Business Briefs

Program acts as early warning system

A new program available in Southeast Missouri will combine business retention efforts and work force development, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson announced. The Early Warning Network will cooperate with the Workforce Investment Board to identify at-risk companies and marshal state and local resources to prevent business closings and layoffs. Emerson, a Cape Girardeau Republican, said the program will support the region's economy by seeking to meet the needs of businesses in 12 counties. The program will be managed by Missouri Enterprise, funded through the Missouri Division of Workforce Development and available to companies in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry, Scott, Iron, St. Francois, Madison, Stoddard, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Dunklin counties.

Hospital magazine wins two awards

Southeast Missouri Hospital's quarterly magazine Vim & Vigor earned two awards at the 19th annual McEdit Conference in Phoenix. "Making Fitness Fun," published in the spring 2006 issue, won recognition as best feature story among 49 hospitals in the United States and Canada, The feature, written by Sally Owen of the marketing and communication department, highlighted the hospital's personal training program for children to give them an early start toward a healthy lifestyle. The magazine's "Ask the Doctor" feature received an award for best department in a magazine. Vim & Vigor is produced in partnership with McMurry Inc. of Phoenix.

Ameren profits up in second quarter

AmerenUE announced a 15 percent increase in profits during the second quarter of 2007. The utility company, which provides electric and gas service in Cape Girardeau, reported profits of $143 million, or 69 cents a share compared to $123 million, or 60 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2006. Profits for the year are up as well, the company said, with the first half of the year producing net income of $266 million compared to $193 million in the same period of 2006. Profits were down in the portion of AmerenUE's business that is regulated by Illinois and Missouri, but higher prices for sales from the non-regulated wholesale power market pushed profits up, the company reported. AmerenUE was granted a rate increase in May by the Missouri Public Service Commission that will add about 3.3 percent to the average bill for residential customers.

Winery wins awards

Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass, Ill., received two gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Mid-America Wine Competition at the Des Moines, Iowa, Area Community College. More than 560 wines from 88 wineries were entered, with 41 gold medals awarded. The panel of 12 judges were selected by chief judge Doug Frost of Kansas City, Mo., one of only three people in the world who have earned both the Master of Wine degree and the Master Sommelier title.

Gallery has new location

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lynn Lancaster has sketched the buildings of Historic Downtown Sikeston. His wife, Marietta, has framed those drawings.

Now they have the perfect view, framed by the window of their business, Sweetgum Gallery, overlooking Malone Avenue, the Sikeston Depot and the businesses of downtown Sikeston.

For nearly a decade, Sweet gum Gallery in Sikeston has served as a place the public can buy works by local artists, order prints and have custom framing completed. But their location, in a warehouse tucked behind other businesses, just didn't provide the visibility the Lancasters sought for their The Sweetgum Gallery and Frame Shop, now located at 113 W. Malone Ave.

The new Sweetgum Gallery is divided into sections, with visitors walking into the art gallery, featuring pen and ink drawings and paintings by Lancaster and the "pop art" created from soft drink cans by local artist Marilyn Schwaninger along the walls. Samples of moldings and frames provide a divider to the second section which includes Lancaster's studio, Mrs. Lancaster's office and some of the tools used in framing.

Another area is set aside as the work room for the framing. In addition to providing custom framing and artwork for sale, Sweetgum Gallery carries ready-made frames and can special order prints and posters from books available at the store. "If we don't have it, we can find it and order it," said the owner.

UPS store has anniversary

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Steve and Diana Hayes of the UPS Store are celebrating their fifth year in business in Farmington. The store is located at 614 Wal Mart Drive.

Holcim now recruiting

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Workforce Employment Solutions has announced its staffing plans for the Holcim Cement plant located in north Ste. Genevieve County. Workforce President Marlene Brockmiller, says the recruiting period will cover 24 to 40 months.

Schaller Hardwood accident free

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Schaller Hardwood Lumber Company celebrated its fourth consecutive year of operation without a lost time accident.

The entire crew of the facility was treated to a grilled steak dinner.

Schaller is a distribution yard established in 1960 and maintains facilities in Poplar Bluff, St. Louis and Marionville. The company serves Missouri Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois and parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa and Kansas.

