Development news

City welcomes Orgill Inc.

SIKESTON — More than 200 people representing area businesses, the city of Sikeston and Scott and New Madrid counties, plus state elected officials and those in the Department of Economic Development, turned out to witness the Orgill Inc. recent ground breaking. The company's 795,000-square-foot "Mid-America SuperCenter" will be built on a 70-acre site in Sikeston's Business, Education and Technology Park, with construction set to be completed in the next year.

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who praised recent legislation such as the creation of Enhanced Enterprise Zones, the Missouri Quality Jobs Act, tort reforms and other measures to make Missouri business friendly, commended Orgill for keeping jobs in the nation in a time companies are outsourcing work overseas, and for making the commitment they did in Sikeston.

Orgill is making an approximately $60 million investment in the community. About 150 jobs will be available when the plant opens next year, and that number is expected to grow to 350 over the next five years.

Sale of Schultz School complete

Developer Chad Hartle is now the owner of the Schultz School building, according to real estate broker Thomas M. Meyer.

The Cape Girardeau School District transferred the title to Hartle's Schultz Senior Apartments LP. Meyer, who represented the school district, announced the deal recently. The sale was estimated at $1.7 million, including agent and closing fees.

Hartle plans to transform the building at 101 S. Pacific St. in Cape Girardeau into apartments for low-income seniors. Plans are to create 21 one-bedroom apartments, with rent ranging from $285 to $380 per month and 24 two-bedroom units, which will rent for $365 to $485 per month.

In December, Hartle was awarded $600,000 in state and federal tax credits annually for 10 years to help finance the renovation of the school building.

The project received an additional boost in July when it was awarded a $250,000 grant tied to Cape Girardeau's participation in the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri, or DREAM, Initiative. Gov. Matt Blunt named the community as one of the first DREAM cities in 2006.

Area communities rank high in development

Cape Girardeau's high ranking in Southern Business and Development magazine may come as a surprise to some, but the news is not unexpected to Cape Girardeau Area Magnet executive director Mitch Robinson.

Since he became director of the not-for-profit economic development organization, he has seen area businesses come and go. But overall, he said the economic climate has proved stable, which is why he believes the city deserved its ranking as the 35th best community among small-market cities to conduct business.

As part of its 15th anniversary, the publication reviewed more than 3,000 communities. Based on the number of projects that resulted in a minimum of 200 jobs and $30 million in investment, the company ranked the top markets (those with a population of more than 750,000), the top mid-markets (those with a population between 250,000 and 749,999) and the top small markets (those with a population less than 250,000).

Out of the 117 ranked cities in the small market category, Cape Girardeau placed first among Missouri's communities listed in the poll. Joplin placed 55th, Ste. Genevieve, 57th, and Farmington, 70th.

Robinson said projects such as the expansions of Procter & Gamble's plant and the effort to land NARS call service center played a role in the city's ranking. He said those projects, as well as smaller ones such as NAB Automation transferring from Illinois to Cape Girardeau, contribute to the city's economic stability.

For those businesses forced to lay off workers, such as when Havco Wood Products, which announced on Aug. 1 it was reducing its work force by 71 employees, Robinson said other companies like Newell Rubbermaid continue to add jobs. Rubbermaid recently announced it was adding 40 employees to its work force.

Sabreliner to develop Aerospace Assembly Center in Ste. Genevieve

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — A new aerospace production assembly center in Ste. Genevieve is being developed by Sabreliner Corp. to complement its other manufacturing and aircraft maintenance and repair operations in southeast Missouri.

The new facility will be located in an existing 40,000-square-foot building on Trautman Industrial Drive, adjacent to Sabreliner's current Ste. Genevieve facility (the building formerly housed Missouri Molding).

Sabreliner purchased the one-story building on July 31 and is making improvements needed for it to begin operating as an assembly center this fall.

Sabreliner continues to expand its work force in southeast Missouri. During the company financial year that ended June 30, the number of company employees in the region increased from 283 to 330. As many as 75 more workers are expected to be added in the 12 months that will end next June 30.

Sabreliner's acquisition and development of a second Ste. Genevieve building represents a major addition to its presence in the city. In August 2002, Sabreliner leased the first 72,000-square-foot building at 1040 Rozier, to perform heavy maintenance work for KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft under an initial contract to the Boeing Aerospace Support Center in San Antonio, Texas. In January, Boeing contracted with Sabreliner to begin building replacement rudders for the KC-135.

With the purchase of the new building, Sabreliner now owns or leases more than 156,000 square feet of operations and warehouse space in Ste. Genevieve and more than 375,000 square feet in the company's entire southeast Missouri operations encompassing facilities in Ste. Gene-vieve, Perryville and St. Mary.

The new Ste. Genevieve building will add aircraft assembly and subassembly space to complement the company's aircraft parts manufacturing operation in St. Mary and its heavy aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul operations in Perryville.

Sabreliner Corp. is a proven provider of a wide variety of civilian and government aviation services, as well as an acknowledged leader in aviation production support. The company has more than 375 employees and 400,000 square feet of aviation maintenance, manufacturing, processing and repair facilities at three service locations in Missouri and one in Kansas. Its headquarters are in St. Louis.

When gas mileage is not a concern

FARMINGTON, Mo. — For years Ron LaPlant bought and sold classic and muscle cars through his Mid America Classics auto store, some of which were powered by behemoth gasoline engines that averaged as little as five or six miles to the gallon. But now he's back in the car sales business — and miles to the gallon is not even a thought.

Electric Car Company opened its doors in early summer and officially opened for business in mid-August. The small dealership located in Maple Valley shopping complex in Farmington, at the corner of Maple Street and Maple Valley Drive, is currently one of only a handful of operations in the nation which carries "only" all electric-powered vehicles.

Following a visit a couple years ago to France and learning about the revolutionary new "smart car" at that time, LaPlant began doing some homework on the fuel efficient cars. What he found was an alternative which required no fossil or synthetic fuel at all, and at a fraction of the cost of the smart car.