In a bad economy, instead of job cuts, Arkansas' only nanomanufacturing plant plans on hiring hundreds of new employees, in the next five years. What these companies are doing is turning a special powder into an extremely hard coating for metal cutting tools; it's a new technology that's generating jobs. Tools will stay sharp, longer, thanks to Duralor and NanoMech's innovation: and this means more efficient production, for a fraction of the cost; but it also means a big job market addition, for Springdale.
Duralor President Bob Reed envisions the future this way: "we're planning, over the next five years, to add as many as 100 jobs here at Duralor, and also as many as 200 jobs at NanoMech." And he says hiring so many people isn't a "pipe dream." Reed says one new customer told him; "'it's revolutionary. You've come up with a product everyone else has dreamed about over the years, and you guys have actually done it.' And we have done it; we've got the equipment in place, we're hiring people." And it's not just new hires: officials say they expect the company to make ten to fifteen million dollars within five years, as well adding to the city's property and payroll taxes; and the wages don't look too shabby, either. Reed estimates "overall rates including the engineers and technicians should be around $60,000 per employee." Springdale Chamber President Perry Webb says by selling globally but producing from Springdale, these companies will help stimulate the economy the way few can. Duralor Co-Founder Ajay Malshe agrees. "With the timeliness, with the investments, with the support of Springdale, Northwest Arkansas, and U.S., truly the stimulus will come from a business like this, where the jobs can ramp up to 100's in the next few years." And it's not just tools doing the cutting. The new companies are planning a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Duralor facility at 2447 Technology Way in Springdale at 9:00 a.m. on May 29th. City officials say Duralor's decision to set up shop in the Springdale Technology Park adds to the more than thirty seven hundred jobs created in Springdale in the last eight years.
