AREA'S TOP EMPLOYERS SEE GROWTH; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI INDUSTRIES SEE EXPANSION

More than 550 manufacturing facilities employ about 34,000 people in 14 Southeast Missouri counties. These counties have experienced steady industrial growth during the 1990s.

When TG-USA Corp. opened in Perryville more than a decade ago, it produced transmission gears for Ford Motor Co. and steering wheels for Chrysler Corp.

The company, 27 workers strong, operated out of a 48,000-square-foot building.

Today, the Japanese-owned company, with more than 1,450 employees, produces hundreds of auto parts, including steering wheels, air-bag covers, speaker covers, auto side molding, and other items.

TG Missouri, the new name of the company, has expanded into more than 400,000 square feet under roof, in a 200-acre Industrial Park inside the Perryville city limits.

Nordenia USA, another new name for an existing industry, has added more than 100 new workers in the expansion of its packaging plant north of Cape Girardeau.

Nordenia was the former M&W Packaging, which opened at the intersection of Route J and Highway 177 a decade ago. The new name change and a $17 million expansion was announced last year. Nordenia employment tops the 400 mark.

Industry experts say that existing business accounts for 80 percent of the increases in employment.

The historic growth of Procter & Gamble Paper Products and Lee-Rowan are good examples of this fact.

Charmin Paper Products, a subsidiary of P&G in 1969, opened a plant with 10 acres under roof and 300 employees.

Expansion about every three to four years, including a $350 expansion over the past two years, has led to more than two million square feet under roof, and 1,700 employees.

Procter & Gamble Paper Products has added Bounty paper towels and tissues to the list of products being manufactured north of Cape Girardeau in the new 850,000 structure, added just north of the 1.2 million-square-foot plant that produces disposable diapers and feminine hygiene products.

P&G is the largest employer in Southeast Missouri, with more than a $50 million-plus payroll.

When Lee-Rowan opened in Jackson in 1964, it was with 25 people. Lee-Rowan, manufacturer of closet items, is now one of the top five employers in Southeast Missouri.

Ten expansions later, the firm employs from 750 to 900 people in the Jackson facility and has more than 600,000 square feet under roof.

Another major expansion has added a number of jobs at BioKyowa Inc., located in Nash Road Industrial Park.

A $35 million expansion of the BioKyowa feed grain L-lysine product facility and $50 million construction of a new food plant at the site has been completed, almost doubling employment to about 200.

BioKyowa and Kyowa Foods are wholly owned by Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. BioKyowa produced the feed grain L-Lysine products for swine and poultry.

Kyowa is manufacturing and selling nucleotide seasonings developed by the company. The manufactured food seasonings provide the basic tastes sweet, bitter, sour and salty. Other food product to be produced at the new plant here will be a fermented seasoning in flavors like beef, pork, chicken and fish that will be used for broths, soups, bullions and pre-mixes.

A number of other industries have expanded jobs and space over the past five years. They include:

* Noranda Aluminum Inc. in Marston, producer of aluminum for sale throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

* Tyson Foods in Dexter, a poultry processing plant.

* Good Humor-Breyers of Sikeston, which makes ice cream novelties and employs 700.

* HAVCO Wood Products in Cape Girardeau, producers of laminated oak flooring.

Cape Girardeau, the area's largest city, has nearly 90 manufacturing facilities, and ranks 12th in manufacturing among Missouri's 114 counties.

The 160 Cape County plants provide employment to more than 8,000 workers.

In compiling this annual list, the Southeast Missourian consulted the director of manufacturing and basic industry for the state of Missouri and made personal contact with numerous area chambers of commerce and many industries on the list.

The Missourian's top 60 industries list, based on number of employees, started as a top 25 list eight years ago, but due to growth, expansions and new industry, the list grew to top 40 in 1995 and soared to the top 60 in 1996. The newspaper also compiles a top 15 Cape Girardeau County list of all employers in the county (manufacturing, retail, medical, education and others) and a top 15 list of largest employers in Southern Illinois.

