golden Triangle Regional
Airport off Highway 82 — produces
about 80 H125 aircraft per year, also
customizing those and other aircraft.
Courtesy photo
Last year, Airbus shifted the majority
Every Airbus employee has specialized training in a certain kind of manufacturing. If Airbus gets new contracts to manufacture differ-
of their manufacturing jobs to Columbus, ent components or helicopters, there is often a need for more employees.
creating what Vice President of Industry
Michael Spears called an “industrial cen- on-site to attract new talent.
ter for excellence.” Each Airbus employ- Airbus also works with the Columbus
ee works at specific stations: mechanical Air Force Base to connect airmen leaving
assembly, wiring installation, navigation the military with job opportunities, “Airbus’ arrival in Columbus, them announcing they were
systems and safety testing. Training for something Whitaker emphasized as part
every station is specialized, and with that of the value Airbus brings to the region. coming here to take advantage of our workforce was a
need for specialization comes a growing
need for more workers. Every time Air-
“It’s really important to know people
at the base have an option for employ-
stamp of approval. That really sent us on our way. We really
bus lands a contract for a new product,
specialized training is required to make
ment (at Airbus),” she said. “We want to
keep them here in the region.”
built a manufacturing culture here and as they continue to
those components. Sometimes, Spears “About 40 percent [of employees in stay here, they continue to invest in our community.”
said, workers can be shuffled around Columbus] are U.S. veterans and we’re LINK Chief Operating Officer Macaulay Whitaker
and trained in something new, but more
often than not, Airbus holds hiring events See Airbus, 4
2 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com
Advertiser Index
4-County Electric Power Association................. 2
Airbus................................................................. 5
Aurora Flight Sciences..................................... 23
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle........ 7
Brunini Law Firm...............................................14
C&P Printing......................................................16
Columbus Brick Company.................................. 2
Columbus Light & Water..................................... 7
Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce...... 7
East Mississippi Community College................. 8
Fastenal............................................................ 23
Flexsteel............................................................16
Greater Starkville Development Partnership.....18
International Paper............................................. 6
Lowndes County Board of Supervisors.............11
Neel-Schaffer..................................................... 4
Salute to Industry Salute to Industry The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Sunday, May 26, 2019 23
Newell Paper Products......................................18
PACCAR Engine Company...............................11
Phillips Contracting........................................... 23
Puckett-McGee Electric Supply........................ 22
Royal Trucking Company.................................. 22
Southern Ionics.................................................11
Southwire...........................................................18
Steel Dynamics.................................................19
Sullivan’s Office Products..................................12
Superior Catfish Products.................................. 6
The Clinic at Elm Lake........................................ 4
The Commercial Dispatch.................................17
The Link............................................................ 22
Tronox................................................................13
Valmet............................................................... 24
24 Sunday, May 26, 2019 The Dispatch www.cdispatch.com Salute to Industry

A LUTE TO
S

INDUSTRY

Incubator space adds to

Communiversity mission.....17
SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019

Airbus ‘center for excellence’ paying LINK: Infinity megasite ‘red hot’ with Industrial success starts
dividends .................................................3 prospects ................................................9 in the classroom ...................................15