SEMO receives business grant

Southeast Missouri State University has received an $85,000 federal grant to expand the Harrison College of Business Center for Economic and Business Research.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration awarded the grant, which is renewable for three years, school officials said.

The grant designates the university as an EDA "University Center."

Southeast's Innovation Center plans to use the grant to fund a series of training sessions for local economic developers and community leaders.

The grant also will allow the Center for Economic and Business Research at Southeast to expand its services and provide economic data to more communities in the region.

Economics professor Dr. Bruce Domazlicky will continue to serve as director of the center. The grant will allow him to hire a part-time associate to help administer expanded services.

Dance studio opens

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Dance Center has opened in Perry Plaza in Perryville. Dance instructor Anna Marie Bowen is relocating from Jefferson City, Mo., into a 3,900 square-foot facility.

Heat affects crops, livestock

As the heat continues to bear down on Southeast Missouri with no rain in the forecast, area beef producers are keeping a wary eye on their pasture land.

Because of the combination lack of rain and high temperatures, beef producers are being forced to use alternate methods to feed their herds, something that costs them a great deal of money.

"This weather has affected our pasture ground a lot," said Bloomfield beef producer Jerry Elder. "It has seriously hurt our pasture ground."

Elder said that the reason that pasture land is so important is because it allows the beef producers to feed their herds at no cost.

Beef producers in this area usually don't start feeding hay until after Christmas, according to Elder. But this year they have already been forced to feed hay and without rain in the next few days, they will have to continue the expensive alternative to grazing.

And besides affecting pasture land, the heat also affects the herds themselves.

If cattle aren't eating and gaining weight as they should, farmers also take a loss when it comes time to send the animals to slaughter.

Hot weather is also affecting county crops

"Soybeans and corn could both suffer from the heat," said David Guethle, University of Missouri Outreach and Extension area agronomy specialist.

Plants depend on sunlight for photosynthesis -- the process by which the green pigment in the plant's leaf absorbs energy from sunlight and uses that energy combined with water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and simple sugars.

The plant then uses those simple sugars to make more complex sugars and starches for storage as energy reserves, to make cellulose and hemicellulose for cell walls or combine the simple sugars with nitrogen to produce proteins.

These sugars and starches are referred to as carbohydrates, one of the many key ingredients in keeping a plant growing and producing a good yield.

With more carbohydrates being used to cool the plants, the flowers that would eventually become pods will begin to suffer. A lack of flowering or a flower not pollinating can be a direct cause of not enough carbohydrates.

And less flowering leads to less pods -- which, in turn, will lead to a smaller yield for this year's crops.

But for soybeans, only about 35 to 40 percent of the flowers on those plants become pods anyway so you may see fewer pods.

Cotton is in a similar situation to corn. The cotton is far enough along that it shouldn't suffer too much of a hit.

One potential problem is with farmers who replanted after losing their crops in the April freeze.

Employees help EMCON save money

DEXTER, Mo.-- Two EMCON Technologies employees recently won prizes for suggesting a plan that was implemented to improve plant operations. Gala McCallister, a 20 year employee, won a 16-foot bass boat when her name was drawn from a pool. Gene Barnes, a 32-year employee won a four-wheeler.

The program is called REACT, an acronym for Recognizing Employees Achieving Continuous Teamwork, and was implemented in October 2006 as part of the company's employee involvement incentive plan. Any employee can make a suggestion which must be approved by management. Once the suggestion is implemented, the employee making the suggestion is given two points which are used as chances in a lottery-type drawing held every month and again quarterly. Each employee on the originator's involvement team also wins a lottery point. Additional points are awarded for ideas that involve a cost savings, the number of points increases exponentially with the amount of savings.

Prizes range from a day off with pay to debit cards from $25 to $3,000 in value. Annual drawings this year are expected to include new vehicles.

To date, the program has a total of 1,204 implemented suggestions; 87 of those have saved a total of $2,704,042.98, according to EMCON officials.

Swinford changes hands

Swinford & Associates Inc., the Jackson insurance firm, has been purchased by W.E. Walker-Lakenan LLC, managing members Joe Stahly and Chad Hartle announced.

