ALLIED TUBE LATEST BLOW TO ECONOMY

By Ezra Mann/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

With the announcement of Allied Tube & Conduit closing its doors in mid-September, the numbers may seem to only be adding up when it comes to loss of industry in Jefferson County.

It is not a good trend and the effects can be seen everywhere in a community from retail to restaurants, Lou Ann Nisbett, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County, said in an interview on Friday.

When a large industry such as Allied Tube pulls 226 jobs out of the community, other businesses may lose employment as well since the money that would have been spent by those employees has been reduced.

“It has a domino effect and people don’t want to invest in a market where they see a declining tax base,” Nisbett said. “It hurts the city and county and as a result, there is a lack of money to support industry or pay for services like police.”

Jefferson County Judge Mike Holcomb said it is a disturbing trend and that the area does not need to lose any more jobs. Instead of loss, the city and county must preserve current industry and bring in new potential.

“It just gives more validity to what the chamber is trying to do,” Holcomb said.

Since 1995, more than 1,300 jobs have been lost in the area, including Kennametal IPG in 2002, which made drill bits, with 115 employees, the closure of the Tyson Foods chicken facility on West Second Avenue in 2004 with 150 employees and the shutting down of the manufacturing operation at VP Buildings in 2005, which eliminated 136 jobs.

Losses also include Casting USA in 1995, a steel foundry which eliminated 15 jobs, International Wire Group, a maker of copper as well as electronic wire with 94 employees in 2001, and the most recent losses at Allied Tube, according to numbers provided by The Alliance.

However, Nisbett noted that Pine Bluff is a place that has a heart and has weathered hard times before. Positive numbers provided show that there has been some progress with the promise of jobs in 2007 including 300 at Pine Bluff Poultry, which is taking over the former Tyson facility on West Second Avenue and others including 900 announced in 1999 through Raytheon, URS Washington Division, at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.

Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. issued a statement when asked about job losses in the Pine Bluff area.

“Although The Alliance plays a major role in industrial development, economic development in general is up to each of us. City and county officials and The Alliance must develop a comprehensive economic development strategy...,” Redus said. “Furthermore, I charge local managers and business owners to seek opportunities to contract with local firms. We need to look inward and outward for opportunities and make sure all of our major industries are supported and supplied locally, to the extent feasible.”