Caterpillar dealer expanding Cape Girardeau site

After 63 years of operation at 912 Main St., the Sikeston branch of Fabick CAT will close its doors and move its operations to a newly expanded facility in Cape Girardeau.

In February, officials at Fabick's corporate office in Fenton, Mo., announced that the Sikeston operation would consolidate with its neighbor to the north to provide easier access to the Southern Illinois market. Fabick vice president and general manager John Schrader added that the company is better off concentrating its efforts in Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, where the majority of Fabick's competitors are located.

Fabick CAT is the authorized dealer of Caterpillar heavy equipment, parts, service and rentals in southern Missouri and Southern Illinois. It also handles prime and standby power systems, compact construction and pipeline equipment.

In a way, Schrader said, the move reflects the changing nature of the business. When the company first set up in Sikeston in the early 1940s, he said, the company dealt largely in agriculture equipment and Sikeston was a busy agriculture market. But in recent years, Fabick has turned from the agriculture aspect of the business toward construction.

Now the 63-year-old Sikeston Fabick's resources will be moving into the 5-year-old Cape Girardeau location at 330 Nash Road, just outside of Scott City. There, construction of a new 10,000-square-foot service shop is being added to the current structure. That new shop is expected to be completed by mid-June. The Sikeston outlet is to close by July 1.

Of the Sikeston outlet's 12 current employees, Schrader said that most will transfer to work at the Cape Girardeau location, which for now will maintain its volume in heavy equipment sales, parts and rentals, while expanding its service department.

"Just about everybody that wants to come is coming," Schrader said in regards to the Sikeston employees making the switch.

The consolidation will leave Fabick with eight CAT locations in Missouri and Illinois.