INDUSTRIAL RECRUITMENT GROUP HEAD SAYS COOPERATION KEY TO DEVELOPMENT

Successful economic development takes the cooperation of most everyone in a community, says the executive director of the Cape Girardeau Industrial Recruitment Association.

D. Mitch Robinson was the speaker Friday at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday coffee. He said he has had that kind of cooperation during the past 16 months.

"We have spent the past year developing an economic package," he said. "We've had great cooperation from city, county and state officials in putting together a package that can compete with other areas."

Robinson, who began in May 1993 as the leader of the then newly formed industrial recruitment association, works with officials from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, Cape Girardeau County and the chamber.

He said he and other economic development officials often rely on leads from citizens on industrial prospects.

Robinson also said Rush Limbaugh, the national radio talk-show host and Cape Girardeau native, is a big booster for the. "Whether you love or hate Rush Limbaugh and his show, he's good for the community."

The area, said Robinson, has all the essential tools to attract an industry like Arkansas Steel Co., which decided last week to stay in its current location.

The steel plant would have been a $60 million facility with more than 200 jobs with salaries of $14 an hour. "And we were in the running," said Robinson. "Everybody came through during the project, but in the end, the company didn't come through."

During the past year, however, the recruitment association has recorded some successes:

-- Texberry Container Corp., a Houston-based manufacturer and distributor of plastic bottles, established a plant in Nash Road Industrial Park. The plant in the former Florsheim Shoe Warehouse has 16 employees with expectations of 40 employees in the future.

-- Lee-Rowan Co., of Jackson, has moved its operations to Jackson. The company previously operated facilities in St. Louis and Tennessee.

-- When Cape Central Printing had to move because of the new Mississippi River bridge route, the association helped in arranging a new location.

"Our community is on the move," said Robinson. "A lot of construction is going on in this area. The outlook for our community is good."

Robinson said a group of city officials and a business delegation from Cape Girardeau's "sister city" in China -- Shaoxing -- will visit in the near future.