IPSCO ramping back up

On Thursday, TMK IPSCO celebrated ramping back up, which has brought back numerous job opportunities not only to the city of Blytheville but also to Mississippi County.

Plant Manager Bryan Belford began by welcoming those in attendance including Blytheville Mayor James Sanders and State Representative Monte Hodges, who he called “[both] such great representatives for our state and community and we would just like to thank you guys for being here.”

Belford then explained the new “restart and expansion” at the Blytheville facility.

“We’re very excited to celebrate a notable event that is taking place here at our facility…we started the mill back up on February 27, 2017 and then doubled the production by adding a second shift on May 1, 2017…this is a remarkable turn around for this plant, TMK Ipsco as a whole as well as the pipe industry, since the oil crisis,” Belford added. “The restart and expansion of the production has brought the Blytheville plant total headcount to 160 employees…these are full-time positions and their impact is felt far and wide within our community.”

Sanders agreed, saying,“This is an exciting time to be here and to be a part of this…you know...it was a sad time when we heard about all of the layoffs…very sad time. But I’m just proud of being a part of this exciting time of economic development and we’re very thankful for TMK IPSCO for bringing this factory back to life…these products will be used all across the world, so thank you for allowing us to be here because this is not about us, it’s about you guys.”

Hodges added: “These are exciting times for Mississippi County as well as Eastern Arkansas to celebrate this restart…Arkansas has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country…well below the nation’s average. But what is most exciting is that companies within our state are providing opportunities that are more that just a paycheck for Arkansans.”

Hodges further discussed the importance of employee satisfaction within the workplace.

“Employees are happier at their jobs when they feel that they can make a difference and TMK Ipsco gets that…they know that building pipelines for oil and gas first starts with building pipelines of trust and integrity for the people that they serve and employ,” Hodges added. “Blytheville is fortunate to be ‘home’ to a growing industry…an industry that is making products not only for today but for the future…”

Vice President and COO Joel Mastervich discussed how important the restart is to him as well as the city of Blytheville.

“This is one of the key welding facilities for our company and it’s also a very important facility in this region of the United States…an echo has already been sent and it’s an absolute pleasure to be in attendance to celebrate the addition of jobs and expansions within this community,” Mastervich stated.

Mastervich also discussed the reasons as to why the plant had to initially be “idled.”

“2015-2016 were very tough years for our company…we were forced to idle a lot of our welding plants and cut staff across the company and hit a low of 728 employees in April of 2016…as of last week, we have currently hired roughly 1,500 employees and will continue to hire more.”

Also discussed was the partnership with Nucor.

“We recently signed a Strategic Coil Agreement with Nucor to ensure the sustainability of our company…we’re in a cutthroat competition with Korea and signing this agreement has allowed us to have a stable and quality partnership in our coil supply right next door to us,” Mastervich said. “As we go forward, we will focus on safety, efficiency, profitability and knowledge sharing…only by doing these things can we truly realize the full potential of our plants and ensure the well being of all of us.”

rvaden@blythevillecourier.com