Business Blog » Manufacturing/Private Companies

Port restoration in key phase with $55.8 million award for wharf work

Ted Carter — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:11:22 +0000

GULFPORT, Mississippi — Work is set to begin June 6 on building a new wharf face for the west pier of the Port of Gulfport, a project that marks a key phase in restoring the port nearly destroyed almost a decade ago by hurricane Katrina. The Mississippi State Port Authority awarded Hattiesburg-based L&A Contracting a [...]

Plywood panel maker Natron Wood’s new Louisville plant to hire 200

Ted Carter — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:20:53 +0000

Oregon-based plywood panel producer Natron Wood Products is moving into a vacant 250,000 square-foot building in Louisville and will create 200 new jobs as it begins operations. The plant represents a $10 million investment by Natron Wood Products, Gov. Phil Bryant said Monday at an official announcement of the plant in Louisville. Natron Wood’s Winston [...]

GE’s Ellisville jet composites plant cleared for take off

Ted Carter — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:52:04 +0000

GE Aviation officially opened its second aviation composites factory in Mississippi Tuesday, putting into operation its new 340,000-square-foot facility in South Mississippi’s Ellisville. The plant joins a composite and jet fans plant in Northwest Mississippi. The new plant is to be known as GE Aviation’s Ellisville Composites and will add around 250 jobs, company officials [...]

Natchez retail group acquires 150-year-old Ga. lumber yard

Ted Carter — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:16:13 +0000

A 150-year-old lumber company in west Georgia has a new owner, but the business will keep its name — W.T. Harvey Lumber Co. The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports (http://bit.ly/10FCLPr) that Natchez.-based Central Network Retail Group has completed the purchase of the Columbus lumber company out of bankruptcy. With the Harvey Lumber acquisition, CNRG will operate 41 [...]

Save the date: GE Aviation opens doors at Ellisville plant

Stephen McDill — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:09:57 +0000

The Mississippi Development Authority says GE Aviation will officially open for business in Mississippi next week. The aviation giant will open its new Ellisville facility at 135 Technology Boulevard on Tuesday at 11:00 AM. The 340,000-square-foot facility will manufacture new aviation composite components. GE Aviation has committed to hiring 250 employees and investing more than $50 [...]

Drone Sweet Drone: State hopes to be unmanned aircraft testing site

Ted Carter — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:45:21 +0000

Mississippi is among 37 states vying to be one of six sites selected by the Federal Aviation Administration for testing of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The testing is a prelude to integrating the remotely controlled aircraft into the nation’s general aviation system. If testing proves successful, the next step will be wide commercial use of the [...]

Cochran: South Korea wants Mississippi-built radar for fighter upgrades

Stephen McDill — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:56:22 +0000

The office of Sen. Thad Cochran has released a statement announcing South Korea’s decision to supply its fighter aircraft with Mississippi-built radar systems. The announcement comes as international tensions increase between U.S.-backed South Korea and an increasingly militant neighboring North Korea and its leader Kim Jon-Un. The Republic of Korea Air Force reportedly selected the [...]

Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Gulfport facility reaches key hangar milestone

Frank Brown — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:34:32 +0000

Shipbuilders at Huntington Ingalls Industries division in Gulfport have turned an inverted hangar to an upright position — or ship-shape — a key step in the construction of the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer Michael Monsoor. The step is a significant milestone in the construction of the composite hangar on the second destroyer of this type [...]

MBJ’s Business & Technology EXPO celebrates 30 years with big bump in exhibitors

Ted Carter — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:55:43 +0000

Nearly 100 Mississippi businesses showcased their products and services Thursday at the Mississippi Business Journal’s Business & Technology EXPO, the state’s largest business-to-business networking event. Visitors filled the exhibition aisles at the Mississippi Trade Mart throughout the daylong EXPO which reached its 30-year milestone this year with a 20 percent increase in exhibitors over last [...]

Sequester could ground subsidized commercial service to state’s regional airports

Ted Carter — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:02:29 +0000

Air travelers accustomed to catching Silver Airways flights out of Hattiesburg, Meridian, Greenville and Tupelo may soon have to rethink their travel plans. As with a series of other disruptions occurring at airports large and small around the country, the culprit is the federal budget sequester, a series of across-the-board cuts brought about by the [...]