PRAIRIE GROVE -- One industry in Prairie Grove has tripled its business in the last eight years and plans to build a new 40,000-square-foot building to meet its capacity needs and prepare for the future.
Prairie Grove Planning Commission approved a large scale development plan for PolyTech Plastic Molding & Extrusion at its July 15 meeting.
Owner Jim Benton said PolyTech's business is "exploding," and the company is as busy as it ever has been.
"We've outstripped our capacity," Benton said last week, predicting the company will grow in business another 20% by the end of 2022.
PolyTech has expanded its footprint the past two years. It purchased the former Tyson Foods hatchery building in Lincoln in 2019, and opened that structure as its new distribution center in January 2020. It also is using a warehouse in Siloam Springs to receive raw materials.
PolyTech's newest expansion will be a standalone building located next to its current facility, a 65,000-square-foot building at 126 N. Industrial Road in Prairie Grove.
Benton said the company hopes to break ground in mid-August and the building should be finished in about seven to eight months. The plan is to use local supplies and subcontractors as much as possible for the construction project, he said.
"We'll only go out of the area if we have to," Benton said.
Benton said this building will house 18-20 new molding machines and will accommodate a 15-ton crane and a five-ton crane and heavier machines to manufacture larger parts.
Benton said a lot of work has gone into the building design. The facility will have planned work stations. All utilities will be incorporated into the floor, so that wiring will come from the ground level, not above. Troughs in the ground will be used for chilled water used by the machines.
"That will all make a very clean environment," he said. "It will be much safer and more efficient."
The building also will have a lobby, conference room, several offices and an observation mezzanine for visitors to watch the production underway in the plant.
PolyTech employs a workforce of about 100 people and expects to grow its employee base to 150 to 170 people over the next two years, according to Benton. This includes hiring more employees at the current facilities and adding another 20-25 employees for the new building.
The company receives raw materials at its warehouse in Siloam Springs and these are transported to the plant in Prairie Grove for production. Benton said about five truckloads of finished products are taken to the distribution center in Lincoln every day.
PolyTech now has 75 customers and produces about 1,500 parts for those customers. It ships out products to customers in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. As an example, Benton said the company produces the Mainstay platter for Walmart and ships 30,000 platters per week to Walmart stores in all 50 states.
Long-term plans are to move out of Siloam Springs and build a new 60,000-square-foot facility on the property in Lincoln.
Like many businesses, PolyTech has a labor shortage.
"We're experiencing a very true labor inflation because of the federal stimulus program," he said. "It's taken 50 million people out of the job market."
PolyTech is actively seeking employees and has raised its beginning pay from $11 per hour to $14.50 per hour, with a $1 deferential for certain shifts. The company operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also offers other benefits and bonuses to employees. Employees work three days a week in 12-hour shifts and are off four days.
Benton said the covid-19 pandemic caused many customers to realize how fragile the supply chain can be when parts became unavailable to manufacture products.
"We can't build cars unless we have access to supplies overseas," Benton said.
Now, companies are reshoring their products and are looking for ways to bring production back to the United States, instead of depending so much on foreign products, he said.
