Five Rivers Manufacturing officially opened its new headquarters in Corning Wednesday.
For 92 years, Five Rivers has been the maker of G&H Decoys, part of its umbrella of outdoor companies. G&H will now be manufactured in Corning alongside Five Rivers’ other brands acquired in 2005 — Deception Decoys and Dogg Company, both founded in Kansas, and Hebert’s Custom Decoy Rigs, founded in Louisiana.
“People ask why Five Rivers came to Arkansas. The truth is it wasn’t a hard call. If you are going to be in the waterfowl and outdoor industry, there is no better place on earth to call home,” said Joshua Stratton, vice president of Five Rivers Manufacturing. “The flooded timber, the rivers, the rice fields — the finest waterfowl country in the world is out our back door. That’s not scenery to us. That is an unmatched playground for research and development. We don’t have to imagine the conditions our products face. We just have to walk outside.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald attended the opening event. According to the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, waterfowl season generates $4.25 million a day for the state’s economy over its two-month run, greatly impacting towns like Corning.
“Corning sits right in the heart of the Mississippi flyway in the middle of the best duck hunting in America,” Sanders said. “And today, they’re opening a facility that will make it possible for G&H and Five Rivers to continue to serve Arkansans for generations to come.”
Sanders noted that continued investment in outdoor recreation, like Five Rivers’ expansion, will help keep that economic engine growing across the state.
“G&H plays a big part in making that happen, driving jobs and investment to a part of the natural state that’s earned it,” she said. “And with their help, we’re not just making Arkansas duck hunts better. We’re making our state a better place than ever to live, to work and to raise a family. So to everyone who helped make this facility possible, we thank you.”
Landon Wilson of Halsey Real Estate, who helped broker the deal, said the skepticism the project faced early on made Wednesday’s opening especially meaningful.
“When we took on this assignment, what I was told was, ‘It’s in the wrong spot, it’s too expensive, and good luck,'” Wilson said. “I think with us being here today, it proves that Corning in Northeast Arkansas is not in the wrong spot. There’s value in this community, and hard work takes precedence over luck.”
Five Rivers invested more than $2.1 million in G&H’s purchase, relocation and restart in 2024, and the Corning expansion is expected to bring the region’s total new jobs to more than 75. A recent four-hour job fair in Corning drew more than 300 applications, according to a press release.
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