Top 50 manufacturing employers in Southeast Missouri

1. P&G Paper Products Co., Cape Girardeau County, manufacturer of disposable diapers, 1,700

2. TG Missouri, Perryville, manufacturer of parts for Toyota Motors and domestic auto makers, 1,450

3. Gilster-Mary Lee Co., Perryville and McBride, manufacture and packaging of cake mixes, stuffing mixes, hot cocoa drink mix and popcorn, 1,200

4. Noranda Aluminum Inc., Marston, producer of aluminum for sale throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, 1,150

5. (tie) Lee-Rowan Co., Jackson, manufacturer of closet organizer items, 900

6. Plastene Supply, Portageville, manufacturer of plastic products, 900

7. Briggs & Stratton, Poplar Bluff, producer of air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment, 900

8. Tyson Foods, Dexter, poultry processing, 800

9. (tie) Emerson Electric Co., Kennett, manufacturer of electric motors, coils and other electrical products, 700

10. Good Humor-Breyers, Sikeston, ice cream novelties, 700

11. Mississippi Lime Co., Ste. Genevieve, manufacturer of crushed stone and high calcium lime, 600

12. Arvin Automotive, Dexter, manufacturer of mufflers and tail pipes, 550

13. Flat River Glass Co., Park Hills, manufacturer of glass pharmaceutical and cosmetic containers, 540

14. Gates Rubber Co., Poplar Bluff, 530

15. Little Tikes Commercial Play Systems, Farmington, plastic playground equipment, 500

16. Thorngate Ltd., Cape Girardeau, manufacturer of sportswear, 450

17. Trinity Marine, Caruthersville, barge manufacturing, 440

18. (tie) Fru-Con Corp./Engineering Inc., construction, engineering and technical services to industrial and other clients, including Procter & Gamble in Cape Girardeau County, 400 employees in Southeast Missouri

19. Nordenia USA, Cape Girardeau, packaging supplier, 400

20. Dana Corp., Cape Girardeau, manufacturer of components for center section of driving axles for vehicles, 385

21. Sabreliner, Perryville, headquartered in St. Louis, is a diversified service, modification and manufacturing company for a variety of military and commercial aircraft. Employment depends on contracts and fluctuates. Current employment is about 375.

21. Gates Rubber Co., Charleston, 360

23. Rowe Furniture Manufacturing, Poplar Bluff, 315

24. Cap America, Fredericktown, 300

25. HAVCO Wood Products, Cape Girardeau, laminated oak flooring, 285

26. Solar Communications, Perryville, 275

27. Concord Publishing, Cape Girardeau, printing, including the Southeast Missourian, 250

28. National Vinyl Co. in Ste. Genevieve, 240

29. Paramount Headwear, Marble Hill, 225

30. Eric Scott Leathers, Ste. Genevieve, 200

31. Biokyowa Inc., Cape Girardeau, supplements for animal feed, 200

33. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., New Madrid, power generation plant, 195

34. Blair Industries, Scott City, audio-video cassette albums, 190

35. Essex Superior, Sikeston, wire and cable, 190

36. Penzel Construction Co. Inc., Jackson, 187

37. Spartech, Cape Girardeau, plastic moldings, 185

38. (tie) Lone Star Industries, Cape Girardeau, cement and masonry manufacturer, 180

39. UARCO, Kennett, maker of forms, 180

40. Quality Packaging, Perryville, various packaging, 175

41. Horizon Music Mfg. Co., Cape Girardeau, 150

42. Steward Steel, Sikeston, structural components, 142

43. RAPCO, Jackson, maker of musical cables, 140

44. Heritage American Homes, Sikeston, manufactured housing, 135

45. ACF Industries, Jackson, railroad cars, 130

46. Himmelberger-Harrison Co., Morehouse, furniture maker, 129

47. Biltwell, Farmington, manufacturer of men's clothing, 125

48. Missouri Industries, Dexter, 125

49. Falcon Foam, Perryville, fabricate polystyrene packaging, 120

50. Ceramo Co. Inc., Jackson, red clay flower pot manufacturer, 115

Other manufacturers employing at least 100 workers are:

Parker Hannifin Corp., Kennett, rubber hoses; Alan Wire Co., Sikeston, coated wire; DeWitt Co., Sikeston, landscape fabric material; East Perry Lumber, Perry County, lumber for building; TNT Plastics, Perryville; Madison County Pallet Co., Fredericktown, pallet makers; Perry Crating, Perryville, wood crates.