AREA BUSINESSES STRUT STUFF AT TRADE SHOW

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Flat River Glass Co. produces a million and a half bottles every day.

Gates Tire Co. is now Gates Rubber Co., and no longer produces tires.

Sabreliner Corp., headquartered in St. Louis, employs more than half of its work force at the Perryville facility.

These are just a few of the facts that were presented during the Southeast Supplier Trade Conference, held Tuesday at the Show Me Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

The purpose of the daylong show was to introduce buyers and sellers of products, with panelists from several major purchasing organizations describing the types of goods and services they are seeking.

"Small suppliers can sell to big companies," said Jim Slough, purchasing manager for Flat River Glass. "I can remember one particular case where we actually sought out a small manufacturer to provide us with one product we needed."

He added that the account was not a big one, about $4,000 a year. Many larger firms, he said, were hesitant to fool with an order that small.

"We heard of a man in our own town who had started a small machine shop operation in his basement," said Slough. "We went to him and described the part we needed. Although not a big account, this has turned into a great account for us, and for the manufacturer."

Flat River Glass Co. produces bottles 24 hours a day.

"Most of our bottles are geared to the cosmetic trade," said Slough. "We seldom make a bottle larger than eight ounces, and many of them are not even half that size."

Allen Wiebers, materials manager for Gates Rubber Co. of Poplar Bluff, described his company's operations.

"This is a family-owned company," said Wiebers. "A lot of people still connect Gates with tires, but the firm got out of the tire business in 1974. We now concentrate on belts and hoses for the automotive, truck and tractor trade."

Wiebers said his firm purchases a number of materials, including rubber, silicone, yarn, wire, and a nylon mesh.

"We like to buy locally," he said. "But, in many cases we have to go out of state. People who are interested in providing us with material may do so in a number of ways. We use a competitive bid process, although cost is not the primary selling point. We want quality and we want good service."

Sabreliner Corp., a diversified aerospace service, modification and manufacturing company, was one of more than 100 companies that had a display of its services on exhibit in the Show Me Center.

"We're really proud of our Perryville facility," said Robert G. Bass, procurement specialist with the Sabreliner's Chesterfield office. "Only recently we tested an Air Force T-37B trainer plane, which had been equipped with one of the Sabreliner Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) kits at Perryville."

The kits will be installed on up to 644 Cessna T-37Bs, he noted.

Bass said the company's plant at the Perryville airport employs 400 workers. The plant site consists of 31.6 acres, with 128,000 square feet under roof.

Another 225 people work at the 15.7-acre site at Lambert Field in St. Louis, where the firm has 11 acres of ramp space and 121,000 square feet under roof. The remaining 175 workers handle duties at the corporate headquarters and the distribution and data processing center at Chesterfield.

"We're pleased to participate in this trade show," said Bass. "It gives us an opportunity to let the people know just what it is we do."

Morning and afternoon sessions were held Tuesday, involving 36 representatives of companies, ranging from manufacturers to universities, and hospitals to government contractors.

John P. "Jack" Stack, president and CEO of Springfield Remanufacturing Corp., was the featured speaker at the trade conference's noon luncheon. He traced the growth of his company.

In 1982, Stack and 12 other employees purchased the firm, which remanufactures gasoline and diesel engines for the automotive, truck and off-highway markets. The firm has grown from 119 employees in 1982 to more than 600 workers, with a payroll of $10 million.

"We've had nothing but compliments concerning the show," said Judy Moss, economic development director for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. "We had more than 300 people here, and we're already looking forward to a 1992 conference."