An IT solutions firm is expanding to West Plains. The $1 million investment by Provalus is expected to create up to 200 new jobs over five years.
West Plains Mayor Mike Topliff said the expansion will provide opportunities for residents in the area to have a good career.
"It's going to snowball once you have some better paying jobs, you know, what else is going to move in the community?" he said. "You know, retail's going to go up, our housing, you know, demand will go up."
The company’s expansion will include the build out of a Center of Excellence that will be housed in the refurbished West Plains Grocery, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Topliff said they received a $2.5 million economic development grant from the state to renovate the first floor They hope to get another $1.5 million from the federal government to rehab the second floor. Work is expected to start next year.
Topliff said the building, which once housed a grocery store and a hardware store and is located along railroad tracks, dates back to the 1920s has "got good bones." He's excited to see it renovated.
Topliff said Provalus has said it wants to help revitalize the downtown areas of the cities in which they locate, and that’s something he hopes will happen in West Plains.
"Our downtown is growing," he said, "a lot of good energy going, we have a lot of things happening, and this is just going to feed off of that. It's just an exciting time to be in West Plains."
Provalus is headquartered in Alabama and provides customized solutions in cybersecurity, network operations, quality assurance and data analytics.
According to the company's website, Provalus was founded in 2017 and "is a 100% U.S.-based outsourcing organization dedicated to creating technology opportunities in areas where few traditionally exist. By leveraging a unique approach that includes creating talent in rural, veteran-heavy American communities, Provalus is generating a dedicated and superior workforce while fueling a new era of technology talent equipped to strengthen America’s future."
DED said the expansion will include the hiring and training of entry level candidates to become quality assurance testers, data security experts and system engineers "with an emphasis on reshoring technology solution service jobs back to the United States."
Mayor Topliff said he hopes the expansion will mean fewer young people leaving West Plains for jobs elsewhere.
The City is looking for temporary space so Provalus can start hiring, he said.
