Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren Ltd plans to build a manufacturing facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, on a 140-acre site adjacent to the Little Rock Port authority.

The $100 million facility, once completed, will be capable of 300,000 net tons of tubular steel pipes annually for use in the oil and gas industry. The company will hire about 300 workers and hopes to bring production by spring 2008.

"This is a great day for Arkansas," said governor Mike Beebe. "Welspun could have chosen many other locations for their investments, and they chose Arkansas. Our workforce, infrastructure and the natural benefits of the Arkansas River convinced Welspun to become our partners in progress. We welcome these great manufacturing jobs".

B K Goenka, Vice chairman and managing director, Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren, said, "We are happy to be here at Little Rock today, which has the advantage of a talented workforce, the right transportation opportunities and above all, the right geographical location. We look forward to a long and prosperous future as partners in Little Rock."

The company has its manufacturing facilities in Dahej and Anjar in Gujarat, India.

With majority of its production exported to the US, Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren has a very strong presence in the country and takes pride in supplying pipes foil he world''s deepest pipeline for the "Independence Trail" project in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Since our inception, we at Welspun have ventured into unexplored territories and have emerged as global leaders," said Braja Mishra, CEO and executive director, Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren. "Today, after setting foot in Arkansas, we hope to continue to prove our engineering excellence and be a comprehensive provider for state-of-the-art Pipes and related niche products for the transportation of Oil and Gas."

Prior to the formal announcement at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, a private groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Little Rock Port site.