Economic Strength Rankings - 2006
By William H. Fruth
“Economic strength is the long term tendency for an area to consistently
grow in both size and quality.”
POLICOM specializes in studying the dynamics of local economies. From
its research, it determines if an area is growing or declining, what is
causing this to happen, and offers ideas and solutions to communities to
improve the situation.
POLICOM addresses the condition of an economy from the viewpoint of the
economy’s impact upon the “standard of living” of the people who live
and work in an area. The economic strength rankings are created so
POLICOM can study the characteristics of strong and weak
economies. The highest ranked areas have had rapid, consistent growth in
both size and quality for an extended period of time. The lowest ranked
areas have been in volatile decline for an extended period of time.
Lufkin Industries has another feather in its cap. The September issue of
Fortune magazine has ranked the company as No. 64 on its list of
America's 100 fastest growing companies.
With a net income in the past four quarters of $52.3 million and a
revenue of $524.2 million for the past four quarters, the 104-year-old
Lufkin Industries had a sales jump of 38 percent in 2005.
Lufkin Industries is honored and proud to be recognized by Fortune
magazine, said Paul Perez, vice president, general counsel and secretary
for Lufkin Industries. "We hope that our shareholders and employees also
enjoy the national recognition that's given to Lufkin Industries," he
said.
When asked if this recognition by Fortune would change anything for the
company, he said, "There will be no change in our normal operations.
We'll continue our efforts to improve our products and services which
have provided a 104-year history for the company." The company is
challenged every day throughout the world to demonstrate that its
products are best for its customers, he said.
Perez said the company had no advance notice of their recognition by
Fortune.
Since March 1, the company has added 110 new employees and is looking to
hire skilled machinist and welders in the Lufkin area.
The City of Lufkin’s Certified Retirement Community Initiative Committee
was notified late Monday that Lufkin has indeed become one of the State
of Texas’ Inaugural three communities to enjoy the “Texas Certified
Retirement Community Certification”. Mayor Jack Gorden stated, “Lufkin
has been green, clean, and safe, just what lots of folks are looking
for. But becoming a certified retirement community ads a new dimension
to verification of the quality of life we offer. Our future is bright,
and we welcome those looking for the uniqueness of small town good life
combined with the best attributes of metro areas”
To become certified, a community of Lufkin’s population must score a
minimum of 150 pt’s out of a total available 185 pt’s. The Texas
Department of Agriculture graded Lufkin’s application with a near
perfect 180 pt’s with some members of the volunteer committee that also
scored applications indeed scoring Lufkin with a perfect score of 185!
"Obviously we are excited to receive the certification. There was a
tremendous amount of work that went into our application and involved a
large number of folks from our community. I am very thankful to them as
well as our City of Lufkin Economic Development staff, the
Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development
Partnership. All of these entities were very instrumental in making this
effort a success." stated Trey Henderson Chairman of the Certified
Retirement Community Committee
Lufkin’s Certified Retirement Community Committee is a cooperative
effort between the Lufkin Angelina County Chamber of Commerce, the
Lufkin Angelina County Economic Development Partnership, and the Lufkin
4B Economic Development Corporation and is primary composed of Chamber
members with an interest in seeing Lufkin attract the baby boomer
generation as one of its economic development initiatives. Why? Because
reports show that today’s retirees are looking for much more than a
place to retire. They are looking for places to start their dream
business, participate in community volunteerism opportunities, mentor
today’s youth, and assist young business people via sharing their vast
experience to name only a few reasons. The Baby Boomer generation
represents the largest, wealthiest, best educated generation in history
with the potential to make a tremendous impact on local economies. For
example, baby boomers current own approximately 77 percent of the
nation’s assets, 80% of the nations savings accounts, 68% of the nations
money market accounts, and 48% of new cars in America and you realize a
cohort that cannot be ignored.
