Location Assets
Stone County is centrally located to several major metropolitan statistical areas and is flush with resources and routes for productivity, profitability, and leading global success.
Natural resources that go deep
Situated in the heart of Southeast Mississippi’s Piney Woods region, Stone County is both beneficiary and conservator of a precious American legacy and resource. Nurtured and managed with meticulous care and science-based effectiveness, Stone County’s timber has transitioned over the past century from a vulnerable and fast-disappearing natural material to a bountiful and timeless natural asset, offering timely opportunity for a range of industrial applications, from lumber, plywood and fine wood products to biomass and other energy uses.
Location and multimodal logistics for global and domestic access
Stone County’s South Mississippi location puts industry just 20 miles north of I-10 and 29 miles south of I-59, with access to the services of more than two dozen motor freight carriers. The area is also served by Kansas City Southern Railroad and offers convenient access to 6 general aviation and commercial airports and 5 deep-water ports, providing strategic entrée to global markets.
Dynamic synergies
Stone County’s thriving industry presents multiple cluster opportunities, as does the county’s location in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, where competitive advantages and assets include:
- One of only 10 NASA field stations in the nation. In addition to rocketry testing, the John C. Stennis Space Center hosts the U.S. Navy’s cadre of oceanographers, the largest concentration in the U.S.
- One of the few locations where un-manned aerial systems may currently be flown.
- One of only four U.S. locations with an Army National Guard aviation classification depot and a commercial airport that hosts an Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center.
- Home to one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, operated by the Naval Oceanographic Office.
Stone County also offers the assets and advantages of the broader multi-state I-10 Aerospace Corridor with proximity to key aerospace and steel suppliers, including Airbus and Thyssen Krupp.
Robust R&D
With the University of Southern Mississippi just 40 miles to the north, Stone County industry is perfectly positioned to leverage the knowledge and expertise of a leading research institution where efforts like those of the Mississippi Polymer Institute are broadening knowledge and opportunities. To the south, the Stennis Space Center is another key research resource, and across the I-10 Aerospace Corridor, multiple technology transfer centers support a robust solutions-to-market system.
Momentum-producing alliances
Stone County is a member of the five-county Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development as well as the Mississippi Manufacturer’s Association. Stone County also works closely with Mississippi Power to explore and open all possible avenues for success.
21st century workforce
In Stone County, industry is able to draw on a right-to-work, ready-to-work labor pool with skills honed to task by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Workforce Training Division, a high-performance training solution that is also powerfully cost-effective.
Industrial viability, vibrant livability
Stone County strikes the perfect work/life balance. We support growing industry with strategic economic resources and a can-do attitude; we support growing families with superb municipal services and a quality of life that is second to none. Stone County is great for business and great for people, too.