Chamber recognizes industries in area

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce gave its 2001 industry of the year award to BioKyowa Inc.

Past winners include

1988: General Sign Co., largest custom sign maker in Missouri

1989: Lone Star Industries' Cape Girardeau cement plant, which produces about 1.1 million tons of cement annually

1990: Procter & Gamble Paper Products

1991: Biokyowa Inc., recently announced two major plant expansions (about $100 million) for increased production of new product

1992: Concord Publishing House Inc., operates daily and weekly newspapers in seven states, including the Southeast Missourian.

1993: Dana Corp., which started production in Cape Girardeau in 1990 with 20 employees and now has more than 40

1994: Florsheim Shoe Co., a firm that manufactured as many as 2,800 pairs of shoes a day before moving its operation overseas in 1999

1995: Spartech Corp., has more than 35 plastic-producing facilities, including two at Cape Girardeau.

1996: Thorngate, manufacturer of men's suits and sports coats, produces about 6,000 suits and coats a week

1997: Nordenia USA Inc., previously known as M&W Packaging USA, Inc., started production in the spring of 1990, recently announced a major expansion project

1998: Lone Star Industries, first company to repeat as Industry of the Year, following numerous expansions and improvements over the past decade

1999: Procter & Gamble, second-time for honor, recently had a major expansion project, and now employs about 1,700 workers

2000: Dana Corp., a repeat winner, the firm manufactures components for the center section of driving axles on vehicles