BRIGGS & STRATTON TO EXPAND AT BLUFF, MURRAY

POPLAR BLUFF -- Preliminary expansion plans announced two months ago by Briggs & Stratton Corp., a small-engine maker headquartered in Wisconsin, will become reality in Missouri and Kentucky.

Announcements by plant officials at Poplar Bluff and Murray, Ky., this week reveal projects for more than $40 million in expansions, new equipment and retooling, and up to 230 new jobs.

The company plans to spend $23 million over the next two years for a 50,000-square-foot expansion at Poplar Bluff that will create at least 70 new jobs and $18 million for renovation and retooling at Murray, which will result in about 160 new jobs.

The Poplar Bluff expansion will be added to the northwest corner of the plant, which was constructed in 1989. It will double output capacity of the plant.

The new assembly line will include a furnace system to be used in die-cast and cylinder production.

The Quantum line of small engines is built at the Poplar Bluff plant, where the 10 millionth engine should roll off the assembly line by late summer.

The expansion is in keeping with the company's strategic move to the southern U.S., closer to markets for the Quantum line. In May Briggs & Stratton announced job cuts at the company's Wisconsin base of operations as part of a relocation of some operations to other U.S. plants.

Missouri has awarded the city of Poplar Bluff a $208,984 grant for infrastructure improvements necessary for the expansion, said Joe Driskill, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

"I am always pleased when the state is able to help Missouri communities support a solid corporate citizen such as Briggs & Stratton," said Driskill. "I understand, better than most, the economic challenges faced by rural communities in Southeast Missouri. It gives me great pleasure to be able to help increase employment in Poplar Bluff and the region."

Driskill, a native of Doniphan, represented the area in the Missouri House of Representative for more than 10 years.

The $23 million investment will put Briggs & Stratton investment at more than $50 million at Poplar Bluff. The original plant was constructed at a cost of $27 million.

The new employment will shove the total job count past the 900 mark. The plant now employs 850 people.

The Murray expansion is also a big boost to that Kentucky area. The $18 million expansion involves renovation of an old building at the southeast corner of the plant and bringing in new equipment to produce the Quattro engine.

The Quattro engines have more horsepower and are more emission friendly, said Jack Bykowski, Murray plant manager.

The Quattro will debut in Murray late this year, even before the expansion is complete. Its production will increase gradually as the old-style engine is phased out.

The renovation will get under way this fall, with a completion targeted at September 1995.

The new jobs will boost employment at the plant to more than 800. The plant now employs 650, and produces more than 1.5 million engines a year.

Kentucky will provide a $750,000 low-interest loan to Briggs & Stratton, $47,000 in training funds, and a $160,000 grant to the city of Murray to aid in the expansion.