The TV shows Shark Tank met American Idol Tuesday (Aug. 12) at the annual G60 contest, which was hosted at the 2014 NWA Business Expo in Rogers. The two winners in Tuesday’s competition were Tony Corbett of Trec-Solar and Water 4 Life, a solar water filtration company, and Stacy Tan of Lynxus, a company designing a new social media app.

Conceived in August 2011, G60 promotes startups and fosters communication between potential investors and entrepreneurs. G60 Founder Jeff Amerine said the events feature entrepreneurs who have 60 seconds to convince judges and the audience that their idea is the best. The Rogers event featured a “people’s choice” and a “judges’ choice” award, with $1,000 awarded to each winner. But the money is just a first step.

“They have to convince the investors to take the next meeting,” Amerine said. 

Northwest Arkansas has been called a hotbed for the startup community and that entrepreneurial spirit is just getting hotter, he said. There also is a greater interest from larger companies in mentoring and other partnerships with the newer, smaller business. 

Corbett developed the idea for Trec-Solar several years ago and it creates mobile solar generators that purify water. This solar-generated water purification may be used in third-world countries to provide clean water. The Water 4 Life is a nonprofit organization that will raise funds to send the purification systems to other countries. The next step for Corbett is to get his website launched, he said.

Tan is part of a team that created Lynxus, which is a social media app that “gives power” to the user. Existing social media platforms limit users to absorb what content their contacts place in their feed. With Lynxus, users can request content from other users including information and live video. It will allow users (“Lynxers”) to witness world events and develop their own understanding instead of trying to decipher which news network is providing accurate, unbiased coverage. They are two weeks from beta launch and about two months from full product launch, she said. 

Amerine, director of technology ventures at the University of Arkansas, said during the recent NWA Technology Summit, that competitions such as the G60 and other pitch contests provide energy and opportunities to keep the tech startup sector moving forward.

“A supportive ecosystem for startup ventures is key to the region’s ability to develop into a technology hub,” Amerine said.

He added that entrepreneurship alliances, accelerators and incubators, contests and competitions and more angel funding are part of the necessary support o keep the flywheel turning.

Past G60 particpants include some of the region’s fastest growing startups such as Douglas Hutchings of Silicon Solar Solution, and Ryan Frazier of DataRank.

“Condensing an entire business opportunity into an easily digestible explanation is one of the most meaningful, yet challenging things an entrepreneur can do. If you can't share your ideas, you're hosed,” Frazier said.

A request by Whirlpool Corporation to add additional monitoring wells at the northeast corner of its shuttered manufacturing plant and adjacent properties in south Fort Smith has been approved by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

In an Aug. 6 letter from ADEQ Hazardous Waste Division Engineer Mostafa Mehran to Whirlpool Director of Environmental Health & Safety Robert Karwowski, Mehran said the company would have to install at least one more monitoring well and soil boring location on property owned by the city of Fort Smith northeast of the intersection and Ingersoll Avenue and Jenny Lind Road.

The company will also be required to provide data to back up geological assertions by Whirlpool's environmental consultants that bedrock below the surface would be encountered at 24 feet to 30 feet underground, versus the historical experience of 30 to 35 feet.

"Information from the five (5) newly installed monitoring wells at the northeast portion of the site may have confirmed bedrock at a higher elevation east of the current MIP profiles, but ADEQ has not received any information on the geology penetrated or construction (including total depths) of these wells," Mehran wrote. "Soil borings must extend down to bedrock even if total depth is greater than thirty (30) feet."

In addition to the city of Fort Smith's property, some of the additional monitoring wells will be installed at the Boys and Girls Club in the neighborhood, the original supplemental work plan stated.

In a statement at the time of the request (Aug. 4), Whirlpool Vice President Jeff Noel said the company was committed to being a "responsible corporate citizen of Fort Smith and to managing this issue in an open and responsible matter."

The Fort Smith regional travel and tourism sector continues to post gains compared to 2013 based on hospitality tax collections in Fort Smith and Van Buren, with sector employment still a bright spot in the regional labor market.

Hospitality tax collections in Van Buren for the first six months of 2014 total $216,205, up 1.6% compared to the same period in 2013. The city collects a 1% tax on lodging and a 1% prepared food tax.

June receipts totaled $35,594, down 2.6. However, Maryl Koeth, executive director of the Van Buren Advertising & Promotion Commission, said a mailing error prevented a large collection from being entered in June. She said the June tally will be “slightly above” June 2013 when the check is received.

If the June collection is amended higher, the city will have enjoyed four consecutive months of gains. February was down 0.5%, but that followed a 4.2% increase in January collections.

Koeth said hotel activity is still better than the restaurant sector.

“We continue to see a slow increase in spending with lodging still seeing the bigger increase with a 3.5% increase in receipts over 2013. Restaurants are still below last year by half a percent, which is in keeping with the change we have seen over the last few years in consumer spending,” Koeth explained.

Collections in Van Buren during 2013 totaled $423,221.83, remarkably close to the $423,222.91 during 2012. During 2012, Van Buren hospitality tax collections totaled $425,554, up 5.2% compared to the 2011 collections. Hospitality tax collections in Van Buren during 2011 totaled $429,561, up 2.34% compared to 2010. The 2011 collections ended a two-year skid in Van Buren.

FORT SMITH NUMBERS
For the first six months of 2014 the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau collected $377,375, up 1.8% compared to the same period of 2013. The city collects a 3% tax on lodging.

June hospitality tax collections in Fort Smith totaled $70,206, up 2.4% compared to June 2013.

Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau, said an increase in occupancy and room rates helped push higher the June numbers.

“Increases in collections included Hampton Inn +6%; Homewood Suites by Hilton +8%; Residence Inn by Marriott +10% and Holiday Inn City Center +17%,” Legris wrote in an e-mail. “Holiday Inn showed growth in all market areas including teams for sporting events (swimming and softball tournaments), conferences in conjunction with Convention Center events, in-house conference bookings and corporate.”

Collections in Fort Smith during 2013 totaled $731,057, down 2% compared to the same period in 2012. During 2012, Fort Smith hospitality tax collections totaled $746,182, up 5.37% compared to the 2011 period. The 2011 collections were up 4.3% compared to 2010.

Employment in the region’s tourism industry was 9,600 during June, down from 9,700 in May and above the 9,400 in June 2013. The sector reached an employment high of 9,800 in August 2008.

ARKANSAS TOURISM BOOST
Collections of Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax during the first five months of 2014 totaled $5.284 million, up 6.6% compared to the $4.954 million during the same period of 2013.

The 2% tourism tax set a record in 2013 by reaching $12.716 million. Richard Davies, the state’s tourism chief, predicted 2014 would be even better for Arkansas’ tourism and travel sector. March, April and May set records for collections of the state’s tourism tax for the months.

The 2013 collections were up 2.5% compared to the $12.405 million in 2012, and well ahead of the $11.378 million slump in 2009 when national economic conditions proved tough on Arkansas’ tourism industry.

Rosalind Brewer, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, officially was named presiding co-chair of the Northwest Arkansas Council during its annual meeting held Wednesday (Aug. 13) at the 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville.

Brewer was recognized earlier this year by Forbes magazine as one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. After 22 years with Kimberly-Clark, she joined Walmart in 2006 as a regional vice president. She was promoted multiple times, becoming the leader of the company’s Sam’s Club division in 2012.

She takes over for Mark Simmons, who has served as the council’s presiding co-chair since June 2013. Simmons, one of the Council’s founding members, is chairman of Simmons Foods in Siloam Springs.

The council, which was established in 1990, is a private, non-profit organization committed to sustaining and improving Northwest Arkansas as a great place to live and conduct business. The organization has a history of being led by Northwest Arkansas’ top business leaders and executives. Alice Walton was chair when the organization was first established and then John Paul Hammerschmidt took over in 1993.

