Thursday,
September 13, 2012
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Thursday,
September 13, 2012 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | New Photo Gallery |
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A Marshall
County welcome By SUE
WATSON
The latest corporate partner in Marshall County’s Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park was given a hearty welcome by Gov. Phil Bryant, local officials and members of the Mississippi Development Authority staff. Bryant assured Roxul, a Canadian manufacturer of stone wool insulation, of the full backing of the state and its workforce development to help the company get established. Roxul expects to be in operation by June 2014 and will employ 150 people after going into full operation. Eelco van Heel, president and CEO of Rockwool International, was on hand for the September 5 reception. Rockwool is the parent company which has manufacturing facilities in 30 countries. He and nearly a dozen representatives of the company from Denmark and Canada received a hearty Mississippi welcome from Marshall’s local delegation, the board of supervisors and Rust College officials who hosted the event. Van Heel said Roxul chose Mississippi over three other Southern states because the state made it feel most welcomed. He said Roxul plans to be here for 50 to 100 years.
College president David Beckley and Marshall County IDA board chairman Bill Scott welcomed Roxul as a new community partner. Scott acknowledged the “hard work and dedication” of the Marshall County Board of Supervisors, the IDA board, the municipalities and Rust College in bringing the company to the county. Ronnie Joe Bennett, president of the board of supervisors, welcomed Roxul. “We hope this is the first of many celebrations of Roxul and Marshall County,” he said. “It’s an honor to have Governor Bryant here, who talked about economic expansion (in his campaign for governor).” Bryant, who received a standing ovation, said it has been a challenging time to be governor with the recent pass-through of Hurricane Isaac. But the time is also fruitful to announce business opportunities in Marshall County, he said. “Roxul is a great international company, taking stone and melting it into fiber,” Bryant said. “We will put it in buildings in Mississippi. We are partners for a lifetime.” Future governors will say, “I wish I had been there,” he said, alluding to the growth potential of Marshall County because of its unique location within a number of transportation arteries. Roxul will be the first and only manufacturer of stone wool insulation (mineral wool) in the nation. The company operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada that supply Canada and the U.S. Northeast and Northwest and Mexican markets. Trent Ogilvie, president of Roxul, presented some characteristics of its stone wool insulation – does not adsorb water, great soundproofing, great R value, and used in residential and commercial buildings and power plants. He said Roxul saw an opportunity to plug a hole in the insulation market by locating in the southern U.S. Mississippi was chosen over locations in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, he said. “We are impressed with public officials, the Mississippi Development Authority, the state and local people who looked after all our issues,” Ogilvie said. “It didn’t take long to conclude this would be the site of our first factory in the U.S.” Rockwool International is the leading manufacturer of stone wool in the world, according to van Heel. The company has four facilities in Russia and facilities in Asia, but is based mostly in European countries, he said. A major factor in Rockwool’s choice of Mississippi and Marshall County was the hospitality, van Heel said. The company had made mistakes in setting up operations in a small European country where it was not welcome, he said. The choice of Mississippi and Marshall County was obvious, he said.
Ogilvie, in presenting checks of $2,500 to each of the school districts to purchase supplies for students, promised his company “would not be a bother or nuisance” but instead would be a good neighbor. Roxul will meet environmental quality standards and also participate in the community and in charitable giving, he said. Leslie McLaren, corporate communications director for Roxul, presented a gift of Inukshuk stone monuments, created in the image of a human being, to all in attendance. She said the Inukshuk is a Canadian symbol of cooperation, balance, unselfishness and teaches that group effort is greater than individual effort. Each stone in the Inukshuk is dependent on the stones below or above and no stone is more important than the other, she said, emphasizing the importance of healthy partnerships in building successful businesses. |
    
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