Cape area economic development group hosts annual luncheon

In 2011, the area's construction and manufacturing industries saw success as a result of partnerships celebrated Friday during Cape Girardeau Area Magnet's annual luncheon meeting.

More than 100 local business leaders attended the event at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center featuring presentations about Nordenia USA, Blair Box and Isle of Capri.

"It's been a very interesting year. It's been a difficult year at times, but with our partners we were able to achieve some successes," said Mitch Robinson, executive director of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet.

Magnet's top priority continues to be helping existing businesses grow and one tool that will help, he said, is the enhanced enterprise zone designation approved for Cape Girardeau County this year. Half a dozen companies have already asked for more information about how they may benefit from the program, which offers new and expanding businesses in the zone state income tax credits and a 50 percent local property tax abatement for 10 years.

In 2012, Robinson said, he expects the area will see jobs added as existing companies continue to grow.

One example is Nordenia USA, which later this month will move into a 180,000-square-foot facility built by Penzel Construction in the Jackson Industrial Park off U.S. 61.

About a third of the facility will be used for production of flexible plastic packaging and the remainder for storage of both raw materials and finished products. In 2012, the company will invest $4 million in the facility, with its first new machine arriving next week, said Bill Burke, president and CEO of Nordenia USA. Over the next three years, the company will add 50 jobs between its two Cape Girardeau County facilities. The primary driver of the expansion is growth in Nordenia's midsize plastic bag manufacturing in the pet, agrochemical and lawn and garden markets.

Ron Unterreiner, president of Blair Packaging in Scott City and Blair Box, which opened in the former Thorngate Ltd. building in Cape Girardeau last year, spoke about his company's growth in 2011.

Blair Packaging, which manufactures vinyl products, saw 2 percent growth last year, he said.

"In today's market, that's significant," he said.

In January, Blair purchased the former Thorngate Ltd. building, which had been vacant nearly two years, and began a new company producing rigid paper boxes for video games and cosmetics. The 170,000-square-foot building was beginning to fall into disrepair when Blair bought it, but now it's home to 17 machines and 30 full-time employees. Additional workers are brought in as the workload requires, Unterreiner said.

This year the company made the boxes for the latest video game in Activision's "Call of Duty" series, a CD case for the Smashing Pumpkins rock band and will soon begin an order for high-end, $300-a-bottle perfume boxes, he said.

After breaking ground in March, work steadily continues on the new $125 million Isle of Capri casino project north of downtown Cape Girardeau.

Isle's vice president of design and construction, Dick Meister, gave an update on the construction of the 163,000-square-foot entertainment complex. About 20 percent of the steel structure has been erected and grading work is being done to the parking lot areas, he said. About 50 percent of the contractors on site are local contractors, Meister said. The project is on schedule to be completed in late 2012.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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