Hammerschmidt, who was ending his 26 years in Congress, led the Council until 2006. In 2006, the Council announced that it would use a system of presiding co-chairs to serve as the organization’s top official, changing the presiding co-chair annually. Past presiding co-chairs are Simmons, Lee Scott, Jim Walton, John A. White, Kirk Thompson, David Gearhart and John Tyson.

Blue Rooster is finalizing plans to open a poultry deboning operation at the former H&L Poultry plant in Warren, and anticipates 100 new jobs will be created, according to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Blue Rooster’s operation will primarily focus on deboning poultry for Ozark Mountain Poultry (OMP), a family-owned company based in Rogers. OMP produces more than 3 million pounds of antibiotic-free poultry per week for the restaurant industry and for retail under the Forester Farmer’s Market brand. OMP will also be a majority owner of the newly formed company.

Work is already under way to get the facility ready for production in October.

Blue Rooster is leasing the former H&L facility through an agreement with the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.

Jim Benton and John McCutcheon, co-owners of PolyTech Plastic Molding in Prairie Grove, say they are living the dream since purchasing the plastic injection molding facility in mid 2012. It didn’t hurt that soon after they bought the business Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores announced an “onshoring” initiative to buy more U.S.-made goods.

This duo projects their little enterprise to do $20 million in sales by 2020, maybe before, given the growth expected in part from Wal-Mart’s U.S. manufacturing jobs program.

The long-time business tandem was schooled in manufacturing during more than a decade of work together at Pace Industries in Fayetteville — an aluminum die casting maker — where they worked in sales. They heard the PolyTech plant was for sale so on a slow afternoon they made the drive over to Prairie Grove to check out the possibilities.

It was love at first sight, according to McCutcheon, who said they could not believe how pristine and profitable this off-the-beaten-path plant was, securely tucked away in Prairie Grove’s modest industrial park.

“Former owner John Booth ran this company very well but he was ready to retire and agreed to sell it to us, financing the deal himself with the help of First Security Bank,” Benton said.

The small business was valued at roughly $7 million by an interested private equity firm,   shortly before Benton and McCutcheon cut their deal which allowed Booth to keep the ownership local.

“When we purchased this plant it was only running at 30% capacity and still profitable, which is unheard of in manufacturing. We knew there was a lot of opportunity to grow this business right away,” McCutcheon said.

THANKS, WAL-MART
Within three months of their purchasing the plant, Wal-Mart announced its U.S. manufacturing initiative which took the partners by complete surprise. In their first year of ownership the plant did $5.4 million in sales. 

McCutcheon said within a month of Wal-Mart’s announcement his phone began to ring almost daily from suppliers looking for ways to onshore plastics manufacturing from China.

“It’s been incredible. The business we have attracted related to the Wal-Mart push and we’re just getting started. We knew we could fill this plant up when we bought it, but it’s happening much faster than we first believed because of the Wal-Mart suppliers who want to make products in the U.S again,” said Benton.

“Thank you Wal-Mart,” McCutcheon said in all sincerity.

The 76,000 square-foot plant employs 46 people with 18 die casting machines and more than 300 dies. The company makes the dies in their tool shop that also provides maintenance for other local plastic molding facilities such as Clack and Preferred Line Products of Rogers who also contract with PolyTech for custom and difficult jobs.

“We have our own tool and die shop and prior to us purchasing the company about 55% of the company revenue came from maintenance and diagnostics services for other local shops,” Benton said.

Plant Manager Gaylene Deere is in the process of screening applications for a few more jobs (less than 10) that will be filled in the fourth quarter when production ramps up. The plant now runs six to seven days a week around the clock, and is at about 50% capacity.

Last year the company did $6 million in annual sales and is on pace to exceed $7 million this year, with a strong fourth quarter push, directly related to products that will end on Wal-Mart shelves. One aspect that Benton said sets PolyTech apart from other custom plastics operations is the $1.4 million of inventory kept on hand for their customers at all times. 

“When our customers want it they can have it right away. Most orders can be filled from the store room and then work to restock our storeroom. There is a cost in carrying inventory but it’s an invaluable service to our customers and they appreciate it,” Benton said.

This has been a real benefit to Wal-Mart suppliers who experts say typically needed nine months or more of lead production time when sourcing their products from China.

SUPPLIER WORK
Hot Springs-based Smith’s Products sells a wide variety of knife sharpeners and other products to retailers across the country, including Wal-Mart. All of the company’s plastics manufacturing – 92 separate parts for all their products – is now based in China. Following the Wal-Mart initiative, Smith’s approached PolyTech to do all of its jobs and envisions an entire section of the Prairie Grove plant being dedicated to its manufacturing needs, Benton said.

“We are retooling right now to begin running Smiths products for Wal-Mart next month. Right now Smith’s sells 400,000 of the small knife sharpeners per month in Wal-Mart. They also sell 200,000 of the larger version per month. We will be making these products in-house and packaging them for retail sale,” McCutcheon said.

Burt Hanna, owner of Hanna’s Candles, is a long-time supplier of Wal-Mart Stores and recently contracted with PolyTech to manufacture 3.5 million candle jar lids because he wants to keep the business in Arkansas if possible.

Hugh Jarratt’s taco plate invention and the recent one million unit order from Wal-Mart Stores is another local example of new business for PolyTech Plastics. Jarratt told The City Wire that he wouldn’t have a business without PolyTech who has handled all of his manufacturing, shipping and replenishment from nearly day 1.

Jarratt’s big order came during Wal-Mart’s recent Open Call held in Bentonville. The retailer has promised to make other order announcements conducted at Open Call during its U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Summit in Denver over the next two days
(Aug. 14-15). During this conference The City Wire will report on any updates in U.S. job creation from this initiative.

STARS ALIGN
“We attended a plastics summit in Florida last year and every expert there said the plastics industry is fleeing China and anyone who plans on surviving will need to get out by mid 2015. We were working in aluminum casting in 2002 when we watched the exodus of plastics to China,” Benton said.

Bill Simon, outgoing CEO of Walmart U.S., said in August of last year that the “stars were aligning for U.S. manufacturing jobs to be onshored.” Inflationary labor costs in China, long lead times for production and rising transportation costs have neutralized the benefits of manufacturing plastics and other non-labor intensive products abroad.

“It wasn’t the plastics industry itself that needed to off-shore, but it was the labor intensive assembly up the supply chain that forced the movement,” Benton said.

McCutcheon and Benton said they are convinced the Wal-Mart U.S. manufacturing push will eventually move the needle for stable manufacturing jobs in the U.S. They agree it won’t happen in a year or two, but it will in time as industries re-cluster into manufacturing centers in the U.S. 

Grant Tennille, director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, told The City Wire that plastics injection molding is one of the promising sectors for new growth in the Natural State. He said Northwest Arkansas and surrounding counties south, and east are already seeing active growth.

DREAM MAKER
While the Wal-Mart supplier business is the fastest growing segment for PolyTech, the company has a diverse client base as a custom manufacturer. 

“We just completed a job for Tyson Foods. They are new client and part of $2 million in new business we have added this past year,” Benton said.

PolyTech also does work for Rheem and York for HVAC parts and components, some of which are proprietary pieces from business the plant has been making for more than a decade. Nautilus also is a long-time client of the company as is A.G. Russell Knives. PolyTech also makes pieces for Defense Department suppliers which help to stabilize the missiles as they are packed into canisters. They also make trip wire spools at a rate of 10,000 per month and plastic guards that attach to tank tracks to make them road safe.

“Of the coolest parts of our job is meeting with all the inventors who find us on the Internet and want us to help them make their product, realize their own dream,” Benton said.

He said many times the inventor comes in with an idea, maybe a sketch, never a prototype, most always just an idea or vague concept.

