Economic Report Looks Upbeat In Coming Year

Valley Tool, Inc. owner/operator Cayce Washington (right) spoke to county officials during a recessed meeting held Jan. 24 in Coffeeville. His comments came during an economic report spear-headed by Yalobusha County Economic Development Director Bob Tyler. – Photo by David Howell

Brad Crafton is working to secure financing for a small-scale power plant that will use new technology.

By David Howell
Editor

COFFEEVILLE – Yalobusha supervisors received an upbeat report on economic development in the county that included growth at current industries and several dynamic projects in early stages.

    The report came during a recessed meeting held Jan. 24 in Coffeeville after Yalobusha County Economic Development Director Bob Tyler invited employers and others involved in economic development to update supervisors.

    Tyler opened the comments, praising supervisors for their role in economic development in the county,  and pointed to two expansions in the works this year –  120 jobs at BorgWarner in Water Valley and 35 new jobs at Windsor Foods in Oakland.

    After Tyler opened the report, next to speak was Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Regional Development Specialist Larry Young.

    Young also praised the ongoing-work with the current industry in the county, noting the two expansions that will bring new jobs to Yalobusha are similar to national statistics.

    “Nationwide 80 percent of the jobs created in the United States come from existing companies,” Young explained.

    “There seems to be a strong emphasis on bio-fuels and energy conservation,” Young reported about potential growth areas across the state.

    “I know the economy have been kind of slow lately, but it is picking up,” Young added.

Cayce Washington

    Valley Tool, Inc. owner/ operator Cayce Washington followed Young and he first emphasized his appreciation to supervisors for granting industrial tax exemptions to his company. Washington connected the importance of these tax exemptions to his company and Yalobusha County.

    “If you are like me, you want to know what you are getting for your money,” Washington explained, providing statistics on his work force and the payroll generated by Valley Tool.

    In 2010 Washington said his work force averaged 150 employees with an annual gross payroll of $3.2 million with an average wage of $10.35 per hour.

    “Nobody is getting rich, but it is a good honest living,” Washington added. “The majority of the people who work in our facility live within a five to 10 mile radius of our facility.”

    Washington then shifted to projects his company is involved with, describing contracts with national companies ranging from Caterpillar, General Electric to others located in the county including BorgWarner and Windsor Foods.

    Washington also ex-plained that his company had been tested, like others, during the economic downturn in recent years.

    “Right now our phone is ringing off the hook. We don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done,” Washington said about an economic rebound.   

Blair Jernigan

    Next to speak was Blair Jernigan with Advanced Global Technologies.  Jern-igan provided an overview of his company, which is made up of a coalition of leaders from science, military, industry and government.

    “We are involved in projects that include information technology, broadband, energy and alternative energy, transportation and some military based projects,” Jernigan explained.

    “We are looking ahead to technology that isn’t in place yet,” Jernigan added.

    Jernigan stressed two key factors that determine viability for projects his company represents – affordable energy and rail accessibility.

    “Bob (Tyler) assures me that there are efforts underway in this county to provide those types of advantage to industries that locate here,” Jernigan said.             “There are two projects we have determined probably have some advantage in this county,” Jernigan then explained.

    Jernigan identified one potential project that could be a match for the county.

    “There is a young man from your community, he holds the secret for one of the proprietary and intellectual properties,” Jernigan explained, pointing to Brad Crafton who was also on the lineup of speakers at the meeting.

Brad Crafton

    Crafton then updated supervisors on his project, which he described as a small scale power plant. This marked the second time Crafton had addressed county officials. At an earlier meeting, he reported there was a possibility that the plant could be located on the west side of Yalobusha.

    “The good news is, since I last attended your meeting, is that my application to T.V.E.P.A. through Cayce’s Valley Tool operation has been approved by Tennessee Valley Authority.

    Crafton told supervisors that he is working with (Cayce) Washington to put the project together and is also in the final phases of securing funding for the business which will use renewable energy sources to generate power.

    “I am expecting to see something positive in the next six months,” Crafton added, when asked about a timeline for his project.

John Phillips

    While other speakers talked about the possibility of bringing an industry to Yalobusha County, John Phillips told supervisors that Power Savers, Inc. has purchased a 20 acre site near Oakland.

    Phillips was introduced by North Central Planning and Development Commun-ity Development Coordi-nator Tim Climer.

    Climer provided a short overview of the business, explaining that Power Savers is a minority-owned business in a high growth industry.

    “They offer an innovative approach incorporating energy efficiency with renewable resources,” Climber explained.

    The company specializes in providing alternative solutions  to meet an immediate need to lower energy costs to a home or business.

     Phillips told supervisors that work is underway at the Oakland site to build an office/warehouse/training facility that will serve as a model to supply training, testing, networking and monitoring platform for energy efficiency and renewable resources.

    Power Savers, Inc., which is currently located in Batesville, also performs environmental remediation with hazardous material or oil spills.

    Phillips added that  the operation will start out small, in terms of jobs.

Two More Projects

    Following the string of speakers, Tyler closed the report with two more economic prospects for Yalobusha.

    The first is a company which manufactures paper bags and has looked at several sites in Yalobusha County.

    “He would need 50 people the first day,” Tyler explained. Tyler added the company is currently securing funding to open the new plant.

    The second project identified by Tyler was fast food operation.

    “We are confident we are going to have a new fast food operation,” Tyler explained.

    Tyler did not identify the franchise, but reported a Tennessee man is working to open the business in vicinity of Hwy. 32 and the bypass in Water Valley.

Closing Comments

    “Every board member here can tell the public that we have an economic development board here that is second to none,” District One Supervisor Tommy Vaughn said following the report.

    “You have been on the ground running and done a tremendous amount of work. When these things come to fruition, everybody will know about them,” Vaughn added.