FARMINGTON -- A two-state, nonprofit corporation formed to bring medical manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Highway 62 corridor is finding itself in a surprisingly good position.
Heartland Advanced Medical Manufacturing Regional Cluster is a regional organization currently made up of two founding members, Fayetteville Chamber's Economic Development Authority and Tahlequah, OK Regional Development Authority, and three other members so far, city of Farmington, city of Stilwell, Okla., and the Cherokee Nation.
Heartland is specifically targeting companies that manufacture medical devices for Washington County and Adair and Cherokee counties in Oklahoma.
Wayne Mays, senior policy advisor with Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, gave Heartland's board of directors, chaired by Farmington Mayor Ernie Penn, the good news at their July meeting at Farmington City Hall.
Mays said Heartland believed the process to recruit these type jobs would be to first conduct research, help identify land that could be used for a facility and then start identifying prospects and marketing the region as a place to produce medical devices.
What has happened, Mays said, is that some companies are finding Heartland, not the other way around.
Heartland already has hosted prospects looking for space within existing buildings for manufacturing. Mays described the space as "clean rooms" and said the companies are looking for a "room within a room."
"We thought we'd have to look for five acres for a facility," Mays said. "We've shifted gears and are looking for sites already up and running."
Mays, last week, said he's been talking to three fairly new companies that do not have a lot of capital to buy land and build a facility yet but are interested in leasing and keeping their costs low until they've grown large enough to need their own building. As an example, one prospect produces a device that safely secure IV tubes, Mays said.
Several locations have been identified for the prospects, including the old Campbell Soup building on Double Springs Road in Farmington; EMS, Inc., in Dutch Mills and Marshalltown Tool in Fayetteville.
Mays pointed out that Chamber President Steve Clark has described healthcare as the "fourth leg" of the economic strengths in Northwest Arkansas. The others are retail (Walmart), protein (Tyson Foods) and trucking (J.B. Hunt).
With recent announcements about new healthcare facilities in this area, opportunities will exist for companies manufacturing medical devices that want to relocate near their customers, Mays said.
"It's exciting for us," he added.
Nathan Reed, president and CEO of Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Development Authority, shared about another prospect currently in Illinois that may be interested in relocating to the industrial park in the Cherokee Nation. This company manufactures masks and sells medical supplies and would create 150 jobs in five years, Reed said.
The regional organization aims to identify, attract and keep healthcare manufacturers in the Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma area. It will focus on manufacturing devices, components and gear for the healthcare industry to create jobs and careers for workers and high school graduates.
Heartland's articles of incorporation say its purpose is described as promoting education, leadership and community involvement projects to enhance the quality of life in the geographical region of the regional cluster.
Its office is located at 21 W. Mountain St., Suite 300, in Fayetteville.