“Our engineer works with them to come up with a design concept. We can print that on our 3-D printer and from there our team can build the dies needed to manufacture the product,” Benton said.

One of those product ideas is now “Paint Handy,” which is a painter’s tool sold now on QVC but hopefully in select retailers at some point, McCutcheon said.

The Christmas Tree Screen is a new product PolyTech is making for an inventor from Joplin, Mo. The plastic screen affixes to the bottom of a Christmas tree to keep cats from climbing the tree. 

“We never know who is going to call or show up and need our help. It’s been really fun to see some of these inventions take off like Jarratt’s taco plate,” Benton said.

Mercy Fort Smith's Hembree Mercy Cancer Center showed off improvements at its long-time facility Tuesday (Aug. 13), including some of the most expensive equipment ever purchased by the medical center that it said would benefit patients who previously were commuting to Northwest Arkansas or Tulsa for certain treatments.

The $5.1 million expansion and renovation of the radiation oncology department inside the cancer center included the purchase of a Varian TrueBeam STx linear accelerator at a cost of nearly $3 million, according to Mercy President Ryan Gehrig. The clinic also added a Varian GammaMed Plus high dose rate brachytherapy unit for treatment of certain types of breast and gynecologic cancers.

The funding, provided by Gerdau, the Hennessy Foundation and First National Bank of Fort Smith, also supported a renovation of the cancer center's lobby and the addition of a patient resource library. The lobby renovation was its first since opening in 1994.

Summer Bonner, the center's lead radiation therapist, explained that the new TrueBeam machine will allow medical staffers at Mercy to better pinpoint treatments and avoid unnecessary damage to nerves, blood vessels or other parts of the body. The pinpointing is allowed because of the device's built-in CT scanner.

"In the past, skid marks and marks on the mask are what we also used to treat patients. Unfortunately when you do that, if you don't have imaging equipment, you have to go with a larger margin because you don't want to miss anything that could be cancerous. It was really important that you include everything. Now we've got this technology, we've been able to shrink our margins and use different types of treatments."

Gehrig explained that the new devices could offer treatments in Fort Smith that previously required travel to other regions like Northwest Arkansas or Tulsa. Bonner explained one of the treatments now available with the TrueBeam device.

"(One of the new treatments available is) intensity-modulated radiation therapy," she said. "That means we can give that tumor a much higher dose and we can spare normal tissue. So now we've got all these imaging techniques and imaging quality, we can use those techniques to treat our patients better and hopefully relieve some of the side affects that they had experienced from the radiation therapy."

Bonner said the new TrueBeam is so accurate, it can treat a tumor with "submillimetric accuracies."

"In the past, we didn't have that capability," she added.

Jayme Gaucher, a radiation therapist at Hembree Mercy Center Center, explained that the addition of the GammaMed Plus device that administers high doses of brachytherapy allows the patients to receive radiation treatments internally through a catheter versus the external radiation administered by the TrueBeam device.

"So we attach it to a catheter, which is attached to a cylinder or something that is inserted in the patient, and it delivers it directly to the tumor or the area where the tumor was," she said.

Gaucher said the device is mainly used for gynecologic cancers and breast cancers and can be combined with external treatments.

"If they get the two together, then they'll get about 30 or so treatments with the external beam radiation and then afterwards, they'll come for maybe three treatments with the HDR (high dose rate). If it's used as their primary treatment, then they only have to have maybe about five. Somewhere in that range. So it's a real short course if it's just this."

The device is the only one of its kind in Fort Smith, Gaucher said, reducing travel time and expense for patients needing the specific type of treatment provided by the HDR machine.

The final addition to the updated cancer center is the patient resource library to the right of the center's entrance, which features materials on treatments, medical information and a computer with Internet access. In the library is an work of art by Little Rock artist Guy Bell entitled "First Light."

According to Traci Webb, director of oncology services, the inclusion of the art is intended to be inspirational for patients experiencing exceptionally difficult challenges as they fight cancer.

"There are analogies that compare a cancer patient's journey to the path of the sun," she said. "Before diagnosis, the patient typically starts their cancer battle doing okay, the sun's still out and things seem somewhat optimistic. As the sun goes down and night falls, much like the time of diagnosis and throughout care, things become darker and more difficult. The sunrise in the morning symbolizes the ending of the cancer patient's treatment. As they sun rises, there is renewed hope and motivation to continue on. We worked very hard to symbolize sunrise instead of sunset by focusing on cool tones of color."

As part of the expansion of the cancer center, Gehrig said the hospital has hired an additional oncologist and would hire more as patient demand required.

He said an exciting feature that would benefit Fort Smith residents is the possibility of specialists being able to treat patients remotely through the new Mercy virtual care center under construction in Chesterfield, Mo.

"You know there could be some specialist services that maybe Fort Smith can't support by itself, but you pool into a larger group that (makes it economically viable). … At this point, I don't know of any specific examples. But it could (come). And all of that is being explored and developed as we speak."

Reforming the state’s workforce education system is the single most-important issue in economic development, Chris Masingill, director of the Delta Regional Authority, said Wednesday at a DRA-sponsored summit that brought together leaders of the business community, educators and officeholders at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for a wide-ranging, daylong discussion of how Arkansas trains its workers.

Arkansas must seize the opportunity while it exists, Masingill said. “We’ve got 10 years to capture re-shoring, right-shoring” of jobs that were moved overseas, he said. In order to do so, he said, “We need fundamental, holistic change in our system.”

The summit, one of eight state-specific meetings conducted in the Mississippi River Delta states, used Re-imagining Workforce Development, a report produced in 2013 by the Southern Growth Policies Board, and updated in July and August of this year.

Report co-author Linda Hoke of Durham, N.C., told attendees that “the rate of change has accelerated in the world,” and therefore education must adapt to meet the needs.
States should promote alternative partnerships in education and business must play a key role in designing the education and training needed to fill current and future jobs and success “requires a system approach,” she said.

To be competitive in the global environment, the report said the Delta region must re-imagine workforce preparation in three key areas: re-imagining readiness, re-engaging adult learners and disconnected youth, and re-aligning relationships and resources. Key actions for re-imagining readiness include strengthening the connection between education and job skills, re-thinking credentials and their value in the workplace and giving students more exposure to the world of work.

More than two-thirds of the workforce in 2020 and nearly half of the workforce in 2030 are already working today, while at the same time, more than one in seven young people age 18-24 are neither working nor in school, the report noted.

In order to re-engage both adults and youths in the education system to update their skills to meet the need for a trained and educated workforce in the future, the system should target workers with some credits with no degree or credential, help dislocated workers rejoin the workforce and recover disconnected youth, DRA said.

The Delta must better align education, workforce and economic development assets to create clear pathways and smooth transitions to facilitate lifelong learning, according to the report. Key actions in that regard include creating continuity in education and workforce development from early childhood through career paths; aligning and tracking data across the educational and workforce pipeline; and engaging business in a meaningful way.

And, Hoke said, there should be a “fourth R” along with the three Rs of re-imagine, re-engage and realign. That fourth R, she said is “Ramp up.” Rather than seek more innovation, “we need to scale them up. We don’t have to re-invent the wheel.”

How Arkansas reforms its workforce education efforts “will define … the shape of the Arkansas economy for the next 20 to 30 years,” said Randy Zook, president of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas. “We’re spending plenty of money. We’ve just got to spend it in the right way.”

The daylong conference where the updated report was revealed also included gubernatorial candidates, Republican Asa Hutchinson and Democrat Mike Ross. Both candidates touted their jobs and workforce education platforms.

Consumers and some farmers across Northwest Arkansas will have another grocery and distribution option as organic grocery chain Whole Foods plans to open a new store in Fayetteville in the fall of 2015. 

Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods will anchor a new retail development of S.J. Collins at 3425 N. College Ave. in north Fayetteville. The grocer will occupy 35,500 square feet in the development. Another 26,670 square feet of other lease space is also available. 

