Arkansas Inc. Podcast: Central States Building Works President Jennifer Davis

In this episode of the Arkansas Inc. Podcast, Central States Build Works President Jennifer Davis and Springdale Chamber of Commerce VP of Economic Development Jay Sego discussed Central States' new facility in Springdale, the advantages of doing business in Arkansas, why Springdale was chosen for this new facility, and more.

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TRANSCRIPT

Host, Raven Johnson: My name is Raven Johnson and I serve as project manager for the business development team with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission¹. In this role, I have the opportunity to work with companies that are looking to locate new operations or expand their existing presence in the state. One of the companies I had the privilege of working with was Central States².

In November of 2023, Central States announced plans to build a new facility in Springdale to support their pre-engineered metal frame business segment. Central States held a grand opening for this state-of-the-art frame plant on August 7th, 2025, which was the first project that I actually got to be part of from start to finish, so quite an awesome one to celebrate with them.

Today, I am excited to be joined by two guests who are going to discuss Central States' growth in Arkansas and more specifically in Springdale. We're joined today by Jennifer Davis, the president of Central States Building Works and by Jay Sego, the vice president of economic development for the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. Jennifer and Jay, welcome to the Arkansas Inc. podcast.

Jennifer Davis: Great to be here.

Jay Sego: Thanks.

Host, Raven Johnson: Well, Jennifer, to kind of get us started off, do you mind giving us a little bit of your background? How did you come to Central States and what is your role with the company?

Jennifer Davis: Of course. Thank you so much for having us today. Talking about the Springdale Frame Plant has become one of my favorite things to do¹⁰. I came to Central States from a background in manufacturing and technology and was excited to join a company that was growing and so purpose-driven¹¹.

And my role at the company, I get to serve... leading one of our business units called Central States Building Works¹². We design and fabricate building packages for customers all over the country¹³. And these building packages are used for storage applications or warehouses, industrial applications, retail, churches, and the like¹⁴. Anything that you can house in a metal building are the kinds of things that we do day in and day out¹⁵.

Host, Raven Johnson: Yeah, that is just really, really cool. I remember when I was just learning of the project and what Central States does, I was kind of like, you know, in a way they're kind of adult Legos. And I don't know if that's how you feel, but I've always thought that what you all do is just really, really, really cool¹⁶.

Jennifer Davis: It's actually funny that you say that because we use that as a bit of an analogy internally¹⁷. Because our Central States manufacturing business unit makes the components that we use for these buildings¹⁸. And so I'll often make an analogy that they are like Lego bricks and then Building Works actually creates the kits that you might find on the shelf¹⁹.

Host, Raven Johnson: Jay, I'm going to ask you the same question. For your background and role with the Springdale Chamber²⁰.

Jay Sego: Sure. Again, I'm excited to be here as well²¹. Thanks for hosting this for us. So I'm originally from Northwest Arkansas²². Grew up in two family-owned and operated small businesses²³. Went to University of Oklahoma and was commissioned in the United States Navy through their ROTC program²⁴. And my military experience began very truthfully just to pay for college²⁵. But after an amazing first ship that had incredible leadership, it changed my perspective that resulted in a much longer 20-year career²⁶.

That time, I served on four ships, deployed overseas four times²⁷. On each of those, spent several years in Washington, D.C., learned the business side of the Navy, congressional affairs work, and understanding Department of Defense²⁸. I was blessed to have command of a ship and a Navy base²⁹. It was actually serving as base commander in Panama City, Florida, that I had my first real experience in economic development³⁰.

Every week in that role, I spent a considerable amount of time off the base advocating and representing all the missions our base had to offer³¹. That experience highlighted the importance of relationships with municipalities, academia, workforce, utility companies, and the business community³². As I wrapped up that job, I shared with my wife, if we could find a similar kind of work in Northwest Arkansas one day, I think I'd really enjoy it³³.

Well, fast forward to three years ago, we had hung up our military cleats and the door opened to lead economic development at the Springdale Chamber, and it has worked out great³⁴. I'm aware that I'm on a non-traditional path getting to this line of work, but I really enjoy the opportunity to continue growing professionally in this role³⁵. And the chance to work along extremely talented people like Jennifer and yourself, that's one of my favorite parts³⁶.

Host, Raven Johnson: Well, Jay, we are absolutely lucky to have you represent Springdale. And thank you for your service. Can't go unsaid there³⁷.

I'm going to sort of go back to Jennifer a little bit and talk a little bit about the mission of Central States³⁸. And I know that whenever I was there, a lot was celebrated, especially with regard to it being sort of an employee-owned company³⁹. So kind of would love to hear your thoughts a little bit more on the company itself and your mission and everything like that⁴⁰.

