Boat manufacturer expanding, relocating to Hot Spring County
JONES MILL — Garland County’s loss is the region’s gain, officials said Monday at the announcement of Veranda Luxury Pontoons relocating production from the county’s industrial park to the former General Cable site in Hot Spring County.
Rory Herndon, president of Veranda and Xpress Boats, said the former plans on starting production within nine months to a year at the 377,000- square-foot plant that’s sat idle since General Cable moved its Jones Mill operation to Marshall, Texas, last year.
According to Hot Spring County real estate records, Veranda and Xpress’ parent company acquired the 35-acre site and an additional 30-plus undeveloped acres on the other side of Highway 270 east for $3.75 million earlier this month.
Herndon said relocating to the larger space will allow Veranda to double production and add about 80 employees over the next few years. About that many work out of the plant its shares with Xpress in Garland County Industrial Park. Herndon said transitioning the plant from making industrial cable to pontoon boats will take some doing.
“Building wire and building boats are completely different,” he said. “A lot of (General Cable’s) equipment is built into the concrete, so we’re going to have to chip out the concrete that’s been molded specifically for their equipment and make flat slabs. We just need good, smooth concrete to move our boats on.”
Herndon said Xpress, pioneers in the manufacturing of aluminum-hulled fishing and hunting boats, will absorb the space Veranda is vacating.
“Xpress will be getting new equipment and moving into where Veranda is,” he said, adding that the two companies employee about 300 people. “It will be a great opportunity for both companies.”
The move also presents an opportunity for the region, officials said, explaining that job
creation isn’t a zero-sum proposition for neighboring counties and municipalities competing for capital investment and payroll expansion. Jobs stemming from Monday’s announcement will transcend geographical boundaries, they said, accruing to the region as a whole.
“We talk about regionalization and economic development, and this is really where it’s at right here,” Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe told the gathering that assembled at the plant. “We have a catchment area of quality, employable tradesmen, people interested in the detail needed to make a quality product.”
Herndon said production increases enabled by the move, allowing Veranda to produce about 50 boats a week when the Jones Mill plant is fully operational, may encourage suppliers to have a presence in the area, making the regional economy even stronger.
“There’s some opportunities for some of our sub-assembly parts that we purchase from outside markets to move closer to us,” he said.
Area economic developers have talked about elevating cooperation over competition. The Hot Springs Metro Partnership, Garland County’s private-public nonprofit economic development corporation, wants to market the region to site selectors as a metropolitan statistical area comprising Garland, Hot Spring, Clark, Montgomery and Pike counties.
Garland County makes up the entirety of the Hot Springs MSA. Adding the other four counties would increase the area’s population to 175,000 and broaden its portfolio of available labor, manufacturing space, infrastructure and job training. None of the other four counties are currently included in any of the state’s eight MSAs.
“When we all work together as one, when we’re a collective community, it’s a great thing for both Garland and Hot Spring counties and Hot Springs and Malvern,” Metro Partnership President/ CEO Gary Troutman said.
Herndon said proximity to Veranda’s market recommended the Jones Mill site.
“We could’ve moved anywhere in the country for the facility, and we did look abroad,” Herndon said. “I think the main reason we stayed here is because you are so close to the lakes and the woods, the duck hunting and deer hunting. This is a mecca for where our product is used. It’s also centrally located, so you can ship efficiently.”
In addition to Arkansas and surrounding states, Veranda’s sales territory touches Minnesota, upstate New York, Florida and points in between.
Herndon said he’s the third generation of his family to helm the company. His maternal grandfather, Kermit Bryant, started Xpress in 1966 out of an old schoolhouse in Friendship. His father, Rodney, moved the company to Garland County and added Veranda in 2006.
According to a news release issued Monday, the interlocking aluminum deck system the pontoon boats feature is the company’s patented innovation, setting it apart from competitors whose decks are made with plywood.