Rural Development Partners NMTC investment in AriensCo brings jobs to Tennessee

Rural Development Partners – a community-development organization that partners with businesses, government and communities to advance job growth in rural areas – reports that it invested $15 million of the $55.5 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) invested to help AriensCo revitalize an abandoned facility, bringing 350 new jobs to Fayetteville, Tennessee, along with catalytic economic and workforce development opportunities.

“We were excited from day one to be involved in this project. The large number of jobs created will provide opportunities for many,” says Dan Helgeson, CEO of Rural Development Partners. “AriensCo has an impressive track-record of giving back to the community and I look forward to what that means for Fayetteville and the surrounding area.”

As OPE Business reported in June 2022, AriensCo announced that it would locate a new manufacturing and warehouse facility in Fayetteville (Lincoln County), Tennessee. At the time, the Wisconsin-based company stated that establishing operations in the former Direct Coil Building would position AriensCo to be geographically closer to its dealer partners, customers and material suppliers in the southeastern U.S. and would also serve as the hub for its Gravely brand.

“This was a win-win-win partnership for the Fayetteville community, for Rural Development Partners and for AriensCo,” says James Young, AriensCo chief financial officer. “We are proud to have a longstanding tradition of supporting rural America. We have been in Brillion, Wisconsin, a farming community of about 3,300 people, for nearly 90 years. We’re a privately owned, family company that has grown up in small town America and we’re proud to partner with another small town by providing a great place to build a career.”

The AriensCo expansion is in response to a sharp increase in demand that has outpaced the company’s current production capacity. The project entails revitalization of an outdated building into a 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. “NMTCs will help offset the increased costs of construction and equipment, allowing AriensCo to accelerate plans for future capital investments in the community,” the company notes.