Another Lincoln County business is preparing to expand itsoperations and beat back the recession, continuing a six-monthstring of good news for the local industrial community.

Gatlin Corp. owner Jeff Gatlin is planning to increase the sizeof his subsidiary company, Gatlin Feed Mill, in a $1.2 millionproject that has the potential to create up to 10 new jobs. Theproject will see the addition of a 20,000 square-foot building andnew manufacturing equipment at the mill’s location on Bogue ChittoRoad, and will be the largest economic development that area hasexperienced in several years. The project is scheduled forcompletion by September.

“In 2009, we started distributing our products wholesale acrosssouth Mississippi, and that has increased to the point wheremanufacturing can’t keep up,” Gatlin said.

Gatlin Feed Mill, which the owner purchased from his father,Charles Gatlin, in 1987, produces a variety of wild game andlivestock feed varieties, but it’s one particular brand that’scatching on with hunters around the South that is warranting theexpansion.

The mill produces a supplemental deer feed called A-RAK-A-TAK,which Gatlin’s team developed over the course of several years bytesting it on different deer herds in the South and Midwest. Thefeed was originally designed as simply an attractant, but thetesting showed it increased deer body size and antler mass.

The team has been shopping A-RAK-A-TAK around, offering samplesat statewide and local events like last year’s Lincoln CountyWildlife Expo. The feed’s popularity has grown, and it may grow awhole lot more in the coming months.

Gatlin recently signed an advertising deal with The PursuitChannel, a hunting and outdoor network seen on DirecTV channel 608.Soon, ads for A-RAK-A-TAK will be broadcast to about 23 millionpeople.

“If just 500,000 people would buy one bag of our feed, it wouldpay for the expansion,” Gatlin said.

The expansion of Gatlin Feed Mill into new markets with newproducts follows the same strategy Gatlin has always used. He neverdedicated his mother ship company, Gatlin Corp., located on Highway84 in Brookhaven, to one specific product, so it’s made a varietyof hydraulic, pneumatic and seal and packing products forindustries and heavy equipment manufacturers like John Deere andCaterpillar for 25 years.

When the economic recession began dampening business for thefeed mill, Gatlin turned to the same formula.

“Business got bad. It was tough around here for about 18months,” he said. “From the middle of 2008 to the end of 2009 wasabout as tough as it was when I started. Sales dropped off and wehad to hunt a way to maintain our market. We’ve always manufacturedand retailed out of the same door, so we decided to expand.”

The feed mill has always served as a distribution point forother companies’ products.

Noticing success with wildlife products, Gatlin made the gambleon A-RAK-A-TAK. It’s worked out well so far, and it could work alot better. If it doesn’t, Gatlin Corp. will live on.

“Did I make a lot of money doing this? No. Is there andopportunity there? Yes,” he said. “We’ve put ourselves in a goodposition. If I were just a feed company, this wouldn’t work. If itworks, it works. If it don’t, it won’t break me.”

Gatlin’s expansion is just a small step in a large industrialworld, but the fact such a step is being taken is indicative of asunnier economic future. Lincoln County has enjoyed surprisinglygood news on the economic front since Christmas, with new companiescoming to town and existing industries expanding.

Gatlin Corp. and Gatlin Feed Mill employ 65 people, with thecoming expansion having the ability to increase that number to 75.While big industry moves and huge employment numbers usually grabthe headlines, piecemeal additions like Gatlin’s are what keep theeconomy churning, said Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber ofCommerce Executive Vice President Cliff Brumfield.

“I consider having several smaller wins to be a greater benefitthan one larger with the same number of jobs created,” he said.”You’re spreading the reward to the community in the number of jobscreated and spreading the risk among investors. It’s always betterto spread growth among diverse areas rather than having all youreggs in one basket.”

Since Rex Lumber of Brookhaven and Great Southern WoodPreserving divided up the former Columbus Company yard lastDecember, positive economic news has flowed freely in LincolnCounty. M and M Milling is coming to take over the former SpecialtyMinerals operation, King’s Daughters Medical Center continues toupgrade and improve its services, Reed’s Metals has expanded intonew markets and several new downtown retail stores have opened.

With the massive Linbrook Business Park about to open, Brumfieldis hoping the momentum carries into further new industries.

“People should remain confident our community is on the road torecovery, and nothing will speed that recovery faster thancontinuing to shop at home,” he said.