The purchase will combine the health insurance products line that was Swinford's specialty with the property and casualty lines available through Walker-Lakenan's independent insurance brokerage. Kenneth Swinford will remain with the company along with the rest of his staff, Stahly and Hartle said in a prepared release.

Jim Abernathy, who specializes in employee benefits for Walker-Lakenan, will move to the Swinford offices at 2525 E. Jackson Blvd. Jeff Bierman, formerly with Blue Cross Blue Shield, will be the managing partner of Swinford Associates, the company said.

Collapsed roof forces move

Neumayer Equipment Co., which recently suffered a roof collapse at its location at 4800 Old Cape Road East in Jackson, will move into a 5,750-square-foot building at 905 Enterprise Drive, said Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place Ltd.

Neumayer Equipment sells and installs petroleum equipment and electronics. The building contains both commercial and office space, formerly housed Minor's Harley-Davidson and was most recently used by the U.S. Postal Service as a temporary sorting facility while the Frederick Street post office was being renovated.

Neumayer is a 70-year-old company based in St. Louis. It has branch locations in Jefferson City and Kansas City.

Snappy move

Snappy Delivery, a company dating to the 1930s, was purchased in May by Greg Ryan and now is moving to larger quarters. The new location will be a 5,000-square-foot facility at 826 Enterprise Drive, just down from the former location at 909 Enterprise Drive.

Ryan purchased Snappy Delivery from Bob and Janet Luttrell and was operating out of the same location as their B&J Delivery. The larger warehouse with loading docks will enable Ryan to expand storage capacity for customers. Snappy specializes in home and commercial moving within a 50-mile radius of Cape Girardeau.

Tank Tech Inc. plans to add staff to meet growing needs

BLODGETT, Mo. -- Tank Tech Inc., a local tank service firm on Highway H in Blodgett, has signed a seven-year contract that takes the firm's specialized business into all 50 states.

The contract makes Tank Tech the exclusive installer for ZCL Composites UL-approved Phoenix System for secondary containment of existing underground storage tanks like the ones used by service stations and convenience stores.

Secondary containment in underground storage tanks simply means you create a "tank within a tank" so you can monitor for any leakage, said David Russell, founder of Tank Tech.

Tank Tech's successful installations of the Phoenix System throughout Florida brought about this new contract, according to Russell. The contract covers all 50 states and secondary containment has been required by the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005. According to the EPA there are currently 635,077 underground storage tanks in the United States.

Started over 20 years ago, Tank Tech has grown during the past 10 years because of their leadership in the industry with its patented products and specialized processes, Russell said.

Tank Tech has other long term relationships and contracts to service tanks for Shell Oil, Sunoco, Circle K, British Petroleum, Mac's, MFA plus the large number of independent operators.

This new contract is with ZCL Composites Inc., located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ZCL is the largest manufacturer in North America of underground fiberglass storage tanks.

Horizon Screen Printing owners

win NFIB award

Glenn and Rhoda Reeves were named the 2007 National Federation of Independent Business "Small Business Champion of the Year" for Missouri, an award that recognizes the owners of one small business for their achievements in business and support for entrepreneurship.

Horizon Screen Printing has been on the Cape Girardeau scene since 1981, when it was founded by Rhoda Reeves. Glenn Reeves joined the business in 1986 after retiring from Sears.

The winner each year is selected from a list of nominations made by the NFIB's leadership council, said Mark Rickel, a regional spokesman. The winners are selected by a committee made up of past winners, who are able to judge the merits of each nominee objectively, Rickel said.

The Reeveses have been NFIB members since 1987. They became members of the Missouri Leadership Council in 2001 and Glenn Reeves is chairman of the Southeast Missouri Area Action Council.

The award is about more than running a successful business, NFIB/Missouri State director Brad Jones said in a news release. The Reeveses have worked to elect candidates who understand the needs of small business, they communicate regularly with elected officials in Jefferson City and have represented the Missouri small business community all the way to the White House. In 2002, Rhoda Reeves was a guest of President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush at the State of the Union speech.

The award comes on the heels of a recent expansion at Horizon. Last month, the company moved its showroom into expanded quarters at 430 Broadway to better display the variety and quality of its work, Glenn Reeves said.

