Blair begins expansion at plant in Scott City

Blair Packaging, a company that makes vinyl packaging for videos, CDs, DVD and audio tapes, has begun expanding its Scott City plant.

The company has facilities in both Scott City and Cape Girardeau. The 12,500-square-foot expansion will enable the company to augment its heat-sealing operation and consolidate some of its activities.

The new building will make the company more efficient, company president Ron Unterreiner said.

"It gives us a better flow of materials. We were duplicating some operations. This will expand our internal support," he said.

The company broke ground on the addition Friday. Construction is expected to be complete by Oct. 1.

The Scott City plant is at 314 Madison in the east end of town behind the ballpark on Main Street.

For more than 20 years, Blair Packaging was known as Blair Industries. The company closed in April, and the stock, equipment and buildings were sold back to partners Unterreiner and Herb Graetz. They had started the original company in 1980 before selling to East Coast investors in 1987.

The new company also has silent investors.

Blair Industries had 165 employees when it closed. Some employees were rehired and some were not when Blair Packaging opened. Unterreiner says the company has been increasing its employee total little by little since then. He anticipates the addition will lead to more hiring. "It depends on volume and efficiencies," he said.

The company's total number of employees now stands at 145. Some employees work at both plants.

Some machinery at the Cape Girardeau plant at 24 S. Sheridan Drive will be moved to Scott City. The Cape Girardeau facility will do more warehousing of materials once the new building is complete. The company will then will have 200,000 square feet of space, Unterreiner said.

No expansion at the Cape Girardeau plant is planned.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182