Jennifer Davis: Absolutely. Central State's mission is to provide for the well-being and financial freedom of our employee owners⁴¹. We are a 100% employee-owned company, which means that everybody who works here has a stake in the success of the company and should be investing in a forward-looking way with a long-term view to really create value⁴². And that value translates for the individual employee owners, but it starts with creating value for our customers, for sure⁴³.

And so that's been the big focus⁴⁴. And in fact, at the ribbon cutting, you probably saw some of our employee owners wearing customer period t-shirts, which is, you know, our commitment to create raving fans of our customers and serve them to the best of our ability day in and day out⁴⁵. And so that's what we have been focusing on here⁴⁶.

I would tell you that Central States, for those who aren't familiar with it, is a bit of a quiet giant in Northwest Arkansas⁴⁷. From our early days in Rogers, bending metal in a small shop, to where we are today with 12, soon to be 13 plants across the country, nearly 1,300, 1,400 employees across the country, communities that we serve all over the country⁴⁸. So it's really exciting to have this footprint and this opportunity to create value for customers and our employee owners in that way⁴⁹.

Host, Raven Johnson: Jennifer, would you mind also taking us a little bit back to the beginning of this project and why Central States needed to expand and build this facility?

Jennifer Davis: Absolutely. Central States has a number of facilities that have grown over the years⁵⁰. Our industrial footprint has increased, expanded from those early days 35 years ago to where we are today⁵¹. But each of the plants that we have launched to date have been fairly similar⁵². We bring in coils of metal that are pre-painted in a variety of highly durable colors and shades⁵³. And then those are a cut into various widths and lengths, and then sent through roll forming equipment that bend it into the shapes that make it into roofing and siding⁵⁴. And that kind of cold form material, again, has been the bread and butter and the heart and soul of the company for many, many years⁵⁵.

But we also saw a strategic opportunity, and that is a lot of the metal buildings that we provide are sheeting or siding or secondary framing for, the primary framing, the rigid frames, the tapered columns and steel welded beams that you see in many of these facilities had to be made by others⁵⁶. And we saw an opportunity to bring our value proposition and our culture to creating a full pre-engineered metal building package for our customers⁵⁷.

These metal building systems, as they're called, are engineered, bespoke for every customer and every application⁵⁸. Really, there's no two that are the same because every site and every customer has unique requirements⁵⁹. And so we start with, again, it could be a sketch on a paper, an architectural drawing, a specification for a customer, and we engineer and design, detail, and fabricate now complete metal building systems, including the rigid frame⁶⁰.

So this new facility is an expansion of our mission and an expansion of the offerings that we bring⁶¹. But it's also very unique in that it's the only rigid frame plant and structural steel plant in our network⁶². And it's very exciting to bring this to market and be able to provide a broader range of offering to our customers⁶³.

Host, Raven Johnson: Yeah, Jennifer, that is really, really exciting⁶⁴. And I know the state is excited to have you expand in our state, and I know that Springdale is as well⁶⁵. So I think, you know, it might be good as well if, Jay, I think you know this, economic development, it doesn't happen by accident⁶⁶. And I think there were some elements of groundwork that were laid to hopefully see the success of this project⁶⁷. I don't know if you have any thoughts on that you'd like to share⁶⁸.

Jay Sego: Sure, let me start with a brief history⁶⁹. So Springdale is fortunate to have a public facilities board a commission that was established decades ago as an extension of the city for economic growth⁷⁰. The purpose of this board is growing new jobs that can be accomplished through local companies expanding or new company creating a footprint in Springdale⁷¹. And the primary method of supporting this goal has been through purchasing land, rezoning it to support industrial or manufacturing developments, and then repeating that process⁷².

And about 10 years ago, this board purchased over 80 acres of agricultural land with the vision of supporting great companies like Central States Manufacturing in the future⁷³. And at that time, this property was at the northeastern boundary of the city limits of Springdale, and it was surrounded by agricultural⁷⁴. And as you mentioned, as it typically happens in economic development across the state, a vision's casted for what a property could become in the future⁷⁵. And then the community really starts coming together to execute how to reach that vision⁷⁶. And that was the case for this industrial park that now supports Central States⁷⁷.

Host, Raven Johnson: And Jay, was there any specific infrastructure investments that were made to support this project in particular⁷⁸?

