METAL MART REVIVING FORMER AMSCO FACILITY FOR METAL SHEET BUSINESS

By Ezra Mann/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Though the housing construction business is still being hit hard across the nation, in Pine Bluff a former facility has been given new life as Metal Mart, 4400 S. U.S. 65.

Metal Mart uses the facility to cut and shape prefabricated sheet metal as well as provide building materials, including products for metal roofs or walls, said Donnie Darden, area manager for the company.

The building, formerly McElroy Metal Mill Inc., a maker of pre-engineered steel buildings that came to Jefferson County in 1986, started out as AMSCO Fabricators in 1973, said Darden.

The building is still owned by the Cheatwood family and was being rented by McElroy, the parent company for Metal Mart, before it ceased a majority of operations in Pine Bluff, Darden said.

The company serves homeowners as well as construction companies.

Headquartered in Bossier City, La., Metal Mart took over the facility on Oct. 1 and has since extended the lease with the intention of giving Pine Bluff a try for the long haul since there is a significant customer base, Darden said. The company also has Arkansas offices in Mayflower, Jonesboro, Fort Smith and El Dorado as well as locations in Texas, Mississippi, Colorado and New Mexico.

“It’s all about giving service to customers and helping with their construction projects, and this facility fit our needs,” said Darden. “We try for better than our competitors and like to provide product now instead of making our customers wait.”

What the company does not have in stock can be ordered and delivered within a week, operating somewhat like a lumber yard, said Darden.

The company currently employs one person, Randy Covington though another person will begin working soon. If things become busy enough the firm could expand to six or seven employees.

AMSCO, a manufacturer of conveyors for the paper industry, including some business done with Evergreen Packaging, built the plant used by Metal Mart in the 1980s. It was leased to McElroy in 2006, before being rented to Metal Mart, said Rob Cheatwood, who handles sales for AMSCO. The fabricator still sells as well as designs conveyors, but contracts most of the machine building to other companies now and hopes are that Metal Mart can remain in the area.

“We were thrilled to get a new entity from outside of Pine Bluff and we’d be glad to help them expand if they need more space,” added Cheatwood. “We can’t stand too many more of these guys leaving.”