Morfe Manufacturing to Invest $3.8M, Add 123 Jobs in Mountain Pine

Shaun Keefe, co-owner of WinChoice, listens to CEO Morgan Wiles speaks at Wednesday's announcement in Mountain Pine.

Morfe Manufacturing Co. said Wednesday that it will invest $3.8 million to expand its Mountain Pine plant and create 123 new jobs.

Morfe is a subsidiary of WinChoice USA of Hot Springs, which supplies and installs windows and patio doors in seven states, including Arkansas. WinChoice, with 60 employees, said it has gross sales of “more than $22 million.” It started Morfe last year to make its own windows. 

Morgan Wiles, CEO and co-owner of Morfe with Shaun Keefe, said the pair have big plans for the plant, which is in the Pines Industrial Park.

“We looked at several other sites in Saline and Garland County, but it all boiled down to feeling good about the long-term effects it could have on our business and local economy,” Wiles said in a news release. “We have the vision to place 125-200 jobs here in Mountain Pine over the next five years with the partnership with the city of Mountain Pine and its residents.”

The company has received the following incentives through the Arkansas Economic Development Commission: Advantage Arkansas, which provides an income tax credit based on payroll of new jobs; Tax Back, which provides sales tax refunds on building materials, taxable machinery and equipment associated with the project; and a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant.

More: Arkansas Business news partner THV 11 News talks to Wiles about the company’s plans.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson attended an event in Mountain Pine (Garland County) announcing the company’s plans. It’s one of two job creation events on the governor’s schedule. He’s scheduled to be in Siloam Springs for another announcement Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s always a great day when we see our homegrown businesses expand, especially in areas where we need jobs most,” Hutchinson said. “The jobs being created by these young entrepreneurs will go a long way to help bring more prosperity to Mountain Pine and the surrounding areas.”

The new jobs are a shot in the arm to a community that struggled after Weyerhaeuser Co. closed a mill there in 2006. The plant had operated since the 1920s. WinChoice purchased the former Weyerhaeuser property for its Morfe business, and the company said the expansion will allow it to fully support sales and manufacturing for other franchises.

“We congratulate them on their success and thank all of their partners for helping make this dream a reality and creating an investment in the Garland County economy,” James Montgomery, Hot Springs Metro Partnership board chairman, said. “I was raised in the Mountain Pine community and remember how much the community depended on the old Weyerhaeuser Plant in the ’70s and ’80s. Hopefully, this new expansion will help rebound the community by growing the local economy.”