Jay Sego: Absolutely. There's been infrastructure advancements both on the property and I'll just call it the pavement over the last 10 years to prepare for industry to come in⁷⁹. First on the property, as mentioned, this was an old farm⁸⁰. There were property modifications that were required⁸¹. Think about removing an old barn⁸². Additionally, the entire property was rezoned to industrial to support future development⁸³.

From a utilities perspective, water and electricity were available, but there was no sewer⁸⁴. And so in 2023, the board invested to extend sewer along the southern border where Central State's main entrance is now located⁸⁵. And then for the road infrastructure, in 2019, Arkansas Department of Transportation announced completed an expansion project on Highway 265, creating five lanes and a great north-south artery that runs along the western boundary of this industrial park⁸⁶.

Just one year ago, the City of Springdale partnered with EDA to complete a $5 million road project to build Kendrick Avenue that creates the primary entrance for Central States and other businesses that are located in this industrial park, and that Kendrick Avenue intersects with the new Highway 265⁸⁷. And then when we kind of look what's coming down the road at the future, Arkansas DOT will continue their investment in Northwest Arkansas, building the Springdale Northern Bypass or Highway 612⁸⁸. That's going to intersect Highway 265 less than a mile to the north of this property and create a northern beltway around the city of Springdale that intersects Interstate 49⁸⁹. And this is going to be an X multiplier for Springdale, for our region, especially in the transportation and logistics ecosphere⁹⁰.

So as I look in the rearview mirror, it's impressive to see how this industrial park was positioned for success⁹¹. And how key public and private investments have allowed that original vision to become a reality⁹². But the best part of that vision is the customer⁹³. And this industrial park was built to serve the customer, which is Central States manufacturing⁹⁴. Jennifer said the quiet giant, I love that, and its new state-of-the-art steel fabrication facility⁹⁵.

Host, Raven Johnson: Yeah, all really, really exciting things happening in Springdale⁹⁶. I mean, years of work go into infrastructure development, and it really does take a vision and planning to support those efforts⁹⁷. And at the end of the day, you know, as you said, Jay, the customer ends up being you know, the thing that's most important and most exciting to celebrate here⁹⁸. And so in this case, it's Central States⁹⁹. So I think, Jennifer, I'd love to hear from your perspective, the decision making process behind choosing to expand in Springdale¹⁰⁰. And please dig in on any details you want to share on the site and any specifics you may have as to the decision¹⁰¹.

Jennifer Davis: Absolutely. Well, our decision to invest in Northwest Arkansas, just starting at a zoomed-out view, is due to its strategic location in the center of the country¹⁰². As I mentioned, we do business from coast to coast, and so it was logical to place a facility in the center of the country to better serve a broader range of customers, kind of inside out from Arkansas and this kind of multi-state corridor here in the corner of the state, but also beyond¹⁰³.

And then zooming into this location, one of our oldest and largest facilities for other materials that are used in this building is located in Lowell¹⁰⁴. And so it's just a short five, eight minute drive from the new frame plant, which allows us to work highly collaboratively between the two plants, sharing expertise and sharing resources, but also it opens up the possibility for unified logistics¹⁰⁵. So, you know, to the extent that we're filling one truck, not multiple trucks, we could actually do that across multiple facilities here that are within quick driving distance of each other¹⁰⁶. So that also made sense for us¹⁰⁷.

But to Jay's point, we needed a piece of land that could accommodate the kind of facility that we were building¹⁰⁸. Certainly at the very least, we were going to have people in this building and they were going to be creating products and they needed access to water in their break room and they needed access to restroom facilities and the like¹⁰⁹. And so all that infrastructure that Jay mentioned was really critical¹¹⁰.

In addition, we make products that are big¹¹¹. We're filling whole truck beds with rigid frames for buildings¹¹². And so the road, the Kendrick Avenue that Jay mentioned, is critical because we are bringing trucks constantly into that parking lot, into our loading bay to be loaded with material¹¹³. And so it was very important that that infrastructure was in place to facilitate the safe, of course, and efficient handling of material¹¹⁴. And so all of those things played into this as well¹¹⁵.

We love that the location has grown up so much¹¹⁶. It went from being a field, as Jay said, to now we have multiple world-class neighbors on the street that are also investing in the community¹¹⁷. And again, all of that just leads to a sense of pride and camaraderie as we're all growing our businesses in parallel together¹¹⁸.

Host, Raven Johnson: Thanks, Jennifer. That's really insightful¹¹⁹. I know that to Jay, that's music to his ears and my own, hearing the fact that the infrastructure and all of the workforce and all of those elements really tied a nice bow to make Central State's expansion easy and swift¹²⁰. And hopefully the continued right choice is exactly what we love to hear¹²¹. From... I think, again, for you, Jennifer, this plan is anticipated to create 50 new jobs this year and with plans to grow to 140¹²². What kind of jobs do you anticipate or have already been created with this expansion¹²³?

