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From the Governor GREEN INNOVATION Technology partnership yields jobs


negative impact on the environment. We see more hybrid cars every day, and alternative energy sources are becoming an increasingly viable means of powering our homes, offices, appliances, and vehicles. Along with improving energy efficiency and contributing to


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environmental conservation, innovations in green technology have a more direct and tangible benefit for our state. Green technology creates new jobs. In August, I participated in a job announcement that does just that. ElectroCraft of Searcy, which manufactures electric motors for heaters, air conditioners, refrigerators, and military vehicles, has joined forces with SN Tech, a Korean company. Together, they will begin creating a new, “greener” motor that costs less to produce, lasts longer, and is more energy-efficient than those used previously. Tis partnership will allow the companies to hire 55 more people,


as well as retain the 70 employees already working in Searcy. Tese employees will be on the forefront of green technology, learning vital skills that will only become more important as a desire for greater energy efficiency becomes increasingly common.


Mike Beebe Arkansas Governor


ver the past several years, consumers have grown increasingly aware that their behavior affects the environment. People are building homes, office buildings, and schools with materials and techniques that lessen the


Representatives from Arkansas solar-panel manufacturer Silicon Solar Solutions are joined by state officials and University of Arkansas faculty outside Nasdaq in New York on August 20.


graduate students in the Sam Walton College of Business founded a company in October of 2008. Teir mission was to conserve energy, and within two years, their business plan resulted in Silicon Solar Solutions, a company recognized for its solar-panel technology. Te company, still headquartered in Fayetteville, has won accolades in multiple business development competitions. In the past six months, it was involved in eight competitions, placing in the top three of each and winning two international contests in one weekend. As a result, members of Silicon Solar Solutions, along with representatives from the University of Arkansas, Green Valley Development, and AEDC, were given the rare opportunity of participating in Wall Street’s Nasdaq closing-bell ceremony on August 20th. Silicon Solar Solutions is one example of a company that turned


Each of these companies has its own expertise, but by combining their


strengths, they produce the kind of partnership that drives economic development and leads to the high-paying, knowledge-based jobs that we work to bring to Arkansas. One role of government is to help facilitate such collaboration. In the case of ElectroCraft and SN Tech, many entities worked together to turn a business concept into real jobs. I commend the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, Searcy’s city leaders, and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission for their cooperation in this process. But economic development is only possible when accompanied


by ongoing education that fosters new ideas to fit today’s complex technology. At the Innovation Center at the University of Arkansas, three


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start-up ideas into entrepreneurship with the assistance of Innovate Arkansas. Te joint program of AEDC and Winrock International helps new technology-based companies become viable firms that create jobs and enhance our economy. With programs like these, which facilitate economic development and diversify industry, Arkansas will continue to develop home-grown, eco-friendly, energy-efficient technology that is at the core of 21st-century business development.


Hon. Mike Beebe Governor of Arkansas


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