Manac produces first trailer

KENNETT, Mo. -- The first trailer has rolled off the Manac assembly line in Kennett. Manac produces standard and custom semitrailers. At the Kennett location, Manac, Inc. will manufacture flatbed and drop deck trailers.

Business relocates

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Computer Works in Farmington is in its new location at 304 N. Washington. Hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Hamburg farm chosen as site for filming national TV ad

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Essner Farms LLC in New Hamburg was recently selected from about 25 farms throughout the Midwest to be featured in a national television advertisement for Mycogen Seeds, a retail seed company of Dow AgroSciences LLC.

The purpose of the ad campaign called "A Big Payoff" is to highlight the HERCULEX XTRA Insect Protection products through Mycogen Seeds, said Dave Schumacher, senior marketing specialist for Mycogen Seeds based in Indianapolis.

The ad will feature three armored cars sitting at the edge of the cornfield located off Highway A in New Hamburg.

"The ad is going to communicate that Mycogen Seeds hybrids with HERCULEX XTRA protects the crop and provides the grower with high yields at harvest time, which translates into higher profits," Schumacher said.

He continued: "So that's the tie-in of the armored cars -- the security and protection of the investment as well as a reward message of higher yields and greater profits."

Air dates and locations of the ad are still in negotiation.

City's newest bank holds grand opening

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Ste. Genevieve has a brand new bank, and it's locally owned.

MRV Banks -- MRV stands for Mississippi River Valley -- is headquartered at 871 Ste. Genevieve Drive, at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 32. Local residents remember that location as the former home of Fallert School Bus Service.

The current building is a temporary office until a new one is erected. Officials say construction will start in the near future.

MRV Banks, which currently has just one location, has over 270 local investors/owners, with over $10.4 million in capital. It joins the Bank of Bloomsdale as the only two independent, locally-owned banks operating in Ste. Genevieve County.

"The difference between us and all the other banks is we have over 270 local investors," said Richard Hanneken, MRV Banks president and CEO. "It's a city-chartered bank. Individuals who work at the lime kiln, the hospital and construction companies, as well as business owners and leaders in our community, are invested in our bank. A good section of this community owns this bank, which is just a phenomenal way to run it."

Hanneken has been affiliated with several other banks in this community in the past. Before taking over as head of MRV, he was president of Premier Bank in St. Charles.

New salon opens

Bob Hahn, vice president of development for Mid-America Hotels, announced that a new salon has joined the businesses that have almost filled the property that includes the Holiday Inn Express, Victorian Inn, Cracker Barrel and Texas Roadhouse on William Street near Interstate 55.

The new tenant, Belladona Salon, Spa and Boutique complements the other businesses in the development, which is 90 percent full, he said. "Our whole development is a hospitality concept," Hahn said.

The Drury-family company is also preparing land on the northeast corner of the Center Junction interchange in anticipation of development, but no contracts or leases have been signed, Hahn said.

Regional Title office opens in Sikeston

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Regional Title is now under new ownership.

Local businessmen Bill King and Justin Pobst purchased the company and have expanded the locations to include Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Jackson and Marble Hill.

The former Lichtenegger Title Company of Jackson, now Regional Title, was also acquired. A merger was completed in June.

Now with five locations, Regional Title serves over 20 counties in Missouri. They have 18 highly trained staff members, as well as four attorneys to provide prompt legal answers when needed.

The Sikeston office, located at 602 Matthews St., opened in July. Marilyn Huffstutler is the manager and has several years of experience in the title business.

She is assisted in the office by Debbie Aters, who is the processor for the location.

The office hours from Sikeston's Regional Title are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Regional Title is authorized agents for First American Title Insurance Company, Chicago Title Insurance Company, Security Union Title Insurance Company and Farmers National Title.

Area Banks Form Coalition to Assist in Disaster

At the first quarterly meeting of the ShowMeFIRST organization a coalition of local banks was formed with the mission statement:

To increase the resilience of the financial services industry in our region in the event of a regional disaster in collaboration with city, state and federal agencies, including to:

* protect the lives of the people working in the industry

* protect the financial assets entrusted for safe keeping and investment

* work with city and state authorities on emergency coordination and evacuation

* implement the primary objectives in a rapid manner

The quarterly meeting was held at the The Bank of Missouri's William Street banking center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

A large group gathered including the ShowMeFIRST charter member banks: Bank of Advance, Bank of New Madrid, The Bank of Missouri, Alliance Bank, Capaha Bank and Security Bank and Trust. Non-member financial institutions and strategic partners included: city and county fire departments, Technology & Networking/ASC, county health departments, city and county emergency management agencies and the Federal Reserve Bank.

