Two of the top leaders of a state organization geared toward serving industry were impressed with the workforce found in Coahoma County during a recent visit here.
Monica Tisack, the director of the Mississippi Polymer Institute, and the institute’s assistant director, Robert Thompson, were in Clarksdale on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9-10, and visited local companies Saf-T Cart, People Shores and MAP of Easton.
Tisack, who spent approximately 20 years in industry with DuPont and has a doctorate in polymer science from the University of Southern Mississippi, was especially impressed with the ingenuity and ability of the local workforce to complete many different tasks.
“A lot of times you’ll find very isolated, focused areas of manufacturing. But the diversity here is unbelievable,” she said. “They can do anything. They really can.”
Tisack was especially impressed with the first group of approximately 25 people hired by People Shores earlier this spring that is currently creating robotic process automation at its facility in Clarksdale.
“Who would think that Clarksdale, Mississippi, would have a group of 20 to 30 people that are programming thoughts to simplify systems for people,” she said.
And Tisack noted that the Clarksdale group is learning how to do robotic process automation twice as fast as the People Shores facility in Silicon Valley.
“These are the people who are serving the Amazons, the Microsofts, the Federal Express. You should be really, really proud of what you’re accomplishing in the broad spectrum that you’re able to touch. It’s very unique.”
Tisack was complimentary of the workforce found in Mississippi and the “can-do attitude” of its people. And one local businessman who exemplifies that, she said, is Jimmy Walker, Sr., founder of Saf-T Cart.
“He’s special,” she said. “It’s not unusual to find creative people, but to find creative people that can practically apply solutions is hugely unusual. And to make money and grow a business, as he has done, is really impressive.”
Jon Levingston, executive director of the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce, said Walker is “one of the most creative people I’ve ever met.”
“He thinks about how to do something and then invents a way to make it real. I find that remarkable and the fact that we have that kind of genius in our community speaks well of our culture and our people,” said Levingston, who served as the host for Tisack and Thompson during their visit here.
The Mississippi Polymer Institute, which was established in 1993, was originally housed within the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Polymer Science with the goal of assisting polymer and advanced-material businesses and entrepreneurs in their growth efforts.
The institute has since grown exponentially with capabilities that include, but are not limited to, several aspects of material science: polymer synthesis, composite manufacturing, testing, compounding, extruding, molding, design, CAD modeling, 3D printing, workforce training and educational outreach.
The institute’s aim is to serve as an industrial outreach arm for Southern Miss and serve manufacturers such as MAP of Easton, Tisack said. The institute has worked with approximately 400 companies in Mississippi.
The past year was challenging for the local MAP facility, said plant manager Diane Pimpton. The Clarksdale factory saw many of its top workers transferred to assist at the company’s plant in Grainger, Ind., and the local facility was also undergoing a massive renovation to the city-owned building that dates back to the 1950s.
That renovation, funded by a Community Development Block Grant, meant new bathrooms, better lighting inside the plant and a paved loading dock area. There was also a new conference room and new walkway and stone wall added to the front of the building.
MAP molds fiberglass insulation into “acoustical products”, or anything that controls sound and heat. Their primary customers are the automotive industry and you’ll see many MAP products used under hoods and in dashes. Their client list includes such big names as Chevrolet, General Motors, Toyota, Honda and CK Trucking.
MAP, which started out with 10 employees at the Clarksdale plant 19 years ago, currently employs 65 people and is looking to add five more in production and six people to administrative roles, Pimpton said, adding that the workers are really enjoying the changes made to the facility.
“We’ve had a good quarter,” she told Tisack and Thompson. “They’re also still talking about sending more jobs here.”
