News in brief

Expand LR Windsor Door, add jobs

Windsor Door announced Thursday that the 74-year-old family-owned manufacturing company will be hiring 42 employees, a third production line and a second shift at its Little Rock facility.

According to a press release, the company is expanding its 108 workforce to “meet the increased demand for residential and commercial buildings driven by national growth in the construction industry.”

Windsor manufactures garage doors and custom wooden doors for commercial, industrial and residential buildings.

Company employees have prepared for the expansion of the workforce.

“We spent more than $ 1 million in the past year preparing for expansion,” said Bob Strahan, vice president of Windsor.

Hans Wright, executive vice president of the company, said the new employees will be able to build careers at Windsor. “Many of our team members have been committed and busy for more than 30 years.”

Governor Asa Hutchinson praised Windsor for its success.

“This company is a great example of how a family business can quickly adapt to changing customer needs to set the design standard in the industry,” he said.

– Noel Oman

Everett sells VWs on his return to NW

Everett Automotive Group returns to Northwest Arkansas with a plan to sell Volkswagen vehicles.

After leaving the region years ago, Everett, one of Arkansas’ largest private companies, is slated to open a dealership in Rogers before the end of the year.

“We’re so happy to be back,” owner Dwight Everett said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Volkswagen brand is an excellent fit for drivers in northwest Arkansas.”

Everett said Volkswagen agreed to a Rogers dealer because of strong growth in the area. The only other Volkswagen dealer in the market is Crain Volkswagen in Fayetteville.

Everett left the region in 2018 when it sold three of its dealers to an investment group backed by the Daniel, Jerry Jones and Johnelle Hunt families. The dealers now operate under the McLarty Daniel brand.

The Everett family has four dealerships in central Arkansas, including the country’s leading General Motors dealer by volume.

Construction of the Rogers Dealer is scheduled to begin in May at 4510 W. Poplar St.

– Nathan Owens

With an index of 3.61, the index closes the day at 605.24

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the state’s largest publicly traded companies, closed at 605.24 on Thursday and rose 3.61.

“Strong gains in the tech sector combined with robust GDP data early on in the session fueled investor excitement as stocks closed higher that day,” said Leon Lants, managing director of Stephens Inc.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat Gazette with a base value of 100 as of December 30, 1997.