Jennifer Davis: Well, this is a precision manufacturing operation¹²⁴. So as Jay mentioned earlier, it's a state-of-the-art facility with a lot of automation, a lot of robotics, and a lot of high-end equipment, really top-of-the-line fabrication facility for this kind of product¹²⁵. And we're attracting professionals in this field, welders, machine operators, process engineers, process owners that lead areas of the factory and are excellent leaders of their team, as well as the support structure in production control and operations management and quality and purchasing and the like to make that factory go¹²⁶.

And so these are high value roles for the company¹²⁷. They're highly differentiated roles in the marketplace¹²⁸. So if you know of welders and those that have fabrication experience, we are hiring right now¹²⁹. It's very exciting to see¹³⁰. Every time I go over to the factory, I'm meeting new people that just joined that week¹³¹. I feel like we're doing a new hire orientation every week as we bring in that staff¹³². And, you know, our plans are to fully staff a first shift and then, you know, based on that ramping up, then leading to second shifts and additional capabilities as we grow that facility, just as we have in our other facilities that, you know, start where they start, and we ramp up to a full, highly productive operation¹³³.

Host, Raven Johnson: Jennifer, that is awesome. You heard it here, folks. Central States is hiring. There's a welder out there¹³⁴. We should reach out¹³⁵. Where would one go to look for or apply for these jobs¹³⁶?

Jennifer Davis: Oh, thank you for asking¹³⁷. All of our career opportunities are on our careers website at centralstatesco.com¹³⁸. If you click on careers, you can see the open positions, you can search by location and type of role¹³⁹. And again, I really encourage people who are looking for ways that they can contribute to the local economy¹⁴⁰. If there's a job there that isn't for you, but is for somebody in your network or somebody that you know, please pass it along because they might not know of Central States yet¹⁴¹. And this is a great opportunity for them to join a growing organization and one that they can really put their fingerprints on¹⁴².

I was actually talking to one of our employees last week in Springdale who characterized the opportunity to work at a plant from its very first customer shipments as a once in a lifetime opportunity¹⁴³. Every employee in that plant is literally helping to invent the processes we use¹⁴⁴. They're helping to improve the operations¹⁴⁵. They're coming up with ideas of how to improve our customer experience¹⁴⁶. And those things are going to last for decades to come¹⁴⁷. And so what an opportunity for somebody who has some great professional skills, the necessary certifications to do that work, to join a facility and really make their mark¹⁴⁸.

Host, Raven Johnson: Well, I hope people will certainly listen to this podcast and check out your careers page because clearly you all are a great company to work for¹⁴⁹. Jay, you know, we've been fortunate enough to visit recently a couple times because you've had several wins¹⁵⁰. So I just wanted to know from your perspective, what do you tell companies looking to grow in Springdale as you continue to see success in the park¹⁵¹?

Jay Sego: Sure. We continue to see growth that's happening organically here in Springdale¹⁵². And that's from foundational work that's been placed for decades¹⁵³. And we see companies that are local that are expanding to meet that¹⁵⁴. The number of people, the number of the amount of talent that's come into our area over the next several decades¹⁵⁵. But then also how we can best support companies that are coming here and establishing their new footprint¹⁵⁶. And we are... We're moving as fast as we can to be... We want to be a business ready community that can move a company like Central States through the planning and the engineering¹⁵⁷.

So once they've made that site selection decision, we've already had a conversation in City Hall to go ahead and get that ball rolling to where we're thinking about the business and the timing, what's their end state to be able to open the doors and start operating¹⁵⁸. And we want to be that type of a place that is ready to support and will support them through the life cycle of their business¹⁵⁹.

Host, Raven Johnson: You know, we've been talking a little bit about these two things independently, you know, the site selection process, the infrastructure that was done to hopefully, you know, lead to the success of Central States expansion¹⁶⁰. But Jennifer, I'd love to hear from you on your experience working with AEDC and Springdale on this project¹⁶¹

Jennifer Davis: Well, we love when communities are pro-business¹⁶². We think businesses are a force for good in the communities¹⁶³. We certainly strive to be that in our communities, and it goes beyond what we're doing to stand up the plant and invest in the building and the infrastructure and the like¹⁶⁴. It actually goes to how we like to show up every day¹⁶⁵. We like to serve where we live and we work¹⁶⁶. And so from the very start, our operation in Springdale has focused on service¹⁶⁷.

