Partnership looking to recruit in Midwest

MCCOMB — Industrial recruiters in Southwest Mississippi are looking to the Midwest for new business.

The McComb Enterprise-Journal reports that local economic development director Britt Herrin says a firm hired by the Southwest Mississippi Partnership will begin contacting companies later this month, with further meetings expected to follow in December.

The partnership is comprised of Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson counties.

Herrin says efforts will concentrate on the Chicago area, including Toledo, Ohio and Milwaukee.

He says a partnership-sponsored study and report of potential industrial targets developed by Location Strategies of Atlanta. He says the company came up with five industries that best fit in southwest Mississippi — call centers, metal fabrication, plastics, large food processing industries and general food processing.

Herrin said the study also indicated that the costs of doing business in southwest Mississippi is about 20 percent less than other areas of the country.

Herrin also said the area has several advantages for business, including an available work force and resources for work force training and education, as well as access to ports, airports, railroads and Interstate 55.