Boyd Metals Expanding at LR Port, Will Add 20 Jobs

Boyd Metals, at the Port of Little Rock. (AEDC)

Boyd Metals has announced plans to expand its facility at the Port of Little Rock, adding 40,500 SF for processing equipment and increased inventory and making room for 20 new jobs.

It’s the latest of several expansions for Boyd Metals, a subsidiary of Russel Metals Inc. of Canada. The company added a Little Rock location in 2006 and built its current facility, a 31,500 SF bay with office space, in 2009. As inventory needs for customers grew, the company added 36,000 SF in 2016.

“We are happy to be a staple in the Little Rock community and this investment enhances our reputation as the leading metal supplier in the region,” company President Brian Newman said in a news release. “Thank you to the Boyd family and our loyal customers.”

Founded in Fort Smith in 1991, Boyd Metals offers an extensive inventory of carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, fiberglass, red metal, PVF, and other industrial products. It also offers in-house processing for customers, including laser cutting, sawing, shearing, flame cutting, plasma cutting, bar polishing, and sheet bending.

Russel Metals acquired Boyd Metals in December 2021.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was thrilled with the expansion as Arkansas’ economy booms. She said that as the state continues to cut taxes, “improve our schools and invest in our workforce, great companies like Boyd Metals will keep expanding in our state.”

Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Clint O’Neal called Boyd Metals an Arkansas success story.

“We’re proud to see this Arkansas-based company continuing to expand in our state at the Port of Little Rock,” he said in the release.

The company operates five stocking warehouses and sales offices in Fort Smith; Little Rock; Joplin, Missouri; Oklahoma City; and Tyler, Texas. The Port of Little Rock location connects the company with its customers via the major highways in central Arkansas.

“Boyd Metals is an industry leader and an innovator in the metal fabrication cluster in Little Rock and across Arkansas,” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said in a statement. “This investment further solidifies Little Rock as a leader in the metals industry and creates additional jobs for our residents at the Port of Little Rock.”

Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde and Bobby Brown, board chair of the Little Rock Port Authority, also cheered the news, along with Rajesh Chokhani, 2023 chair of the Little Rock Regional Chamber.

According to the AEDC, the Boyd expansion qualified for two state incentives, Advantage Arkansas and Tax Back. The Tax Back program provides sales and use tax refunds on the purchase of building materials and taxable machinery and equipment to qualified businesses. Advantage Arkansas offers a state income tax credit for job creation based on the payroll of new, full-time, permanent employees hired as a result of the project.