Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe assists with state's



Editor's Note: Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe continues to build the future economy of the State with his support for 21st century industry. Governor Beebe recently gave the following radio address toward this effort.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (June, 2008) Today's economy is changing and evolving at a record pace. The pressure to stay ahead of the curve has never been greater. As Benjamin Wallace-Wells, editor of The Washington Monthly, points out, "fall five years behind building car factories in the early twentieth century and you lost some profits; fall five years behind on hybrid cars and you may have lost an industry." To avoid missing out on the riches of emerging industries, our workers and businesses have to relentlessly push the envelope of research and innovation.

When people look to Arkansas, they should see the Nano-Technology Center in Fayetteville; the Bio-Sciences Center at ASU, UAMS and the U of A; the Cancer Research Center at UAMS; the Cyber College at UALR; the Forestry Program at UAM; and the Aquaculture Center at UAPB.

One of the latest successes to come out of Arkansas institutions is Duralor. Duralor's coating technology was licensed through NanoMech, LLC. NanoMech, headquartered in Fayetteville at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, designs and manufactures innovative coatings and coating systems used in a variety of industry sectors. Original patented technology, invented by Dr. Ajay Malshe and his colleagues, was licensed by NanoMech from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The completion of Duralor's facility proves, once again, that collaboration between the public and private sectors delivers quality jobs and economic expansion for Arkansas.

We celebrate Duralor's decision to invest in Arkansas and build their new facility. I would be remiss if I didn't take the time and thank the city officials, community leaders, investors and organizations that diligently worked to keep Duralor in Springdale.

Duralor is Arkansas-grown, and we fought to keep their talent and skills here. We are vested in promoting 21st century industry.

I've visited the Fulbright College at the U of A and the Donaghey College at UALR - both are home to leading-edge nanotechnology research. I spent time with some of the world's top scientists in this emerging field, and came away extremely encouraged for our State and the future of its economy. This industry has the potential to unlock the secrets of our universe and, at the same time, it has immediate practical applications that have the potential to create new industries for Arkansas.

When I look at what's been accomplished here, I see another level of impact that doesn't receive as much focus. I see bright young minds who will build the future economy of Arkansas; Business leaders with vision, who will continue to develop the ideas coming from our researchers to create practical, marketable solutions to everyday problems. Hopefully, these ideas will spawn new industries, here in Arkansas, which will employ many more Arkansans.

Most importantly, I see the birth of a new kind of community here in our state of highly skilled, highly educated entrepreneurs who will attract like minds who share their vision of a different future for Arkansas. These are impacts that have the power to change the dynamics of our communities and our State forever.

So when we debate the dollars and cents of these types of partnerships in Arkansas - which is an important debate to have - we should always take a moment to look beyond the economics and remember that these partnerships have the power to build strong families and strong communities for Arkansas. And that's our ultimate goal.