BUSINESS MEMO: SPARTECH EARNINGS

Spartech Corp. has announced record sales and earnings for the quarter, which ended Aug. 1.

Bradley B. Buechler, Spartech president and chief executive officer, reported quarterly sales for the quarter at $177.7 million, a record for a three-month period in the company's 30-year history and 44 percent greater than last year's third quarter.

Earnings are expected to meet or exceed the analysts' consensus estimated of 30 cents a share when complete quarterly results are released on Aug. 25.

Spartech, headquartered in St. Louis, has two operations in Cape Girardeau -- Spartech Plastics at 2500 Spartech Drive and Spartech Compounding on Nash Road. Spartech is a leading manufacturer of engineered thermoplastic materials and polymeric compounds.

Spartech, a producer of engineered thermoplastic material, polymeric compounds and molded and profile products, has 36 facilities throughout North America and Europe, with production capacity of 1 billion pounds.