RelateCare will create 255 new jobs within three years in Sherwood, Ark., to support back-office functions for hospitals and healthcare facilities for clients in the United States.
RelateCare executives joined state and local officials this morning to make the announcement at the company’s newly-leased facility at the Wildwood Centre in Sherwood. RelateCare, headquartered in Waterford, Ireland, began as a joint venture between Rigneydolphin and leading U.S. healthcare institution Cleveland Clinic in 2014 and already employs 100 staff in Arkansas primarily in the Little Rock area.
“RelateCare has seen rapid growth over the past two years, with our administrative and clinical solutions increasingly supporting a wide range of health systems in the United States,” said Conor O’Byrne, CEO of RelateCare Group. “We’re delighted to widen our U.S. operations here in Sherwood, Arkansas during a very exciting time of customer expansion for our company. Our goal is to provide a flexible working model that affords our employees great opportunities to progress and upskill to support our dynamic business. As a homegrown Irish organization increasingly focused on growing in the U.S., we now have a really strong platform to continue to drive solutions and create value for our healthcare clients here.”
RelateCare provides patient-access and patient-engagement solutions to leading healthcare organizations around the world through its technology platforms. Part of the Akusus Group, the company has seen rapid growth over the last decade and currently employs more than 1,400 people in Ireland and the United States, with 500 of those jobs added in the past year alone.
“My administration is working to make Arkansas the best state in the country to live, work, and raise a family—and that starts by creating an economy where jobs are abundant, and paychecks are rising. Through their landmark investment in our state, RelateCare is helping us build the economy we need to take Arkansas to the top,” said Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “I thank the RelateCare team for choosing our state and look forward to working with them to pursue policies that make Arkansas an even more favorable candidate for business expansion.”
The new hub in Sherwood will serve to support RelateCare’s clientele through remote clinical support services, post-discharge management services, and telehealth and patient appointment scheduling services. RelateCare plans to hire new management executives, support staff members, and access-to-care staff members. More than 20 million appointments are scheduled through RelateCare each year.
“We are proud to welcome RelateCare to Arkansas, where it will find a robust workforce to power its operations,” said Clint O’Neal, Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “Arkansas continues to provide a competitive business environment for international companies to grow and thrive.”
RelateCare’s headquarters are in Waterford City, with U.S. Hubs in Cleveland, Ohio and Little Rock, Arkansas. Client partners include Cleveland Clinic, Stanford Children’s Health, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Duke Health and the Health Service Executive in Ireland, among many others.
RelateCare provides support and assistance for staff to work remotely, with a focus on productivity and professional development as part of a sustainable hybrid model. The company increasingly uses virtual platforms to communicate effectively and drive solutions for clients, offering real opportunities for employees to upskill and add value.
Owens Corning Announces Plan to Build Facility in Russellville, Create 50 New Jobs
Owens Corning will invest $24.5 million to expand its presence in Arkansas with a new 150,000-square-foot facility in Russellville, creating 50 new jobs over two years. This marks Owens Corning’s third expansion in two years in Arkansas—the first two of which were located in Fort Smith.
In February 2021, Owens Corning announced that it would build a new 550,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Fort Smith to produce fiberglass composite materials. In October 2022, the company announced a second expansion at the Fort Smith facility for machinery and new construction that would lead to the creation of 50 new jobs.
“Expanding Owens Corning’s Foamular NGX production with this new facility will advance our ability to create sustainable solutions in the building materials industry and better serve the growing needs of our customers,” said Rodney Wideman, Vice President and General Manager of Foam Insulation, Owens Corning. “We are excited to join the Russellville community and have appreciated the continued support and partnership with the State of Arkansas.”
Owens Corning has maintained a presence in Arkansas since 1985 with its Fort Smith facility. The company plans to start production in Russellville in 2025 where it will produce Foamular NGX extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation for applications spanning commercial and residential building.
“Manufacturing is vital to the Arkansas economy, and I am excited to see Owens Corning continue to invest in our state and our workforce,” said Gov. Sanders. “When our existing businesses choose to not only expand here, but to expand in new communities, it speaks volumes about the confidence they have in our business climate and our people.”
Owens Corning has been a Fortune 500 company for 68 consecutive years. Consistent with its mission to build a sustainable future through material innovation, the company has been recognized with awards and top rankings from several external organizations, including 3BL (#1 on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for four consecutive years), CDP (“A List” for climate and water), the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indices for 13 consecutive years, and Ethisphere Institute (one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies) for the past five years.
“The team at AEDC is pleased to once again work with Owens Corning and to welcome the company to Russellville,” said Clint O’Neal, Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “Russellville continues to make great strides toward becoming an even more attractive community to call home and operate a business, and today we celebrate the results of their efforts. My congratulations to the Chamber, Alliance, and local leaders for their work in attracting Owens Corning to the community.”
