LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Officials referred to it as “Operation Treehouse” and on Tuesday it finally came to fruition.  Trex announced it was going to expand its operation into the Little Rock Port.

Trex will be purchasing 289 acres near Welspun and will be creating 542 new jobs. 

Governor Asa Hutchinson was pleased with those types of figures.

“Anytime you can create over 500 jobs over time, $400 million investment those are very large numbers in terms of economic development,” the Governor said.

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Junior was also on hand and called it a monumental day for the city and is pleased his administration is able to add more jobs under his tenure.

“Since we’ve been in office we’ve brought close to 7000 jobs to the city and so now it’s 7500,” Mayor Scott, Jr. said.

Trex has announced they will be recruiting for both salaried and hourly job openings in the Spring of 2022. 

The company manufactures outdoor products like decking, fencing, and patio furniture.  They use 95% recycled and repurposed materials for their products. 

Mayor Scott, Jr. believes Trex fits in perfectly with the Natural State and the emerging green economy.

“Little Rock is definitely focused on eco-friendly initiatives.  We definitely have our own sustainability commission and we’re excited to recruit companies that are green-friendly,” Mayor Scott, Jr. said.

Leaders said the process of recruiting Trex began in January but Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde has long been a fan of Trex.

“When it was time to build a new deck at my home, I can tell you that this is what’s on my deck and it’s been a great product,” Judge Hyde said.

While the Capitol City and Pulaski County will be the biggest benefactors of Trex moving into the Port, Governor Hutchinson hopes the benefits will spread far and wide through Arkansas.

“I think there’s like 20 counties in Arkansas that have employees drive to work in the different companies in the Port and so this means something to not just little rock, not just Pulaski County, but for the surrounding counties as well,” Governor Hutchinson explained.