STRICTLY BUSINESS: LUTHERAN HOME AMONG CITY'S TOP EMPLOYERS

Add the Lutheran Home, which includes the Saxony Village and Lutheran Home Health Agency, to the "Top Employer" list of Cape Girardeau.

The Lutheran Home campus, with 450 employees, is tied for the number six position, with Thorngate Ltd., sportswear manufacturer.

Three lists were recently published -- "Top 50" industries in Southeast Missouri, "Top 15" of all employers in Southern Illinois and the "Top 15" list in the City of Cape.

Companies eligible for any of the lists, or who may have been left off of a list, are urged to submit company name, type of product, how long in business and total employment to: B. Ray Owen, Strictly Business, Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701.

We will quickly review some of the top employers in the city: Mid-America Hotels heads the list with almost 1,850 workers; Southeast Missouri Hospital, at 1,554; St. Francis Medical Center, 1,387; Southeast Missouri State University, 1,100; Cape Girardeau Public Schools, 600, following by Thorngate and The Lutheran Home, each at 430. Others included Dana, at 385; VIP Industries, 375; Drury Inns, 350; Drury Southwest & Development, 300; Concord Publishing, newspaper and printing, 250; Blue Cross/Blue Shield, 250; Spartech, 230; Lone Star, 180; and Horizon Music, 120.

New cement plant?

A new cement plant may be coming to the Cape Girardeau area.

Who?

"We don't know anything about it," said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

But it could be happening.

A number of cement companies have been looking at expanding or building new facilities along the Mississippi River.

River City Cement is looking at expansion in Jefferson County, near the St. Louis area. River City, one of the nation's largest cement manufacturers, wants to increase its output by 54 percent, by building a new kiln.

Another giant on the cement scene, Holnan Inc., is seeking permits for a manufacturing facility down the Mississippi River from River Cement, in Ste. Genevieve County.

While the River Cement plant is one of the country's largest, it would be dwarfed by the Holnam project, which would produce 4.4 million tons a year. River Cement is expanding at a time when many of its competitors are growing or building new plants to meet a high domestic demand for Portland cement.

In recent years, the Midwest has seen a sharp upturn in demand for cement because of an increase in spending for new roads and highways.

New businesses coming up

A number of new business have opened in the Cape Girardeau and Scott County areas.

We'll be taking a look at them within the next week.

Included on the list are an appliance store, a bookstore and a nursery.

Siemers Appliance, an appliance store at Jackson for more than 29 years, has opened a branch in Cape Girardeau, with Shawn Naeter as manager.

Naeter has 10 years of retail experience, most recently at Heilig Meyers Furniture in Carbondale, Ill.

The new store will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The store is closed Sunday.

"We'll have a grand opening here in the near future," Naeter said.

The newest bookstore is on Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau and the nursery is open at Kelso.

Another airline deal

More information is expected this week on the sale of three regional airlines by United Airlines' parent company, UAL Corp.

In the deal, announced late last week, UAL agreed to sell three regional airlines -- Allegheny, Piedmont and PSA -- to Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings for at least $200 million to clear the way for its planned acquisition of US Airways.

The ultimate price under the deal announced Friday is to be negotiated later.

United expedited the proposed sale so federal regulators could decide on it by the time they announce their April 2 verdict on the $4.3 billion United-US Air merger. The world's largest airline doesn't want the small carriers included in that deal.

As part of the transaction, the 4,300 employees of the three commuter airlines are protected from layoffs for two years.