Pulp mill · Cement plant · Millwood Lake

Crane Certification Prep for Ashdown, Foreman and Little River County

Few small Arkansas counties have two heavy industrial plants the size of the ones in Little River County. The Domtar pulp mill at Ashdown and the cement plant at Foreman both run equipment that has to be lifted out, repaired and set back, often during tight shutdown windows. Add the Red River, the Little River and Millwood Lake, and you get a county where certified operators and riggers find steady contractor work.

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Ashdown's mill: from paper to pulp

The mill opened as a Nekoosa Paper Company facility in 1968, sited for access to two rivers and Millwood Lake. Georgia-Pacific bought it in 1991 and Domtar in 2001. In 2016 Domtar started up a converted machine to make fluff pulp, a roughly $160 million project the company calls its largest capital investment. In February 2024 it announced the A62 paper machine would be idled indefinitely and a pulp dryer restarted. A Domtar fact sheet with data as of December 31, 2025 lists 556 employees and pulp-only products.

Pulp mills rely on cranes for recovery boiler work, digester and tank repairs, dryer sections, motors and pipe racks. Shutdowns bring in mobile and crawler cranes from outside the county, and every crew needs qualified riggers and signal persons alongside the operator.

Cement and limestone at Foreman

Limestone formations near White Cliffs, Okay and Foreman have supported cement making since the 1890s. The Foreman plant, built in 1956, is owned by Ash Grove Cement, which has since been acquired by CRH. Kiln shell sections, preheater components and conveyor equipment are heavy, awkward lifts.

One distinction worth knowing: cement plants with their own quarries are generally regulated by MSHA, not OSHA's construction crane standard. Contractors working there still bring certified operators, but site training and rules follow MSHA. Ask the site before you show up.

Millwood Dam and the roads to the plants

About nine miles east of Ashdown, Millwood Dam holds back the Little River just above its junction with the Red. The Corps of Engineers built the 3.3-mile earthen dam between 1961 and 1966 for about $46.1 million, and it was dedicated on December 8, 1966. It stands 88 feet above the streambed, impounds a 29,200-acre lake, and is the key to flood reduction on the Red River below Lake Texoma. Gate, spillway and intake work on a structure like that is careful, close-quarters crane work near water.

Road work keeps smaller crews busy. A February 2026 state listing covers leveling and overlay on about 6.9 miles of Highway 32, estimated at $4 million, and Ashdown awarded about $406,639 in January 2024 to overlay roughly a mile of city streets. Highways also carry outage cranes and counterweight trucks into the mill and the cement plant, so road conditions and bridge limits are part of planning every shutdown.

Matching courses to Little River County work

Getting to exams from Ashdown

Texarkana is about 20 minutes south, Shreveport under two hours and the Dallas-Fort Worth area roughly three. Written exams can be taken online with a remote proctor. Practical exams take place at accredited sites with an examiner and crane; the certifying body publishes upcoming dates. Read our guide to Arkansas requirements before you register.

Questions people ask

Do I need certification to work a mill shutdown?

Construction and major repair lifts generally fall under OSHA Subpart CC, which requires certified operators. The plant and your employer decide which standard applies to a given job.

Is the Foreman cement plant under OSHA or MSHA?

Cement operations tied to a quarry are typically under MSHA jurisdiction. Confirm with the site's safety department, since contractor rules can differ.

Can our outage contractor enroll a whole crew?

Yes. Crew enrollment is available, and an enrollment advisor will reply to your request through the form.

Do Corps of Engineers projects add their own requirements?

Usually. Corps contracts follow the Corps safety manual, EM 385-1-1, on top of OSHA rules, and it has its own crane sections. Ask the contracting office what documentation they want from operators and riggers.

Suggested courses for this area

  • Mobile Crane Operator

    Self-paced study for the NCCCO mobile crane Core and your LAT, TLL or TSS specialty, aimed at Arkansas operators on hydros, all-terrains and crawlers.

  • Rigger Level II

    Online preparation for the NCCCO Rigger Level II written test, focused on the weight, balance-point and tension math a lead rigger needs when the load's numbers are not handed to them.

  • Signalperson

    Study for the NCCCO Signalperson written test on any device, covering standard hand signals, voice and radio communication, crane behavior and the federal OSHA rules for directing a lift.

  • Crane Recertification

    A focused refresher for Arkansas operators renewing an NCCCO mobile crane certification, covering the core and specialty written tests, the renewal timeline and the 1,000-hour practical waiver.

Neighboring areas

Start your Arkansas crane certification prep

Name the card you need (operator, rigger or signal person) and the part of Arkansas you work in. An enrollment advisor writes back with the matching course and what the exam steps look like from there.

  • Self-paced lessons that open on any device, day or night
  • Practice questions written in the style of NCCCO written tests
  • Crew enrollment for Arkansas contractors and plants

Ask about enrollment

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