Company invests $3.2 in Ozark

OZARK — A company’s $3.2 million investment into the city could help Ozark’s housing market and further promote the company’s name across the Southeast, according to city leaders.

The Ozark City Council voted Tuesday to execute a deed to the Industrial Development Board to add more acres to the eight acres in Black Forest Industrial Park for Whertec, a company that provides inspections, specialized coating and weld overlay to protect metal substrates at companies like Georgia Pacific,
Georgia Power, International Paper and US Steel.

Bunting said total economic investment will be $3.2 million. Average pay per worker is $50,000 a year, he said.

“So far, there will be $132,000 for the land in exchange for 27 jobs over two years. The company’s workers are expected to move here immediately,” Bunting said.

The company anticipates 35 percent growth this year and made purchases of more than $1.8 million from local vendors, according to a letter Bunting read from Whertec.

The council also voted to grant Whertec tax abatement.

Whertec is expected to be operating in Ozark by March.