Whole Foods is known for using local farmers sourcing everything from meats, dairy and eggs, fruits and vegetables as well as breads and herbs. The grocer made its mark as a natural foods leader offering gluten-free, organic and non-GMO options long before traditional chains.

But times have changed and now many traditional grocers including discounter Wal-Mart Stores are invested in organic products. Wal-Mart’s April launch of Wild Oats organic products are now in about 2,000 stores.  

“We have not released any metrics or sales information at this point,” Randy Hargrove, Wal-Mart corporate spokesman, said about Wild Oats’ sales.

Whole Foods said in July its comparable store sales increased just 3.9% in its most recent quarter. That's far below Whole Food's long-term target of 6% growth.

HEIGHTENED COMPETITION
Wall Street analysts have said sagging sales at Whole Foods 388 stores across the U.S. and Canada are an indication that the one-time King of Kale is having a harder time fending off aggressive competition from Wal-Mart, Kroger and other regional and local grocers who have also expanded their healthier and organic food offerings.

With Wal-Mart blanketing the local region and much of the nation with more Neighborhood Market stores, Whole Foods will have plenty of competition in Northwest Arkansas. 

Ozark Natural Foods in Fayetteville has practically owned the organic and buy local retail grocery business in Washington County. Fresh Market in Rogers is also a strong competitor. Harp’s has recently made a move toward a healthier-for-you meats program. Allen’s Food Store in Bella Vista expanded its gluten-free and organic food offerings two years ago, giving each category a section in the store.

Whole Foods plans to open a total of 38 new stores this year and will remodel stores that are 10 years old. It is also rolling out a national advertising campaign this fall and is experimenting with home delivery and online ordering.

Walter Robb, co-chief executive of Whole Foods, said the company is "seeing signs of stability in our sales trends and our strategic initiatives will help generate further momentum."

Analysts with Credit Suisse notes that the new initiatives and planned store openings could put pressure on profit margins going forward for Whole Foods.

"While Whole Foods is taking action to address sales weakness, we do not expect progress on these initiatives to meaningfully benefit comparable store sales in the near term," said Joe Agnese, an analyst at S&P Capital IQ.

LOCAL DISTRIBUTION
Area farmers like the Boston Mountain Hog Breeders Association recently discussed opportunities the group could have selling their pork to Whole Foods.

Rose Konold, owner of Mason Creek Farm, recently met with Whole Foods, who toured her Fayetteville farm looking for potential pork suppliers this region, which will include the new store coming to Fayetteville, in Little Rock and soon-to-be two in Tulsa.

“By pooling our resources the farmers in this association will be able to supply enough meat all bearing the same quality label for larger retailers like Whole Foods,” Konold said.

Fran Free, founder of Oh Baby Foods, already has her product sold in hundreds of Whole Foods stores across the country. Free is excited that her all-natural baby food line and coming toddler foods will have another local outlet.

A largely new leadership team at Wal-Mart Stores is focused on better store execution from Bentonville to Shanghai. That was the message shared by execs with the retail giant in its second quarter earnings call  on Thursday (Aug. 14).

Wal-Mart Stores reported fiscal second quarter net income of $4.093 billion, or $1.21 per share. The earnings were deemed respectable by analysts matched the consensus estimate of $1.21 per share. The retailer’s quarterly revenue of $120.125 billion beat the consensus estimate of $119 billion.

On a cautionary note, the company also lowered its full year earnings guidance from a range of $5.10-$5.45 per share to $4.90-$5.15 per share based on higher than expected healthcare costs and “incremental investments” in its e-commerce segments.

Budd Bugatch, analyst with Raymond James & Associates, said Wall Street often frowns on guidance lowering, but in this case higher a higher expense of $500 million for healthcare costs year-over-year and continued investment in e-commerce are far more palatable than hearing consumers are staying way.

Wal-Mart also spent approximately $31 million for the ongoing Federal Corrupt Practices Act inquires and investigations, and $12 million related to Wal-Mart’s global compliance program and organizational enhancements.

Also in the quarter, Wal-Mart said consolidated inventory increased 6.2%, in part because of the new store ramp up coming in back half of the year. That said, Wal-Mart execs vowed to bring the number down to more manageable levels. The retailer showed cumulative inventory totaling $45.451 billion in the quarter, up by more $2 billion in the past year and $593 million more than reported in the first quarter.

Same-store comparable sales during the quarter were flat at Walmart U.S. and at Sam’s Club. Walmart U.S. same-store traffic was down 1.1% with the average ticket price up 1.1%. This included a .70% negative impact from lost SNAP sales in the quarter. At Sam’s Club, the traffic was up 0.3% and the average ticket was down 0.3%.

“I’m pleased with our solid earnings per share performance,” Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO, said in the earnings report. “As it relates to the positives from the quarter, I’m encouraged by the performance of our International business, our Neighborhood Market sales in the U.S. and by our e-commerce growth. As it relates to our challenges in the quarter, we wanted to see stronger comps in Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club, but both reported flat comp sales. Stronger sales in the U.S. businesses would’ve also helped our profit performance.”

The quarterly income of $4.093 billion was just slightly better than the $4.069 billion in the same period of 2013. Total revenue of $120.125 billion was up 2.82% compared to the same quarter of 2013.

For Wal-Mart’s first six fiscal months, net income was $7.686 billion, down from the $7.853 billion in the same period of 2013. Total revenue in the six-months is $235.085 billion, up 1.8% compared to the same 2013 period.

The company said e-commerce sales helped comparable sales by 0.3%. Such sales include online purchases that are picked up by the customer at a store site.

“Our investments in e-commerce and mobile are very important, as the lines between digital and physical retail continue to blur. Our customers expect a seamless experience, and we’re working to deliver that for them around the world,” McMillon said in the statement.

U.S. GAME PLAN
Walmart U.S. reported net sales of $70.601 billion in the quarter, up 2.7% from $69.728 billion in the year-ago period.

“My initial efforts will focus on the core. We will deliver against these key customer requirements: being in stock, clean stores, the right price, the right items, improved service, better productivity,” said Greg Foran, who took over as Walmart U.S. CEO on Aug. 9. “I will be out in stores hearing directly from our customers and our associates and tracking our performance. I’m a competitive person, so I will be visiting the market place as well. We will look to build momentum.”

With Walmart U.S. representing roughly 60% of the company’s total sales, turning this segment around is a major priority to reverse six consecutive quarters of sagging results amid weaker traffic patterns as more sales shift online. Wal-Mart has been adamant that closing underperforming stores is not part of its strategy to right the ship. Chief Financial Officer Charles Holley said during the media call that supercenters still have one of the highest returns of all of the store formats and its makes no sense to shutter stores that are profitable.

Burt Flickinger, a partner with Strategic Resource Group, said Wal-Mart has suffered from not having the right leadership spread across its global enterprise.

“The U.S. segment has been struggling for sometime amid top managers with little operational expertise,” he said, adding that their logistics and financial backgrounds are  impressive but operational execution is a different matter.

McMillon is an operator and merchant at heart and has of late assembled a new cast around him with diverse operational expertise. Wall Street is watching to see what impact this new team will have on bottomline results.

SMALLER STORE PUSH
It’s apparent from Wal-Mart’s report that consumers are choosing to shop the smaller formats as Neighborhood Market reported comp sales of 5.6% in the quarter, while comp traffic rose 4.1%.

Analysts continue to ask Wal-Mart how much this smaller format expansion is hindering sales at neighboring supercenters. Wal-Mart has said it’s not concerned about cannibalization of supercenter sales, because its research shows the format is still valued for stock-up trips — a $585 billion annual market, of which it owns 60%.

The smaller format rollout is aimed to capture a larger share of the $415 billion annual quick-trip market, with 40% of that spend on grocery. Wal-Mart estimates its share of the quick-trip market at just 10%.

