STRICTLY BUSINESS: PERRYVILLE NEXT ON INDUSTRIAL PARK LIST

The Industrial Park series, which started this month in the Southeast Missourian, has created some interest.

Some expressed surprised that the four-mile stretch of former Missouri Highway 74 in South Cape Girardeau was jammed with as many as 17 businesses ranging from manufacturing to service forming the 630 Industrial Park.

People in general agreed that industrial parks are vital to a strong economic development program.

The September industrial park series, scheduled to appear September 18, will feature Perry County, which features some major industrial areas.

We'll be taking a look at some of the county's major employers -- Gilster-Mary Lee, a manufacturer of cake mixes, cereal and popcorn; TG (USA) Corp., maker of automotive parks; and Sabreliner Corp., which refurbishes and overhauls commercial and military jet aircraft.

We'll be looking at the 72-acre Perryville Industrial Park at the northeast corner of town and the 47-acre Perryville Municipal Airport Industrial Area, east of McBride.

Enough for now.

Also on the Industrial Park series schedule will be more areas in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and others, including the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, located along the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau and Scott City.

The Port, which hosts a number industries, became the first certified AmerenUE Corporation InSite location in Missouri earlier this year.

InSite?

Glen "Skip" Smallwood Jr., business development executive for AmerenUE, explained the InSite concept.

AmerenUE's program is an industrial development project aimed at attracting new employers and economic growth to an area by providing a ready-to-go site, with ready-to-go building plans for new and expanding companies.

Smallwood says that "specifications for construction of an industrial building at the port are project-ready."

"The infrastructure is all there," he said. This includes assurance that the site is properly controlled and/or zoned, with all necessary utilities (water, sewer, electricity and natural gas) in place or readily accessible.

The plan can even provide prospective clients with blueprints, building specifications and an artist's rendering for a 60,000-square-foot building (expandable to 200,000 square feet).

The program, said Smallwood, is designed to give an area, in this case the port, a sharp, competitive edge as it works to attract new industry and employers.

Dan Overbey, executive of the SEMO Port Authority, said the InSite provides additional exposure for marketing efforts. "It will help us, and we think it will be of help to the entire area." he said."

The port's marketing focus is on businesses that use barge transportation, particularly those moving several barge loads a week. Products typically move to or from the port via railroad or truck.

The port currently leases space to a number of businesses on portions of its 500-acre sites, and provides access to highways, interstates, railroad, air and pipeline systems in addition to its slack-water harbor.

AmerenUE InSite was first introduced in Illinois in 1997, and today there are more than 15 in that state, including two at Carbondale and one at Herrin in Southern Illinois.

"We're looking at several sites in Missouri," said Smallwood.

The sites run from 10 acres up.