What began as a slow Jones County Monday morning on Aug. 25 quickly turned into an national event. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement shut down Howard Industries’ Pendorff transformer plant and the company’s headquarters in Ellisville for a day, interrogating employees and scrutinizing files. When the dust settled, 595 employees were accused of being in the country illegally. It turned out to be the largest illegal immigrant round-up in United States history.

Howard Industries has publicly responded to local and national media once since the raid started. A written statement from the company claims owners and management had no wrongdoing in the hiring of the illegal immigrants. The statement also claimed the company uses every legal background check on prospective employees.

Attorney General Jim Hood announced Friday that his office is investigating to see if Howard Industries violated any state laws. And, if the outcome through the legal system finds criminal offenses, the question of city, county, and state incentives arises. Much of Howard Industries’ recent growth has come through local tax exemptions and state-backed financial incentives.

As local officials were finalizing plans for the Howard Technology Park in Ellisville in 2002, Howard Industries was also awaiting the outcome of a special session of the Mississippi Legislature. Lawmakers were scheduled to debate a $31.5 million incentive package. As reported by the Laurel Leader-Call July 28, 2002, “Last week was a busy and anxious one for local leaders as the Howard family met with (then) Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to complete the deal for the incentive package. The Howards will be investing $80 million in an expansion project for Howard Computers and a new power transformer plant.”

The Associated Press picked up the story July 30, 2002, interviewing lawmakers from across Mississippi. The report stated lawmakers were told Howard Industries planned to create 2,000 new jobs by 2012. The $31.5 million, according to the Associated Press, was to help recruit and train workers, build new buildings, and improve roads and water lines. Lawmakers passed the package, offering taxpayer money to help with the expansion. However, some lawmakers were weary.

“It’s like a corn crop,” then-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi said. “There’s no need of planting a corn crop unless you know you’re going to get more out of it than you put in it.”

Sen. Mike Chaney, R-Vicksburg, said in 2002 that private companies should look to private sources for money.

“They need to get their cookies from private sources, not the state,” he said.

The Associated Press also reported in 2002 that Billy Howard said he could easily develop the jobs in other states if Mississippi’s lawmakers weren’t cooperative.

“Billy Howard, chief executive of Howard Industries, told lawmakers Monday that his company could develop new jobs in other states if Mississippi lawmakers don’t offer incentives,” the AP article in the July 30, 2002, edition of the Leader-Call reads. “He said other states are interested, but he didn’t name them.”

The article also set forth requirements expected of Howard Industries, including the requirement that a large number of jobs were to be created at new facilities at the Howard Tech Park.

“. . . Howard Industries will be required to create 700 new jobs by 2007 and 2,000 new jobs by 2012,” the article reads. “He (then-Miss. Development Authority Executive Director Bob Rohrlack) said if Howard falls short of those goals, the state will take away $3,000 for each job that was not created.”

The AP reported Howard Industries employed more than 3,500 at the time. According to other documentation, Howard Industries reported about 3,300 employees from 2000 until April 2005, when the number was closer to 3,000. The number of employees increased to 3,600 in December of 2006 and to 4,000 in 2008. The numbers are not broken down by facility, but are a total from each of the plants in Sandersville, Laurel, Ellisville, and Mendenhall.

Howard Industries has also received support from the City of Laurel and Jones County which isn’t uncommon for large employers. According to Leader-Call reports from January 22, 2003, the Laurel City Council gave its approval for an order that would exempt then-recent expansions and equipment purchases at Howard Industries from ad valorem taxation. The exemptions would cover taxes that would have been levied on new equipment purchases and materials totaling $27,833,281. A similar deal was also reached for about $535,000 for Morgan Brothers Millwork, Inc. at the same meeting. The exemptions would last 10 years.

On March 22, 2005, according to published reports in the Leader-Call, the Jones County Board of Supervisors approved a $20 million bond issue for Howard Industries unanimously. The move allowed the state of Mississippi to loan the funds to Jones County, which in turn loaned the money to Howard Industries. The deal was a continuation of a process started in 2003.