JACKSON OFFICIALS WORK TO KEEP FIRM

JACKSON -- At the start of 1994, Jackson city officials knew they were in danger of losing Lee-Rowan's expansion and potential jobs along with it.

They knew the company purchased a plant in Newbern, Tenn., and planned to do some expanding there.

They didn't know Jackson was in danger of losing the entire plant and more than 1,000 jobs.

"The decision had been made to consolidate our plants, but the question was where," Pat Gillian, Lee-Rowan's vice president of operations, said. "Here, we were landlocked to a certain extent. Tennessee had an enormous amount of land and parking."

While Lee-Rowan management didn't threaten Jackson with leaving, Gillian said, it let the city know there was a problem.

Mayor Paul Sander and Mitch Robinson, executive director of the local Industrial Recruitment Organization, gathered a group of officials who would work to keep the factory here. The group felt it vital to Jackson's economic health, Sander said.

With its 1,350 employees, Lee-Rowan is the largest employer in Cape Girardeau County. A producer of wire organizing equipment, it was sold by owner Desmond Lee to the Newell Co. in September 1993. Its marketing department is in St. Louis.

In Lee-Rowan's 30 years of business in Jackson, it was expanded 10 times.

The expansions were welcomed, but Lee-Rowan could go only so far on its limited amount of land. Sander and his group spoke with landowner Byron Lang about purchasing an option for 16 acres to the east of the factory, just across a small stream.

Lang sold the option for $2,000 a year, and the Jackson Board of Aldermen exercised it for the first time on Monday, purchasing 2.2 acres for a new parking lot. The city will lease the property to Lee-Rowan, paying for gravel and lighting for 150 parking spaces. Lee-Rowan will build a footbridge to the factory.

The city's option on the 16 acres runs out in 13 years.

"Now we know we have that property available whenever we want it and in whatever increments we want it," Sander said. "This parking lot is a very minimal investment when you keep so many jobs in the community. Many communities our size have lost large plants, and the economic impact has been devastating."

The rest of the land will be available for Lee-Rowan or any other industry that needs it. Sander said he would like to see Lee-Rowan expand its actual operation, not just parking, across the creek.

In addition to the purchase option, the city worked with Robinson, the industrial recruiter, to get Missouri Department of Economic Development money for Lee-Rowan. The company received assistance with utilities and other expenses.

This year, it added $5 million in capital equipment and 190 jobs.

"We've dedicated a lot of resources to this facility with the goal of making it grow," Gillian said. "The community wants us to do it, the officials want us to do it, and we're doing it."