DEVELOPMENT CORP. CHOOSES FIVE NEW DIRECTORS

Five new members have been elected to the Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp. Board of Directors.

Virgil Chirnside, David Hahn, Judy Wilferth, Stan Grimm and Al Spradling III were all elected to the three-year terms.

The Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp., which was founded by a group of business people more than 35 years ago, works to develop the Nash Road Industrial Park south of Cape Girardeau, which is home to several industrial and manufacturing concerns.

The election of new directors, a review of the past year's activities and discussion of a possible speculation building were among topics at the group's annual shareholders meeting this week at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau.

Directors whose terms expired this year were W. Birk, Raymond Buhs, Charles Hutson, Fred R. Wilferth and Jim Rust, who is president of the board until new officers are elected later this month.

Directors whose terms did not expire Dec. 31 are S. Cordell Dombrowski, Mike Edwards, James Lansmon, Charles "Bud" Leming, Mike Richey, J. Ronald Fischer, Robert B. Hendrix, Harry Rediger, Gary Rust and Clarence Lee Shirrell.

Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association, discussed the possibility of constructing the speculation building in a Nash Road Industrial Park area.

"At this point we don't have everything nailed down for a new spec building," he said. "But we're getting close."

The development board agreed to defer any payments on property for a new spec building until it was completed and leased.

"A speculation building is a great tool for industrial recruitment," said Robinson. "And we haven't had one here in a few years."

The last speculation building was constructed by Gene Penzel. That building, in the mid-1980s, was leased before it was completed. A second speculation building has been discussed since 1988, but nothing was ever firmed up.

During the past two years, two new industries have located in the Nash Road complex -- Sanders Enterprises (SEI), a plastic recycling industry, in 1993, and Texberry Container Corp. in 1994.

Texberry is a Houston-based manufacturer and distributor of plastic bottles. The plant is in the former Florsheim Shoe warehouse.

The development corporation talked with two other industries in 1994, Arkansas Steel and D&K Wholesale Drug Inc. The steel company decided against locating in the area, and D&K is still looking for a site on which to build.

A total of 22 industries are situated in Nash Road Industrial Park. They employ about 1,200 people.

Industries west of Interstate 55 in the park are Addison Corp. (Associated Building Centers); Admiral Plastics; BioKyowa; Borden; Clarklift of Cape; Foamex; General Sign Co.; Georgia-Pacific Corp.; Golden Cat Corp.; Hardware Wholesalers; Jerry Lipps Trucking; Major Brands; QC Corp.; Resin Exchange; SEMO Box Co.; Texberry Container Corp. and Truck Transport.

Industries east of Interstate 55 are: ABF Freight Systems; Gelco Truck Leasing; Havco Wood Products; Rhodes Oil Co.; Sander Enterprises (SEI).