Pocahontas · Black River · Northeast Arkansas

Randolph County Crane and Rigging Prep

Pocahontas sits on the Black River where the Ozark foothills give way to the Delta. Randolph County's largest employer has been Peco Foods' poultry plant, and Pocahontas Aluminum makes windows and doors in the city's industrial park. Tate, announced in 2024, opened a large steel fabrication plant in town in December 2025. That mix of food processing, metal fabrication and new building gives local operators and riggers plenty of reasons to get certified. Our online prep lets you study at home, on any device.

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Plants and payrolls in Pocahontas

A 2018 Talk Business report, citing the county chamber, put Peco Foods at more than 1,300 employees and described its $165 million poultry processing plant. The same report counted 167 employees at Pocahontas Aluminum, which operates two buildings in the industrial park, along with Black River Technical College, Five Rivers Medical Center and the school district among the county's larger employers.

Tate's 420,000-square-foot plant was announced in 2024 with laser and plasma cutting, welding equipment and modular construction work, and it held its official opening in December 2025, building steel frames for data centers. At the opening the company said it expected up to 200 jobs in 2026. Modular builds are lifted onto trucks and then set on foundations by crane, so they create work for both operators and riggers. Black River Technical College is partnering with the company on student internships.

US 67 runs south from Pocahontas toward Walnut Ridge and on to Little Rock, the route most crews take when bigger jobs pull them out of the county.

Tate's growth and the Black River crossing

Tate did not wait long to grow. At its December 9, 2025 opening the company also announced a new product line and a $4 million investment tied to data center demand. One report said that step adds 52 jobs and takes the Pocahontas workforce to 200; KAIT reported Tate had already met the 148-job goal from its 2024 announcement within 13 months. Black River Technical College and Clay County Electric Cooperative were among the partners named.

Pocahontas also has a bridge history crane crews will appreciate. US 67 crosses the Black River on twin spans. The southern span is a steel girder bridge built in 1986, and the 1934 swing bridge beside it was taken down starting in 2016 and removed from the National Register in 2018. Demolishing a steel truss over a working river takes engineered rigging, staged cuts and close coordination between the crane operator and the people on the steel.

Foothills on one side, bottoms on the other

West of the Black River, the land climbs into the Ozark foothills. East of it, the ground flattens into farm country with soft, wet soils. A crane setting a modular unit on a hillside lot and one lifting bin parts on a riverbottom farm face opposite problems: slope versus bearing capacity. Both are covered on written exams. Spring flooding along the Black and Current rivers and winter ice storms affect scheduling.

Certification rules in Arkansas

Arkansas has no crane license. Federal OSHA's Subpart CC governs construction lifts: operators need accredited certification and an employer evaluation, and riggers and signal persons must be qualified. Written exams can be online-proctored; the practical is hands-on at an accredited site, with Jonesboro and Little Rock the larger nearby cities to watch for events. See the requirements guide.

Questions people ask

Which course helps with setting modular buildings?

Operators usually start with the mobile crane operator course. The crew rigging the units should look at Rigger Level 2, which covers planned multi-point lifts.

I'm a BRTC student. Can I add crane prep to my schedule?

Yes. Self-paced lessons and practice questions fit around classes and work.

How do the written and practical exams fit together?

For mobile cranes you pass a core written exam and at least one specialty written exam, then a practical on that crane type. Written tests can be taken at home with an online proctor; the practical is hands-on.

Can our plant sign up a group?

Yes. Note the number of workers on the enrollment form.

Does NCCCO mobile certification cover the overhead cranes in a fab shop?

No. In-plant overhead cranes fall under general industry rules (1910.179) rather than Subpart CC, and we don't offer an overhead crane course. Our courses fit the mobile and articulating cranes that load out finished steel and set it on site.

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.

  • Rigger Level I

    Self-paced study for the NCCCO Rigger Level I written test, covering slings, hitches, hardware checks and signals for crew members who rig everyday picks with a known load weight.

  • Articulating Crane Operator

    Written exam prep for the three NCCCO articulating crane designations, for Arkansas drivers dropping building materials, running log loaders or handling scrap with a grapple.

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

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