Wal-Mart opened 22 Neighborhood Markets during the second quarter and remains on track to open 180 to 200 new stores for the year. Additionally, The retailer said it continues to learn from its Walmart Express format test and has seen continued solid comp sales performance. 

“We’ll continue to roll out this phase of our test, with approximately 90 stores expected to open this fiscal year,” Foran noted in the call.

Another trend Walmart U.S. continues to confront is more consumers shopping online. 

Jan Kniffen of Kniffen Worldwide said as more people buy more products online physical stores and shopping malls will be hurt. He applauds Wal-Mart, the second largest e-commerce retailer next to Amazon, for continued investments it’s making in e-commerce in using stores as delivery options.

“Those brick and mortar stores that figure out how to leverage their physical assets to meet digital demand will be the winners,” Kniffen said.

Wal-Mart is doing just that. The retailer said 20 more supercenters became online fulfillment options in the quarter, and 20% of Wal-Mart’s online orders are now filled by supercenters.

“Our algorithms are helping to determine the optimal shipping point, whether from an online fulfillment center, a store distribution center or a store,” said Neil Ashe, CEO of Walmart Global E-Commerce.

Stacy Widlitz, a CNBC retail contributor, said it will take more time for Wal-Mart’s small store rollout to have a meaningful impact on overall results when so many of the retailer’s stores are supercenters. She said Wal-Mart is moving in the right direction, and the comps at the small store level are good, as are the online sales. She said they’re just not enough to combat the lukewarm results of the massive supercenter fleet.

SAM’S CLUB
Sam’s Club reported total net sales of $14.863 billion in the quarter, up 2.3% from a year ago. Gross profit rate was dinged .50% in the quarter nearly half of which related to investments in the new cash rewards program

“Our top priority at Sam’s Club remains growth – growing our member base and growing sales,” said Rosalind Brewer, Sam’s Club president and CEO. “We’re taking steps to increase the value of membership through investments in Plus member cash rewards and the cash back Mastercard. It’s still early, but member response has been positive.”

Membership and other income grew 10.5%, driven by upgrades and Plus renewals. Brewer said Sam’s launched late in the quarter a social media initiative to drive new membership growth. 

“We had almost 130,000 people respond to the offer, which ran from July 21 to August 1. While the majority of the offer redemptions will cross into the third quarter, we have been pleased by the number of new members who have already come into the club to officially activate their memberships,” Brewer said.

Like Wal-Mart, inventory management is a concern at Sam’s Club with inventory rising 4.7% in the quarter. Brewer said new clubs and an earlier set for fall seasonal merchandise contributed to the inventory uptick.

Brewer said the pets and laundry categories struggled in the quarter, which prompted some transitioning toward better pack-size values. The challenging electronics category is starting to improve despite comp sales weakness in wireless.

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH
The Walmart International division lead the company in sales growth percentage in the quarter, despite a challenging global economy. International sales totaled $33.872 billion, up 3.1% from the year-ago period. Excluding the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations, Walmart International’s net sales for the quarter would have been $34.6 billion, an increase of 5.3% over last year. Currency exchange rate fluctuations negatively impacted net sales by $696 million during the quarter.

Operating income for the segment rose 8% to 1.489 billion.

“We remain focused on price investment across all our markets and expect to continue driving improved comp performance,” said David Cheesewright, Walmart International president and CEO. “I am pleased with the trends in many of our markets, which were driven by a continued focus on being the lowest cost operator.”

He said the global economy remains challenged, which means the customer is also stretched. Price remains a critical factor in our customer’s buying decisions. 

“During a recent visit to Chile, I saw first-hand how important price is to our customers. Just a year ago, Walmart Chile rolled out a mobile app, which allows customers to compare prices between Walmart and competitors. We had almost 200,000 item scans in this quarter alone. We believe innovations like this and price position will continue to set us apart in the market place,” Cheesewright said.

The United Kingdom posted comp sales of 2%, while traffic increased 1.7% and average ticket sales rose 0.3%. While net sales rose 2.2%, gross profit declined as Cheesewright said it faced aggressive price pressure from competitors.

Walmex reported comp sales growth of 1.9% on declining traffic but a 2.1% higher ticket spend. Overall net sales rose 5% in this large segment.

Mexico grew sales by 5.4% with comp sales improving 1.2%, related to Easter sales and strong growth in the self-serve formats. Sam’s has struggled in Mexico so much that the retailer recently announced management changes. Todd Harbaugh, who has more than 20 years of experience with Walmart, including 11 years in the Sam’s Club U.S. business, took over leadership of the club business. The merchandising division for Sam’s Club in Mexico was restructured into two areas, grocery and general merchandise, both with new leadership. 

“Our team is laying the groundwork for a more aggressive strategy to win back members and acquire new ones. We expect continued near-term challenges, but improvement in the longer term,” Cheesewright said.

Canada remains weak for retailers in general. Walmart Canada reported total sales decline 0.2% with 1.1% decline in traffic offset by a 1.3% higher average ticket.

In Brazil, Walmart posted a stellar 9.7% comp sales gain, but traffic was flat and the entire increase was in average ticket spend. Walmart said much of the gain was linked to food, general merchandise and consumable sales driven by the World Cup.

In China, Walmart saw comp sales slide 1.6%, while traffic fell 7.9%, offset by a 6.3% in average ticket spend. Net sales were up 1.1% in China in the quarter.

“We continue to face significant headwinds from government austerity programs, as well as price deflation in some key categories,” Cheesewright said.

The steep traffic decline was impacted by a new home delivery service in 383 stores. Cheesewright said the average ticket for delivery was significantly higher than the average store visit for the quarter.

Wal-Mart shares (NYSE: WMT) held their own following the earnings announcement with trading at $74.15, up 12 cents in Thursday’s morning session. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from an $81.37 high to a $71.51 low.

The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) recently announced the cities and trails that achieved Ride Center recognition and Bentonville was on the list along with Sun Valley, Idaho; Livigno, Italy and Taupo, New Zealand.

The IMBA Ride Center® designation represents the IMBA’s Model Trail recognition for large-scale mountain bike facilities that offer something for every rider. From backcountry adventures to shuttle-served gravity trails, from expert-only to family-friendly, riders should encounter the best the sport has to offer from designated ride centers.  

Bentonville earned a silver rating because of its 40 miles or bike trails, 20 of which are natural surface.The majority of Bentonville’s singletrack trails link directly to its urban trail system, allowing mountain bikers easy access to city amenities including bike stations with air pumps, repair tools, shower facilities and wi-fi check-in spots.

Leading the effort in acquiring the IMBA Ride Center recognition, the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau recently designated bicycle tourism as a priority and works in partnership with Bentonville Parks and Recreation, Bike Bentonville, and Friends of Arkansas Singletrack (FAST) to offer multiple race, ride and skills clinics throughout the year, according to Blair Cromwell, communications director for the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Delta Plastics and a consortium of agricultural interests in Arkansas launched a new water conservation software initiative that leaders say could reduce water usage by 20% by the year 2020.

“This initiative is the most important conservation effort we have ever launched,” said Dhu Thompson, Delta Plastics chairman. “‘Preserving our farmland’ has been our company slogan for nearly 20 years. But conservation and sustainability is so much more than a slogan for us. It is a principle that has driven every major operational decision that we have made.”

The effort will provide irrigation management software to farmers at no charge through a user-friendly, web-based application designed to help farmers create more efficient pipe irrigation of crops.

The free program allows for computer-precision distribution of water through irrigation pipes more evenly, thus saving money from wasted run-off water. The software, called Pipe Planner, was designed more than 20 years ago and called “Faucet” at the time, Thompson said, but it was not user-friendly. Thompson said he contacted the developers and over the last four years has worked to simplify the interface to allow more widespread usage.

