Local company expands operations, purchases old Buster Brown plant

By Lynn Hotaling

Diversified Expositions Inc., a Cullowhee company in business here since early 1994, has acquired the old Buster Brown plant from Jackson Development Corp.

Diversified agreed to pay $625,000 for the 40,000-square-foot plant and approximately five acres; county and town officials paid $550,000 for the building and 15 acres four years ago. Title to the facility, purchased in May 1997 by Jackson County's Economic Development Commission and the town of Sylva, was transferred to Jackson Development (a non-profit corporation formed by the EDC to hold title to property) in late 1998. Sylva's interest was secured by a $300,000 deed of trust, which was paid in full ($304,000) June 28, according to Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver.

Diversified's payments have been deferred for one year, though interest will accrue, said Pam Stirka, who owns the company along with her husband, Dick. Diversified moved into its new facility in mid-June, she said, and the closing was held July 5.

"The deferred payments are really helpful in our expansion and relocation," Pam Stirka said. "We're committed, and we're here to stay."

Diversified, which Stirka describes as a "trade-show specialist," has outgrown its 8,000-square-foot Tilley Creek location, she said, but will continue to operate that facility as a workshop for building displays. More space was needed for storage as the company's clients increased, she said.

"We provide full service to our clients for trade shows," Stirka said. "We build booths, coordinate pre-show planning, transport the products to the show site and provide supervision and labor to set up the display. When the clients come in, everything is ready for them."

Most of the company's present clients are power tool and other hardware companies, Stirka said. Diversified's oldest client is Makita power tools.

The Stirkas moved to Jackson County from California by way of Florida, she said, because they liked the area and realized they could operate their business from almost any location.

"Our business is the type that could be run from anywhere," Stirka said. "We liked the rural setting and found land on Tilley Creek."

Currently, Diversified employs 15 people, she said, and expects to add about five employees per year as their number of clients increases.

"It could be more, but I think five (employees) per year is a realistic projection," Stirka said. Wages at Diversified range from $8 per hour for new employees who require training up to $16.85 per hour, she said. The type of workers added as the company grows will most likely be truck drivers with the ability to set up exhibits as well as dismantle them and transport the displays and products back to Sylva, Stirka said.

Tom McClure, chairman of Jackson Development could not be reached for comment Tuesday as to why the town of Sylva received payment before the closing and how the town was repaid if Diversified's payments have been deferred for one year.

Tamera Crisp, JDC's secretary-treasurer, deferred comment to McClure. JDC board members Jay Coward and Boyd Sossamon Jr. both said they were not aware of the details of the agreement. The final board member, Sylva banker Scott Connor, said he was aware of the sale but had no other information.

Diversified Expositions is the second company to occupy the facility plant since the former Buster Brown plant came into public hands in 1997.

The first tenant, Orkand Corp., headquartered in Falls Church, Va., signed a two-year lease in November 1998 and received a two-year rent abatement as an incentive to locate in Sylva because the company was expected to create some 200 "well-paying" jobs.

Those jobs never materialized, and Orkand left Sylva when its lease expired in October 2000. Orkand never employed more than 10 in Sylva, and only five of those were hired locally.

Buster Brown's closing in September 1996, after 43 years here, resulted in the loss of some 100 local jobs.

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