Arkat Nutrition *

Rick Wohlschlaegar, president and CEO of Arkat Nutrition Inc. of Dumas, said his company tries to help all clubs and organizations that have a need. Most of those are small-ticket items, but the company has two major programs each year.

Its Children in Need Fund, now in its fourth year, works through the local schools and allows principals and teachers to buy coats or meals or anything else they deem necessary for, as the name implies, children in need.

The other formal program is an annual scholarship for seniors at Dumas High School, now in its third year.

Another regular recipient of Arkat aid is the Youth Advisory Council at Dumas High. The council works to enhance the community through various projects, such as raising money to place a gazebo in the city park.

The company also sponsored a rodeo contest at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and donated equine feed.

Wohlschlaegar said it’s not just the company that gives to the community, but employees are actively involved in a broad spectrum of projects to make Dumas a better place to live.

”We believe, and it’s a company goal, that Arkat can be the hub of making Dumas the center of regional growth,” Wohlschlaegar said. And that takes attention to the community as well as the company, he said, “not one without the other.”

Arkat is a rapidly growing animal feed business with 100 employees. Catfish feed makes up 80 percent of the company’s $40 million in revenue. Within the next three to five years, Wohlschlaegar believes that will increase to $100 million.

Specialty feeds for dogs, cats, turtles, horses, livestock and deer, however, is the fastest growing part of the business and it has given the company more year-round stability. Wohlschlaegar expects specialty feeds to grow to 35 percent by the end of the year as the company introduces more specialty feeds for small animals such as ferrets, gerbils and hamsters.