Thompson also said that after spending millions of private dollars to redevelop the product, he determined it should be offered for free in order to promote its widespread usage and benefits.

Delta Plastics estimates average water savings of 25-50% in addition to an average 25% reduction in energy costs when using Pipe Planner. Thompson said based on experiments with the software, he estimates that farmers in the Delta could “save more than one trillion gallons of water per year.”

Delta Plastics is the largest recycler of plastics in Arkansas, recycling more than one billion pounds of waste annually across the Delta.

STAKEHOLDERS
A large consortium of stakeholders will help educate farmers and other interested parties on the benefits of the Pipe Planner software.

The Delta Plastics H2O Initiative will:
Create a public/private partnership between Delta Plastics and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Mississippi State University, and other universities in the region of the Mississippi Delta;

Host educational forums for farmers, university extension agents, and private consultants focused on Pipe Planner implementation; and

Allow participants to collaborate on the most efficient water use practices.

“Agriculture has been working tirelessly to contribute efficiencies and new conservation practices to ensure the long-term availability of our natural resources. With the H2O Initiative, we’re pushing even farther in those efforts,” said Arkansas Farm Bureau Executive Vice-president Rodney Baker.

Other stakeholders include:
Agricultural Council of Arkansas
Arkansas Agriculture Department
Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts
Arkansas Farm Bureau
Arkansas Rice Federation
Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC)
Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Promotion Board
Arkansas Cotton Council
Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
AgHeritage Farm Credit Services
Bayou Meto Irrigation District
Delta Council/Delta F.A.R.M.
Ducks Unlimited
Louisiana Cotton and Grain
Mid-South Soybean Board (AR/LA/TX/MO/MS)
Mississippi State University
Natural Resources Conservation Service (AR)
Natural Resources Conservation Service (MS)
Natural Soybean and Grain Alliance
The Nature Conservancy
Tri-State Soybean Forum (AR/LA/MS)
United Sorghum Checkoff Program
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture

Wal-Mart Stores is in need of more retail workers in China and is working with China Chain Store and Franchise Association on a three-year training program aimed at producing 20,000 additional vocational graduates to meet the growing retail demand, according to China Daily.

The program dubbed “Future Retail Star Training” begins in August. The retail giant contributed $812,000 toward to the training program focused on retail basics being taught in 100 vocational schools.

"Some Wal-Mart staff members are getting older and are not familiar with online-to-offline business," said Wu Zenglun, senior director of human resources at Wal-Mart China. "The key strategies are food safety and category management training."

Wal-Mart China said the high demand for entry-level retail employees prompts the need for professional retail vocational training with emphasis on practical and soft skills, such as communication and teamwork.

Tyson Foods and Hillshire Brands were asked to provide more details on their pending merger to the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

The request relates to a "very small portion" of the combined business, the companies said in a combined statement.

As a result of this recent request Tyson has extended the offering period of its previously announced tender agreement to pay $63 per share for Hillshire Brands up to midnight on Aug. 12. Tyson extended the cash offer until Tuesday, Aug. 19.

Tyson and Hillshire Brands continue to expect that the transaction, which remains subject to customary closing conditions, will be completed by or before Sept. 27. As of Aug. 12 about 91.22 million shares had been tendered. This represented about 73% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Wall Street experts expect the deal will pass muster with the Trust Department given the two companies will continue to sell their branded products.

Property within and near a once dying Fort Smith mall is once again getting another injection of capital and jobs.

The former Phoenix Village Mall was purchased in January 2009 by Fort Smith-based FSM Redevelopment Partners and transformed into a site that now boasts more than 1,100 employees with various businesses and tens of millions of dollars in payroll.

According to FSM Redevelopment manager Lance Beaty, the company plans to invest in transforming additional square footage across the street from what is now the Shared Services Center that services Sparks Hospital and its corporate cousins owned by Community Health Systems.

"We are in the process of doing our plans for additional construction and development at that site," he said. "That would include development of the two parcels at Phoenix and Towson, as well as a tract across from our site on Phoenix. We are in the process of cutting that out and designing the refurbishment of that project."

The building being refurbished is across Phoenix from the Shared Services Center (the former Phoenix Expo Center) and will eventually house Beaty's RSVP Event Rentals Business. RSVP grew out of the Expo Center that was closed when the Services Center leased the Expo space.

The move allows RSVP to house the showroom, office and warehouse storage facility in one location versus its current situation which includes some off-site storage, Beaty said. In all, the new facility will have about 22,000 square feet of space, "so we'll take a significant portion of it to expand that operation."

EXTERIOR WORK PLANNED
Plans also call for development of the remaining 172,000 square feet of space at the former mall, which is 45% occupied by tenants including the Shared Services Center and Sykes' inbound call center that provides services for a financial company. Beaty said beyond finalizing plans for the final 172,000 square feet of space, he and his partners also are working on improvements to the exterior of the site.

"We are designing parking lot improvements, landscape improvements and buffers across the 14 acres of parking that we have," he said. "It's 14 acres, or some 1,700 spaces."

In all, Beaty said FSM Redevelopment Partners would likely spend about $5 million on the improvements to the site.

"You have to take into consideration that we'll be developing buildings in the two out parcels and $1 million on parking and landscaping," he said. "It doesn't take long (to see the numbers add up). But we've got some tenants who have made long-term commitments, so we want to make it what it should be."

Among those is the Shared Services Center, which was projected to have a $21.5 million payroll after opening and has maxed out the space it has leased from FSM Redevelopment, according to Beaty.

"I think we built that out for 650 cubicles, if I'm not mistaken. And I think they're at capacity with the number of work stations they've installed," he said.

As a result of the size of the Shared Services Center, Beaty said other businesses are starting to be attracted to the retail space available on-site.

"It drives the need for additional services from dry cleaners to convenience stores. We're starting to see that now. It's taken some time, but we're starting to see it."

NEW SERVICE CENTER, SYKES JOBS
Shannon White, vice president of Community Health Systems — the parent company of Sparks Health System and the Shared Services Center — said in an e-mail that the company was planning for expansion in the near future.

"Approximately 475 employees provide such specialized services as patient pre-registration, insurance verification, billing and insurance follow-up. We have a great group working at the SSC and have maintained a turnover rate that is significantly lower than the national industry standard. We have added employees this year and expect to continue growing our employee base with the potential to add 100 or more jobs over the next 18 months."

She said having the space Beaty described has enabled the company to continue growth at its new location.

"We are fortunate to have space within our location that can accommodate a significant expansion," White said.

The other large tenant at the former mall site, Sykes Enterprises, is also experiencing an expansion of its operations, according to Director of Operations Chris Melton.

"We do have some growth from the end of last year of 250 employees to now over 600 and will be at 750 plus at the end of the year," he said. "We've had some substantial growth in 2014."

When the company originally opened its Fort Smith facility in May 2011, it was a small operation performing work for an unnamed financial services company. Since that time, Melton said Sykes has been servicing three "separate verticals in Fort Smith." Verticals, he said, could also be known as lines of business.

To accommodate the growth, he said Skyes has expanded from 40,000 square feet to more than 60,000 square feet and expect to use the additional space to house more employees next year.

"I'd say that we'll be shooting for 1,000 plus employees," he said, meaning the site could add more than 250 employees in 2015.

With the Shared Services Center and Sykes nearing capacity within each company's leased facilities, Beaty said it was the right time to start planning and developing the expansion.

But he said a timeline for completing his $5 million in improvements will still depend on the business environment.

"It's driven by business and general economic circumstances," he said, "but (it is) planned for completion in the next 18 months."

Wal-Mart has leveraged its massive size and scale over the past 18 months to woo more suppliers into onshoring product manufacturing. The retailer says it’s just getting started, but is ready to make more progress during its U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Summit in Denver held Aug. 14-15.

