Log In | Register
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — An India-based pipe manufacturer is no longer planning to open a $100 million plant along the Arkansas River in Little Rock, state officials said Tuesday.
Man Industries Ltd. is no longer moving forward with its proposed plant, which officials last year said would bring more than 250 new jobs to the region, Arkansas Economic Development Commission spokesman Scott Hardin said Tuesday.
"Right now, it's our understanding that Man is not proceeding with their U.S. manufacturing facility," Hardin said.
Hardin said he believed that project had fallen through because of problems financing the plant.
"I think it's just a matter of the economy and credit," Hardin said.
The company had announced the plant last year, which officials said would be able to produce 300,000 tons of pipes to be used primarily for the petroleum industry. The state had promised the firm $3.5 million in incentives, but no money had ever been handed over, Hardin said.
The Little Rock Board of Directors was expected to vote Tuesday night on a proposal by the Little Rock Port Authority to buy the 155 acres intended for the plant for $2.2 million. Little Rock city staff recommended that the board approve the deal.
The state incentives offered the plant came from Gov. Mike Beebe's "quick action closing fund," used to attract new businesses to the state. Beebe last year had said the starting salary for workers at the plant would be close to $12 an hour.
The firm also was offered $9.5 million in incentives through infrastructure improvements from Little Rock and Pulaski County.
