Sulphur Springs industrial parks are experiencing a flurry of activity as buildings are going up to house new industry locally.
Load Trail, known world-wide for the manufacture of trailers and dump trailers, is about 120 days from opening their 160,000 square foot building in Heritage Business Park in Sulphur Springs. The $7.8-million building will house $10-million in equipment. The company sought no tax abatement.
Roger Feagley, Executive Director of the Sulphur Springs/Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation, said a lot of people are working to finish the facility in the industrial park located off Loop 301 near Raven Industries. Rain and other factors delayed the start of the building that is being financed by local banks. The metal building is unlike most metal buildings. The Load Trail building will include extra steel. The building will house assembly lines that will require nine (9) foot pins under some machines to hold the conveyor that will be utilized in the heavily mechanized operation. Feagley stated the shot blast segment of the machine will require a specific 2600 sq. ft. pin for support. The conveyor will carry the trailer being made from station-to-station including welding lines, washing, clean up, shot blasting, sand blasting, and power coating ovens. He said the conveyor should make things run faster and smoother.
Load Trail hopes to eventually have two shifts of workers at the facility. Approximately 150 will be employed at the facility to build their product which ranges from a 53 ft trailer to flatbeds.
Load Trail is the second industry to build in Heritage Park. Armorock Polymer Concrete, the first to locate in the park, chose Sulphur Springs for their first expansion of the Nevada based Company.
In other industrial news, Dobyns Rods hopes to be in their building and working in September of this year. The company, founded by Gary Dobyns, a champion bass pro fisherman who has won over 100 tournaments, plans a grand opening in September. They will begin with 15-20 employees and plan growth over time. JB Weld is relocating to the business park on the west side of Sulphur Springs, near Dobyns Rods, and Saputo is making a major expansion along Como Street as they plan use for the old JB Weld location.