It’s been 18 months since Wal-Mart pledged to invest an additional $250 billion in products made in America over the next decade. To date Wal-Mart confirmed with The City Wire that its product spending toward the goal is ahead of projections. The retailer said more definitive numbers would likely be given in its annual sustainability report.

“We will continue to lead on U.S. manufacturing. ... We have drawn a deeper understanding of the challenges that stand in the way from the work already done,” said Michelle Gloeckler, Walmart’s executive president of consumables and U.S. manufacturing.

Gloeckler has been in this campaign from the get-go, but it was Bill Simon’s face and passion that was visibly absent from the summit’s opening meeting Thursday (Aug. 14). Greg Foran, the new CEO of Walmart U.S. did appear onstage at the Thursday’s summit. Foran, who previously ran Wal-Mart’s China operations, said he fully supports the U.S. jobs initiative because it makes economic sense.

Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon concurred.

“We need manufacturing here because we have so many stores here and we need the jobs so people who live near those stores can shop more.”

Gloeckler said 200 suppliers attended this year’s summit and 87 component manufacturers were also there with exhibits to help suppliers put the puzzle pieces together. There were 42 state delegations and representatives from Puerto Rico.

“We have 359 meetings scheduled for tomorrow (Aug. 15). That’s 20% more than last year,” she said.

Gloecker also gave an update on the recent Open Call event held in Bentonville.

“We had never done that before but it was an incredible day. We held 800 meetings for new products and awarded 15% of them contracts on the spot. Another half of them, we continue to talk about ongoing possibilities,” she said.

Many of the new products like Trash Ease, Jen’s Crab Cakes and Taco Plates, because they are made in the U.S., will be in stores by the holidays, Gloeckler said. The update Gloeckler gave on her efforts to onshore patio furniture manufacturing or assembly was underwhelming. She said after an exhaustive search and more research, most products cannot now be made competitively in the U.S. This was an unexpected outcome for Gloeckler who had hoped the long lead times and short sales window for bulky patio furniture would be a sure fit for sourcing in America. 

“It was a learning experience and this is what we found out. The suppliers who contacted us were open-minded, nimble, smart and by all means the experts. Seven out of 12 items we examined were significantly more expensive to make in the U.S. Though all of our order commitments are made for 2015, I hope to have five items made in the U.S. by the 2016 season,” Gloeckler said.

WAL-MART CRITICS
Not all are impressed with Wal-Mart’s effort to boost U.S. manufacturing.

“If you think Walmart is making this pledge for purely PR reasons, you’d be both right and wrong,” Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said in a statement. “Right, in the sense that lots of folks blame Walmart and its sourcing practices for the decline in manufacturing jobs, and thus eager to garner some positive publicity. But wrong, in the sense that – in some cases – the economics now favor “reshoring” of work back to the U.S., due to an emerging domestic energy cost advantage, rising wages in Asia, and wage stagnation in the U.S.”

Mary Bottari, deputy director at the Center for Media and Democracy and a former trade analyst for Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, blamed Wal-Mart and its “relentless pursuit of cheap goods” for the decline in U.S. manufacturing. The Center for Media and Democracy recently added new information on its website tracking Wal-Mart claims related to its onshoring effort.

And not to be left out when it comes to criticizing Wal-Mart, the head of the AFL-CIO also blamed the retailer for manufacturing job losses and low wages.

“It’s about time Walmart figured out that America’s workers are the most qualified and the best skilled at getting the job done,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. “For decades, Walmart has led the charge on outsourcing and a global race to the bottom. But workers will not benefit from a Walmart-ification of our manufacturing sector. Jobs in the Walmart model won’t restore America’s middle class or build shared prosperity given the company’s obsession with low labor costs and undermining American labor standards.”

RECENT SUCCESS
During the summit’s opening meeting Wal-Mart shared several success stories involving more U.S. manufacturing jobs as a result of the involvement.

Burt Hanna of Hanna’s Candles, John McCutcheon of PolyTech Plastics and Mel Redman, all based in Northwest Arkansas said their businesses directly were able to add jobs because of the Wal-Mart initiative. 

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley also announced another victory for her state during Thursday’s summit. Enor Corp, a family-owned manufacturer of plastic toys, outdoor games and junior sports items, is establishing a new manufacturing facility in Fairfield County to supply U.S.-made toys to Walmart stores. The multi-million-dollar investment is expected to create 151 jobs to Fairfield, S.C.

Enor is the fifth Walmart supplier announcing a new facility in South Carolina since August 2013, joining Element Electronics, Louis Hornick & Co., Kent International and Giti Tire. Element Electronics made their deal exactly one year ago at Wal-Mart’ first manufacturing summit in Orlando. Today after a $7.2 million investment there are 325 jobs this year and the plant is sending televisions to Wal-Mart every day.

“That’s pretty amazing to think that plant didn’t exist a year ago,” Gloeckler said.

FUNDING INNOVATION
Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation awarded seven universities with a total of $4 million to fund innovative research that supports new manufacturing processes around injection molding and textile dyes. The awards were made possible from a collaboration between Walmart, the Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), who pledged to give $10 million for innovative research toward manufacturing over the next five years.

The fund focuses on the development of domestic manufacturing with a specific goal of advancing the production or assembly of consumer products in the U.S.

“Innovation is part of the heart and soul of Walmart,” Gloeckler said. “By investing in American ingenuity originating everywhere from the research lab to the assembly line, we can transform our approach to manufacturing to be more cost-effective and efficient. We can bring more jobs and more production back into American communities.”

The grant recipients were selected for their ability to address two key areas that currently present barriers to increased domestic manufacturing: Reducing the cost of textiles manufacturing, including home textiles and apparel, in the U.S. by addressing obstacles throughout production; and Improving common manufacturing processes with broad application to many types of consumer products.

Following are the 2014 Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant winners.
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation for innovation of thread-count-based fabric motion control, a critical enabling technology for the automated production of sewn goods.

• Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) to advance and accelerate the industrial implementation of metal 3-D printing for the manufacturing of plastic injection tooling as an alternative to current metal-shaping practices.

• North Carolina State University College of Textiles to address challenges to manufacturing of furniture cushions in the U.S. by implementing new technologies in both fabric printing and cut-and-sew automation.

• Oregon State University to develop two novel alternative mold fabricating approaches, and evaluate for functionality, precision and cost reduction potential.

• Texas Tech University to support collaborative research on cotton breeding and biotechnology, cotton production, and various aspects of textile manufacturing, dyeing efficiency and specialty finishes.

• University of Texas at Arlington to develop a novel manufacturing system that will autonomously prepare small motor sub-systems and assemble the motor components.

• University of Georgia Research Foundation to develop an innovative approach to fabric dyeing that will greatly reduce, and perhaps eliminate, the need for water in dyeing cotton and cotton/polyester fabrics and yarns.

A Washington, D.C.-based energy efficiency advocate told Arkansas regulators and others on Thursday that the state could see huge economic growth, save billions of dollars in power costs and create thousands of new jobs by reducing demand for electricity from the nation’s power grid.

“Arkansas must adopt as much of an energy efficiency policy as possible, which will allow you to manage future costs of electricity in the state,” said Neal Elliott, associate director of research for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. “It just makes good economic sense for the state.”

Elliott was the guest speaker at a luncheon sponsored by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF) at Heifer Village in downtown Little Rock. Elliott told the overflow crowd that Arkansas has a great opportunity to use energy efficiency policies to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed guidelines to cut so-called dirty air emissions at coal-fired power plants.

Elliott’s comments also served as a backdrop to the second meeting later this month between nearly 20 stakeholder groups and state regulators from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC) to discuss the EPA’s proposed rules. In fact, many of the attendees at the AAEF luncheon included state regulators and stakeholders who will take part in the Aug. 28 meeting at the ADEQ headquarters.

