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PEDC Board Meeting Minutes <br />July 21, 2017 <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />Horton stated that discussions are ongoing with Paris TxDot, Red River County and Fannin County on <br />the improvement of Highway 82. They would like to see Highway 82 as a four -lane through the <br />Metroplex. Highway 19 in Hopkins County is another project SuRRMA is looking at supporting. Mr. <br />Paris stressed how important it is to have the four -lane access to major interstates. Kimberly Clark is <br />running 170 trucks a day, Campbell's Soup is running 80 trucks a day, and Turner Industries is running <br />30 trucks a day. All are grateful for the highway expansion. TxDot will also be doing a Loop 286 study <br />to measure the traffic and look at solutions for traffic flow. Mr. Horton said the future for SuRRMA <br />will be to start with a study of the highways in the area and prioritizing the needs of the area. Mr. <br />Banks asked about the rail service between Paris and Bonham. Mr. Horton said they are looking at the <br />rail service. There is a rail line that goes between Greenville and Texarkana, but the problem is <br />keeping it running. Since rail is an efficient way to move goods, they will search for how to get TxDot <br />more involved in rail. Mr. Horton asked if there were any more questions. With no more questions, the <br />Board thanked Mr. Horton and SuRRMA for the check. <br />Discuss and possibly approve BodyGuard Bumpers' request for an additional $25,000 exceeding <br />initial compliance of fifteen (15) employees to twenty (20) FTE employees -- Five (5) FTE <br />Employees multiplied by $5,000 per iob. <br />Mr. Paris let everyone know that BodyGuard is finishing out its current incentive agreement. For a full <br />year the company has exceeded the initial compliance by 5 full -time employees. Mr. Paris <br />recommended that the Board approve the request from BodyGuard to be paid the new job incentive of <br />$5,000 per employee for the 5 new jobs created. This would be a total of $25,000. In addition to this a <br />new agreement would be setup through June 2018; the agreement would be a new job incentive of <br />$5,000 per employee for 5 new jobs created. The total of this incentive would be $25,000. Training <br />funds are still available in the current incentive agreement and we would like BodyGuard to be <br />reimbursed for some of the training costs. Grant and Kelli Mallicote, owners of BodyGuard, have <br />worked with the PEDC for about six years. Ms. Mallicote said they have become a key player in the <br />Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is the largest specialty automotive trade show in the <br />world. At the 50th SEMA Show the goal of the Mallicotes' was to have 50 trucks to show, they <br />surpassed themselves with 56 trucks. Ms. Mallicote stated that another goal was marketing the product <br />more and that is happening because of attending more trade shows, being on 10 magazine front covers <br />and in 15 magazine features, working with high - profile clients and TV shows on Discovery Channel. <br />Ms. Mallicote stated that BodyGuard is number one in its industry. They are expanding across the U.S. <br />and now the international market is opening up for them. Mr. Paris asked if Ms. Mallicote would <br />explain the process they use to manufacture the BodyGuard product. Ms. Mallicote explained that they <br />start with raw steel and end with a fmal product which is all done in house. The material goes through <br />a press break where it is broke; it goes on to be cut into pieces and shapes, it is sent on to the welding <br />bay for fitting and hand welding, from there it is on to pipe bending for the grill guard, the product is <br />taken to the sand blast facility, it is then sent to powder coating, the final area is packaging and out the <br />door. Ms. Mallicote said it is hard to keep welders because of the competitiveness in the area. Also, <br />she talked about the attention to detail that is needed when welding one of the BodyGuard Bumpers. <br />Another struggle is that both owners are being stretched too far and not having the time it takes to <br />grow the business. The third item is the equipment being used; having new equipment would help the <br />employees do their jobs better and would speed up the manufacturing process. Mr. Mallicote gave the <br />