Last November, the family-owned West Point company, Plum Creek Environmental, which manufactures waste containers and recycling equipment, took advantage of a rebate program from the Mississippi Development Authority to help defray costs of a $3 million expansion.
Six months later, the company has far exceeded expectations.
“What this expansion allowed us to do is buy a 60,000 square-foot building across the street from us so that we could increase production,” said Plum Creek founder and president Jim Wamble.
“We’ve more than doubled our production,’’ said Mike Wamble, the company’s director of sales.
The expansion has not only significantly increased the company’s top line, it has also created jobs, which was the focus of the MDA’s Mississippi Advantage Jobs Incentive Program. The program provides a cash rebate for up to 10 years to qualified employers willing to commit to wages higher than the regional average.
At the time it applied, Plum Creek said it could create 50 new jobs.
“So far, we’ve hired nearly 100 new employees,” Jim Wamble said. The company had 70 employees at the time it partnered with the state on the expansion.
“I think at the time, like a lot of companies, we were a little concerned about being able to find workers, so our estimates were lower than we hoped,” Mike Wamble said. “We just weren’t sure.”
Plum Creek was founded in Columbus in 2007 but relocated to West Point for a larger facility in 2016. The company has grown from one employee to 170 in its 15 years, more than doubling its workforce in the past six months alone.
In urban areas, creating 100 new jobs in six months might hardly cause a stir.
But in West Point, those jobs have a huge impact, Mayor Rod Bobo said.
“Plum Creek has always been what I would consider a community partner,” said Bobo, who was elected in June 2021. “I know they’ve been very cordial with me since I came into office. It’s just phenomenal the job creation they’ve produced. I’ve talked to a lot of their employees and they’re all happy there. It’s a good place to work with good wages. I also think it says something very positive about our workforce here. We’re so appreciative that Plum Creek recognizes that.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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