Arkansas has an abundance of resources to help food processing companies succeed. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission works directly with food processing companies looking to start-up, expand or relocate. In addition, we assist companies with finding the best incentives so companies are able to make money quickly and efficiently.
There were 522 food and beverage companies in Arkansas at the end of 2022. These companies employed 55,130 people. Arkansas is home to Tyson Foods and numerous other food processing facilities, including Nestle, JBS USA, Kraft Heinz, Mars Inc., Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp, Riceland Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, ConAgra Brands Inc., Land O’ Frost and Frito-Lay, Inc.
Arkansas has the 5th largest percentage of food processing workers in the United States. The growth rate of the food and beverage industry from 2017 to 2022 was 6 percent in Arkansas.
The food processing industry is booming in Arkansas and continues to grow exponentially. Eight of the top 10 food and beverage companies by revenue in the world have manufacturing facilities in the state.
Arkansas is meeting the workforce needs for food processing companies. The state now has the second-largest number of food processing workers in the US and Arkansas has responded to industry growth by modernizing the workforce.
Now that the Little Rock Technology Park Phase One has been open for nearly a year, eyes and efforts have turned to Phase Two.
Phase Two is currently in early-stage planning and is targeted to be a combination of wet/dry lab space, plus office and meeting spaces to further meet the needs of the rapidly growing Arkansas tech industry. Three new tenants, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR) and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, have significant and growing research activity. The new lab facility will provide opportunities for commercialization and new business ventures, which is crucial to the attraction and retention of biomedical and nanotechnology companies and talent to the Little Rock region.
Phase One of the development involved the renovation of two nearly 100-year-old buildings to form an integrated environment for startup and mature technology companies. The facilities opened with 12 initial companies; now, more than 30 companies call the Little Rock Technology Park home.
“As the technology startup scene began to bubble up, the first phase was geared toward that segment of the industry,” said Brent Birch, executive director of the Little Rock Technology Park. “As a six-phased project, we can begin the second phase, which is geared more toward the original intent of the Little Rock Technology Park — the UALR, UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital research component — bringing research and development from those facilities to market. As those ideas come off those campuses, and are ready to go for profit, we will be able to have the lab facilities necessary to support those.”
The Little Rock Technology Park Authority was created in 2007. The Authority is sponsored by UALR, UAMS and the City of Little Rock. The citizens of Little Rock endorsed the tech park development by approving a tax that will provide more than $20 million in capital funding allocated over the period from 2012 to 2021.
From a centralized location in downtown Little Rock, the innovation and entrepreneurship initiative at the Little Rock Technology Park enables technology-driven businesses to succeed and advance in a dynamic and supportive environment. Many of the state’s technology success stories begin at the Tech Park.
“The benefit of being in a facility like this is the collaboration and community piece of it,” Birch said. “There’s sharing of ideas that we call creative collisions.”
The development is designed to boost economic development and job creation by providing entrepreneurs; researchers; startups; and high-performing, established IT companies with the resources to bring their products and services to market efficiently and effectively.
“Within the facility there is an energy that you might not get in a traditional office space or at the coffee shop,” Birch said. “The is a professional environment suited for recruiting, collaborating and networking.”
The Little Rock Tech Park project builds off the existing character of the downtown Little Rock revitalization and will become a place where people, ideas and businesses can succeed to boost the entire central Arkansas community and economy.
