630 INDUSTRIAL PARK: 17 INDUSTRIES AND GROWING

Cotner Electric, 2049 Southern Expressway

Mid-South Steel Products Inc., 2071 Corporate Circle

A lot has happened along a 4-mile stretch of former Missouri Highway 74 in South Cape Girardeau over the past dozen years.

The roadway, which leads from South Sprigg to South Kingshighway, has a new name -- Southern Expressway.

Meanwhile, Route 74 has been moved north a few blocks to serve as a main artery from Interstate 55 to the new Mississippi River Bridge, now under construction.

The area on either side of Southern Expressway has many new buildings and businesses, and a new name -- 630 Industrial Park.

630 Industrial Park, owned by Six Thirty Corp., which is owned and operated by Ernie Beussink and Earl Norman, was established in 1987.

The industries operating in the 630 Park are solid companies, said Tom Kelsey of Lorimont Place Ltd., a commercial real estate and development company that handles many of the sales in the industrial park.

Kelsey said his company has worked with several prospects for property in the park.

Dana Corp., a manufacturer of axle components for light vehicles, was the first to opt for property in the park.

Today, 17 businesses, ranging from manufacturers to service businesses, make up the 250-acre industrial park.

Dana Corp, with a 140,000-square-foot facility, employs more than 300 workers at 2075 Corporate Circle on the south side of the expressway. The lengthy list also includes Mid South Steel Products Inc., which manufactures storage tanks in both above-ground and underground technologies, and First Tire & Wheel, which occupies the former Mid-America Distributing building, each with more than 40,000-square-foot structures.

Recent additions to the park are Cotner Electric and Elfrink Transportation. The latest announcement is for Rental Service Corp., an industrial and contractor rental outlet, which will occupy a 3-acre parcel on the north side of the expressway.

RSC officials have announced they expect to start construction on a facility soon.

Among other businesses in the park are Missouri Power Trans Inc., Day Transfer, Southeast Fabrication, Federal Express, Cape Central Publishing, Ryder Trucking, Praxair, Mid-America Power, Metco and All America Homes.

The park is zoned for a number of types of industries.

A 19,000-square-foot state office building is on a section of the park near South Sprigg Street and Southern Expressway.

In the same general vicinity in the park is Sundance Apartment Complex, a 48-unit complex in the 900 block of Hackberry, between Benton and South Pacific.

A couple of businesses have purchased property in the park and will build in the future.

One of these is Santie Wholesale Oil Co. Bruce Barnes of Santie might also build a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in the area. Jim Wilson Co. has also purchased a tract in the park for future development.

Also within the confines of the industrial park area are Florsheim Shoes, VIP Industries, Ozark Gas and ERB Equipment, which were there before the industrial park was founded.

Almost everything on the north side of the expressway is sold.

A number of tracts, from one to 25 acres, are available on the south side of the expressway.

Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Recruitment Association, works with the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and the City of Cape Girardeau to attract industry to the area.

When talking to prospective businesses, Robinson tells them of the advantages of moving to the area, and he doesn't restrict his conversations to just one industrial park.

"We try to promote all of the industrial parks in the area," said Robinson. "One park may not have what they are looking for but another will be to their liking."

Among advantages for 630 Industrial Park is easy access to railways, the interstate, airport and river.

All of the industrial parks can offer training resources through the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School and an area quality work force skilled and affordable.

Other immediate area industrial parks are Nash Road Industrial Park, 730 Industrial Park, Cape West Business Park and Rust Avenue Industrial Park, all in the immediate Cape Girardeau area; Perryville Industrial Park at Perryville; Scott City Industrial Park; Lang Industrial Site, Meyer Industrial Site and Seabaugh Industrial Park, all in the Jackson area, and the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority in Scott and Cape Girardeau counties.