The PSC and ADEQ have been tasked by Gov. Mike Beebe to oversee the process of developing new rules to meet the EPA mandate in Arkansas. ADEQ is currently in the process of preparing the necessary paperwork to seek the assistance of a meeting facilitator for future stakeholder meetings.

President Obama’s proposal, called the Clean Power Plan, mandates a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 2030 from 2005 levels, mainly targeting the nation’s fleet of more than 600 coal-fired plants that currently supply the lion’s share of the nation’s electricity needs. The public comment period on the EPA docket began June 18 and must be received by federal regulators on or before Oct. 16, 2014.

Overall, coal-fired power represents 44.5% of Arkansas’ annual net electric generation. Natural gas-fired generation is second at 23.2% and nuclear energy is next at 19.4%. Renewable energy generates about 6.4% of the state’s power needs, and hydroelectric fills the remaining 5.4% of the state’s electric capacity. Petroleum-fired fuel, once a staple for heating oil, now generates less than 1% of the state’s power.

The EPA target for the state of Arkansas is a 47% reduction in carbon emissions. Elliott said Arkansas can meet 40% of that goal if it adopts a plan that includes energy efficiency measures.

“But you shouldn’t wait to see what the EPA will do,” he warned.

Nationwide, Elliott said energy efficiency policies and programs already in use in other states are projected to reduce electricity demand by 25% or more, and cut carbon emissions by 26%. In a best-case scenario where the nation invests $47 billion in energy efficiency policies by 2030, the net benefit would include a $17.2 billion increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the addition of more than 611,000 new jobs, he said.

In Arkansas, Elliott said the state would see the addition of nearly 5,000 new jobs by 2030, an increase of $446 million in Gross State Product (GSP), and total energy savings of $3.8 billion. Currently, only half of the state’s electricity power load is covered by energy efficiency programs.

“You need to start doing something now,” Elliott said. “It can contribute to economic growth in Arkansas because it will keep energy dollars local.”

The Washington, D.C.-based researcher closed his hour-long presentation by challenging Arkansas regulators and energy stakeholders to take a long look at adopting energy efficiency policies as part of the state’s discussion to comply with the EPA guidelines to cut carbon emissions.

“It will minimize the cost of compliance, reduce energy bills for all customers and grow the economy and create jobs,” he said. “Energy efficiency makes sense even without the EPA climate rules.”

On Thursday (Aug. 14) the Arkansas Board of Education unanimously agreed to enter into a partnership with the Walton Family Foundation and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation to target improvement in academically distressed schools and districts across Arkansas.

“No one person or organization has all the answers to the challenges we face in education. Collaboration with others is essential if we are to take the bold and brave steps necessary to motivate change,” said Kathy Smith, senior program officer for the Walton Family Foundation.

The program, dubbed ForwARd, is aimed at making change at underperforming schools. Smith said too many students are being held back from their full academic potential because schools and some districts are not equipped to teach them.

“With this partnership we will tackle this issue head-on,” Smith said.

According to recent research, the economic impact of ensuring all Arkansas students graduate high school prepared for college would save the state approximately $50 million annually in college remediation costs and lost earnings. This research demonstrates that the future success of Arkansas’ economy begins with the success of the state’s students, according to ForwARd.

“Every Arkansas student should graduate high school fully prepared for success in college and the workplace,” said Sam Ledbetter, chairman of the Arkansas State Board of Education. “The time is now to develop an actionable plan that will involve multiple stakeholders in communities with schools or districts in academic distress to push our state forward to ensure high-quality educational opportunities for all Arkansans.”

Ledbetter said the strategic recommendations of the ForwARd initiative will allow the state to create one of the finest public education systems in the nation.

Later this fall, the ForwARd initiative will release The State of Public Education in Arkansas, a report featuring baseline data on the state’s educational outcomes. The ForwARd initiative will also begin to convene educators, parents, educational advocacy stakeholders, and policymakers in support of a strategic planning process. The comprehensive strategic plan is scheduled to be completed by summer 2015.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new a criminal investigation into a chemical spill in Monett, Mo. from a wastewater facility operated by Tyson Foods. If the EPA charges Tyson Foods, the company could face fines and loss of lucrative government contracts.

“We are cooperating with the Environmental Protection Agency but cannot predict the outcome of its investigation at this time,” the company noted in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The wastewater discharged in May polluted water in Clear Creek killing an estimated 100,000 fish along a six mile stretch and created odor issues at the facility. The EPA said it issued a search warrant on Tyson’s Monett facility looking for documents and records as part of a criminal investigation into the incident.

The wastewater emitted by the Tyson plant contained Alimet, which is a liquid animal feed supplement, from another company facility in Aurora, Mo. The polluted water was discharged to the city of Monett's sewer system. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the discharge caused operational problems at the city's wastewater treatment facility.

The DNR cited Tyson with a notice of violation for the fish kill. The agency also cited the city of Monett for failing "to operate and maintain facilities to comply with the Missouri Clean Water Law and applicable permit conditions".

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster also filed a lawsuit against Tyson Foods for "unlawful dumping of untreated industrial wastewater" that led to the fish kill in Clear Creek.

Missouri’s lawsuit alleges six violations and seeks penalties, compensation for damage to the stream and reimbursement for the state’s investigation costs.

Tyson assumed responsibility for the accident in May issuing an apology through an ad in the local newspaper. Tyson noted in the ad that the company cannot reverse what happened, but the meat company said it plans to make it right.

“Water is a critical natural resource and we work to protect it at all of our locations. ... We’ll be looking at opportunities to partner with non-government organizations that work on ecology projects in Missouri to address issues in the creek. As we learn more and have these discussions, we’ll then be able to better determine how we can help resolve these issues. We’re committed to making amends,” Tyson management noted in the public apology which ran in the local newspapers following the accident.

Tyson said they met with some community leaders and asked to meet with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to see how they can help improve Clear Creek.

"We’re sorry about what happened and have started trying to make things right," Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman told The City Wire in May.

“We’ve also taken a hard look at how we manage environmental matters at Monett and are improving our processes because we don’t want this to ever happen again," Sparkman added.

Smith Chevrolet-Cadillac announced Friday (Aug. 15) an $11,000 donation to the Fort Smith Emergency Children’s Shelter.

The dealership donated $100 to the shelter for each new and used vehicle sold during July.

“Smith Chevrolet-Cadillac was proud to be partnered with the Children’s Emergency Shelter. Each and every employee of Smith was committed to this fund raising opportunity to help the children, who are experiencing a traumatic, life changing situation. We hope that with the additional funds raised we can help make this difficult time a little easier,”Bryan Penniman, general manager of Smith Chevrolet-Cadillac, said in a statement. “A special thank you goes out to each and every customer that purchased during this event! They truly made this a huge success and their purchase was more than just a vehicle purchase.”

Ashley Ahlert, advancement coordinator with the Children’s Emergency Shelter, said the dealership deal showed community support.

“This is a great community. We are thankful that the community shopped local and supported Smith Chevrolet, and in-turn Smith Chevrolet gave back to the community but donating a portion of their sales to us,” Ahlert said.

The Children’s Emergency Shelter of Fort Smith provides shelter and care to area children ages 6-17 who have been removed from the custody of their guardian by child welfare authorities. CES provides a home-like environment to these abused and neglected children until an alternate placement can be procured. The Shelter is licensed to house up to 24 children at a time, and as many as 300 children will walk through its doors each year.

“Last year the Children’s Emergency Shelter served 253 children. The money donated by Smith Chevrolet-Cadillac will allow us to move our mission forward and directly impact the children we serve” Ahlert said.

In 2013, 854 children entered the foster care system in Sebastian County. The Children’s Emergency Shelter serves all foster children throughout the state, primarily children in Sebastian, Crawford, Logan, Franklin, Yell, Scott, and Johnson Counties.