By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
ARKADELPHIA, Arkansas — A spacious warehouse and the town’s friendly atmosphere and pro-business attitude were the deciding factors in moving a California-based apparel manufacturer to Arkadelphia.
Su Dang, chief operating officer of the Los Angeles-based F3 Custom LLC, told arkadelphian.com in a telephone interview Monday afternoon that he sees “a lot of potential” in the local area. At auction held in early September, Dang’s family bought the former Alumacraft building at 1329 N. 10th St. The property includes more than 74,000-SF of warehouse and office space on a total of more than 12 acres.
Dang said he hopes F3 Custom will be training up to 20 local employees by mid-December 2025.
“We’re in the middle of getting set up, and hopefully in a month or so we will be hiring and training,” Dang said.
F3 Custom manufactures textiles, specializing in custom-made apparel such as sports uniforms and promotional merchandise. The company launched in 2019, and by 2020 shifted its focus on making cotton masks that were in high demand during the Covid pandemic. The Dang family has since relocated to Central Arkansas, where much of its textile equipment has been in storage while the Dangs contemplated setting up shop in Little Rock.
However, the old Alumacraft building — coupled with the aforementioned qualities of small-town charm and friendliness — drew Dang to do business in Arkadelphia.
“The building is a good fit because we have room to build into,” Dang said.
Real estate deeds recorded in recent days at the Clark County Courthouse revealed that the Dang family’s real estate business, Manly LLC, purchased the former boat manufacturing plant for $698,000.
The Alumacraft property has been vacant since the Minnesota-based company ceased local operations. Alumacraft manufactured aluminum boats in the Arkadelphia plant until it halted production in 2020. Prior to Alumacraft, Ouachita Marine Corporation made boats in the facility from the 1950s until the early 1980s, when Alumacraft took over the operation.
If all goes according to plan, Dang is hopeful that F3 Custom will employ up to 50 people within three years.
Dang said the company anticipates applying for incentives funded by Clark County’s 1/2-cent economic development sales tax, a decision that would go before the Economic Development Corp. of Clark County.
Shelley Short, CEO of the Arkadelphia Economic Development Alliance, said, “While we can’t share details just yet, we’re excited about this investment in our community and are currently working with Project Tide to open and operate a new manufacturing facility in Arkadelphia.”