McKenzie Farms Excavating and Trucking LLC of Gurdon is planning a $922,000 expansion, local economic officials announced.
The project will add two new business lines: specialty pallet manufacturing and wood post manufacturing. One will be located at the former Anthony-Higgs Lumber Co. sawmill in Gurdon, and the other at a site in a neighboring county.
Twenty-one jobs are expected to be created at first, the Economic Development Corporation of Clark County said in a news release. The company plans to add 35 more positions over the next three to five years.
McKenzie currently employs 58 people at their pallet mill operation in Gurdon. The company, owned by Mike McKenzie, provides second-chance employment opportunities and job training for those participating in area recovery ministries.
The EDCCC awarded the company $63,000 in incentives for the project. The award is contingent upon meeting employment and payroll targets.
“We are thrilled that McKenzie Farms’ wood mill operation is expanding in Clark County, providing jobs, training, and hope for those needing an opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their family,” Shelley Short, CEO of the EDCCC, said in the release. “Being able to breathe new life into a shuttered location while providing second chance employment and job skills training for those in recovery is the icing on the cake.”