The group's main objectives are to obtain public sector awareness and participation, acquire priority access to facilities in a disaster and develop comprehensive disaster recovery/business continuity plans.

All financial institutions are encouraged to join. Anyone interested in more information should contact one of the charter member banks or Shawn Asmus, CISSP with Technology and Networking/ASC at 573-335-5157.

True 32 Custom Cabinetry and Closetworks hnored for sales growth

True 32 Custom Cabinetry and Closetworks, a Cape Girardeau-based manufacturer of commercial cabinets, custom kitchens and designer closet storage systems has been recognized in the 18th annual WOOD 100 Report. The report, which profiles and ranks the 100 fastest growing woodworking companies, was published in the July 2007 issue of Wood & Wood Products magazine.

It is the second consecutive year True 32 Custom cabinetry has been selected to be included in the report. The seven-year-old company posted a sales increase of over 26 percent during 2006. Jim Schuette, owner of True 32, states that by utilizing a flow-manufacturing system, the company is able to manufacture locally fine European cabinetry.

Wood & Wood Products is a leading trade magazine published by Vance Publishing Corp. of Lincolnshire, Ill. It is mailed monthly to more than 44 thousand professional woodworkers throughout the United States and Canada.

Bank launches new program

KENNETT -- Kennett National Bank has announced it is piloting a new merchant deposit capture program called Deposit From Work, which allows businesses to scan checks electronically and send them to their bank for collection. Any business owner who is pre-qualified and has access to a special bank-supplied scanner can use the new service. Kennett National Bank says the new service will make it convenient for a business who may move to another location; the business can continue to use Kennett National Bank instead of moving its business to a different bank.

Comfort Master honored

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Comfort Master of Poplar Bluff has been placed in the Quality Circle of North American Technician Excellence. Only one in 10 companies ever achieve this award. Quality Circle Contractors certificates remain valid for a year; at the end of that time they must requalify or reaffirm that they are still able to belong to the group because their technicians meet the certificating guidelines and their business meets the training threshold to provide basic technician certification training or technician recertification training. RON BRIDGES is the owner and MIKE LEMONS is service manager.

Realtor wins trip

All the agents of RE/MAX Realty Experts of Cape Girardeau participated in a contest sponsored by their broker. The contest involved accomplishing various assignments, participating in company events, attending educational programs and total sales volume.

Debbie Jennings was the winner of a trip to the National Association of Realtors Conference that is being held in Las Vegas in November. Jennings has been with RE/MAX since 2004. She and her husband Alan live in Jackson.

Meineke comes to Cape Girardeau

A Meineke Car Center will open in Cape Girardeau on the property between McAlister's Deli and El Acapulco Restaurant on south Mount Auburn Road, said Tom Kelsey of Lorimont Place Ltd.

The car care center will be built on the north end of the 1.3 acre site, Kelsey said, with a two-level office center possibly to follow.

Meineke, founded in 1972 in Houston, today operates 900 locations, mostly franchises. The Cape Girardeau franchise will be owned by Randy Lemotte of Ste. Genevieve, Mo. An opening date hasn't been announced.

Consignment store opens

A new children's clothing consignment store has opened its doors at 1027 Broadway, owner Amanda Hupp said. Hupp, 28, plans to begin modestly, opening for early evening hours and keeping her current position in the office of an architecture firm in Sikeston, Mo.

The store, called Cute 'N' Cuddly, will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. On weekdays, the store will be open from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with no Sunday hours, she said.

The store will specialize in children's clothing at first, Hupp said. The clothing will be clean, well-cared for and stain-free, she said.

In addition, Hupp hopes to generate business with decorated overalls in children's sizes.

The consignment shop will be the first foray into business for Hupp. Married, with two girls aged 11 and 12, Hupp said the idea is "to just give it a try."