And we were able, even at the ribbon opening, to have, I think, 126, 129 backpacks ready to go, filled with school supplies that were dropped off to a couple of local schools, elementary schools, the first week of school¹⁶⁸. This is the kind of thing that we want to be known for and that has been so critical and central to our culture in all of the communities that we've been in¹⁶⁹. And so, again, I think what we're doing in Springdale is reflective of that and working with the state, the city, the Economic Development Commission, all of these groups that are working such advocates for local industry, local manufacturing, local businesses, local employment¹⁷⁰. I mean, it makes a world of difference when we're making decisions about where to invest¹⁷¹.

Host, Raven Johnson: And speaking of, what does the future of Central States look like for Arkansas¹⁷²?

Jennifer Davis: Well, we continue to grow here in the area¹⁷³. We, as you will see from that career site we talked about earlier, we are always looking for opportunities People for our operation here in Lowell, operation in Springdale, our corporate offices, which we call division support, is located in Tawny Town, just off 412¹⁷⁴. And on the other end of that 612 bypass that Jay mentioned¹⁷⁵. And so all of these facilities of ours have particular roles and functions in them¹⁷⁶. And we just believe that Central States will be a key part of the growth of Northwest Arkansas as we continue to invest in this area¹⁷⁷.

Host, Raven Johnson: Well, we certainly hope so and look forward to supporting you through those efforts¹⁷⁸. You know, Jay, Jennifer, I'd love to thank you both so much for joining us today¹⁷⁹. This story is one that, you know, we obviously chose to and want to champion because it's truly a success story at the local, state, regional level¹⁸⁰. And just really appreciate your time today¹⁸¹. I kind of want to round out our interview today with some lightning round questions¹⁸². So I'm going to start with Jay with what is your favorite place to visit in Arkansas? Go¹⁸³.

Jay Sego: I've been fortunate to have lived all over the country and traveled across the world¹⁸⁴. So honestly, my favorite place is Northwest Arkansas, which is why we moved home when Navy was wrapped up¹⁸⁵. I love the outdoors, the community, and all my family's here¹⁸⁶. So I love this place¹⁸⁷.

Host, Raven Johnson: Jennifer, I'm going to ask you, what is your favorite restaurant in Arkansas¹⁸⁸?

Jennifer Davis: Well, on any given Saturday, you're likely to find my husband and I or any member of our family at a homegrown¹⁸⁹. And I know there's one in Springdale that we visited many times¹⁹⁰. It's hard to pick just one restaurant, but again, I have Springdale on the mind, so I was thinking homegrown¹⁹¹.

Host, Raven Johnson: Fair. I need to check that out¹⁹². I've heard many good things¹⁹³. Okay, on the last one, I'm going to have you both answer¹⁹⁴. We'll start with Jay, but I'm going to say, what is your favorite activity in Arkansas¹⁹⁵?

Jay Sego: I love sports¹⁹⁶. So here in Springdale, we've got the Northwest Arkansas Naturals AA baseball team, an affiliate of the Royals¹⁹⁷. What a great ballpark and great team¹⁹⁸. And then who doesn't love Razorback sports¹⁹⁹? I grew up on hog basketball and baseball²⁰⁰. And while we're recording this, the Razorback football team's undefeated²⁰¹.

Jennifer Davis: Yes, they are²⁰².

Host, Raven Johnson: So I love sports as well²⁰³.

Jennifer Davis: I will add on to that that just... This weekend, we went and took on the 11-story rise in Kohler Preserve²⁰⁴. And what a gift that we have all of this space, infrastructure throughout the communities in Northwest Arkansas to enjoy the outdoors²⁰⁵. So whether cycling is your sport or whether you're just out for a leisurely hike with a latte at the end of it, there's a path that was paved for you²⁰⁶.

Host, Raven Johnson: Yes, it is absolutely unmatched²⁰⁷. I go every time I go up there²⁰⁸. Yeah, we've had lovely weather and I hope it stays²⁰⁹. Well, again, thank you both so much²¹⁰. Our guests today have been Jennifer Davis, the president of Central States Building Works, and Jay Sego, the vice president of economic development for the Springdale Chamber of Commerce²¹¹. Jennifer and Jay, thanks for joining us again to talk about Central States' new facility and much more²¹².

You've been listening to the Arkansas Inc. podcast²¹³. I'm Raven Johnson, project manager on the business development team with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission²¹⁴. You can subscribe to the Arkansas Inc. podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast apps²¹⁵. For more information about the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and to sign up for the AEDC monthly newsletter, visit ArkansasEDC.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and YouTube²¹⁶. As always, thanks for listening²¹⁷.