Polo Custom opens doors for Governor's visit and open house

The Winston County Journal

Dignitaries, community leaders, Polo workers and many others gathered Thursday, March 12 to witness first hand company growth in Winston County.

"This is a great afternoon and a wonderful day for Polo and Winston County," said Sen. Giles Ward as he took the platform inside the production area of the new Polo building at 907 West Main Street.

Polo recently moved to the new building with help from the city of Louisville and Winston County officials. The city and county purchased the building and upgraded the facility using Mississippi Rural Impact Funds and Community Block Development funds gained through the Mississippi Development Authority,

Louisville Mayor Daniel "Moe" Yarbrough thanked all who worked hard on getting the project and thanked Gov. Barbour and his staff and MDA for their efforts in bringing the grant funds and loans to Louisville and Winston County. Mayor Yarbrough also outlined the millions of dollars the city has received in state and federal funding and how it has aided the city in improving many areas of the community.

Winston County Supervisor and board President Jerry Estes added," This is a day for Winston County and Polo to go forward."

Providing Polo with an upgraded and large building is aimed at helping the company continue to grow in the community while providing an improved workspace for the present workers. Polo expanded and relocated to the newly upgraded 105,000 sq ft building near the end of 2008.

"We have grown from 22 employees in 2000 to 145 today (in Louisville)," said Scott Hlavaty Vice president of manufacturing for Polo. "Our intentions are to continue to grow."

These plans for continued growth helped bring MDA, the city, county and Winston County Economic Development Partnership on board to help the company.

"Things just don't happen it takes a team to help business grow," said Gerald Mills, Winston County Economic Development Director.

The "team" in this case involves city, county and state officials along with an existing industry all working toward the goal of growth. As Whit Hughes of MDA and Governor Haley Barbour noted existing industry is often the backbone of any business growth.

"Supporting and growing companies already in the communities is key," said Whit Hughes. "We do not want to stop here. We are here to help business grow," said Hughes.

Governor Haley Barbour added, "This is a reminder that most jobs are added by companies already here. The bread and butter of our economy are existing industries."

While Gov. Barbour praised Polo and its efforts he noted that the people of Mississippi are key to its success and everyone must embrace education in order to provided a skilled workforce for the future.

"We in Mississippi must embrace education as a life long event," said Gov. Barbour. "A skilled workforce is a must in the modern economy."

He went on to stress the important roles the community colleges can have in this effort as they offer training and assistance to people, which can aid businesses and industries.

"The community colleges provide indispensable help with workforce training and improving the skills of workers," said Gov. Barbour.

Barbour also commended the efforts of the MDA Personnel, Winston County Economic Development Partnership, city officials, county officials and above that Polo.

"This is a great story in a challenging time for our economy," said Gov. Barbour.

Polo has over 60 years experience in custom manufacturing for the safety, medical, outdoor, and industrial markets. Polo is a division of M-C Industries