LEE/ROWAN BEGINS WORK ON ANOTHER MAJOR EXPANSION

JACKSON -- The "under roof" total of the Lee/Rowan manufacturing complex at Jackson will pass the 635,000 square foot mark in early 1993 with the addition of a new 81,000 square feet to the manufacturing facility.

"We now have 556,940 square feet under roof," said Constance H. Conrad, vice president of Marketing Services for the firm, which is headquartered in St. Louis.

"Construction is now under way on the expansion project," added Conrad this week. "This structure will be utilized as manufacturing space and is likely to add more than 100 employees to the workforce."

The project is expected to be completed by March of 1993, and will mark the 10th expansion at the Jackson facility since it opened here almost three decades ago.

Lee/Rowan produces a variety of ventilated wire storage systems, bath furniture and organizers, bulk shelving and other space saving accessories.

The ninth expansion at Jackson came in May of this year, when Lee/Rowan officials gathered for the dedication of a 93,000 square foot expansion, boosting the under roof space over the half million square foot mark.

"At that time, we were wondering where future expansion would be located," said Conrad. "We were running out of space to build."

But, space was found.

"There was an old building located in the northeast part of the complex," said Conrad. "We often referred to it as `the barn.' The barn has been demolished and the site is being used for the new expansion."

Lee/Rowan currently employs more than 1,100 people, with about 750 of them at the Jackson plant, and the reminder at its St. Louis facility.

Lee/Rowan was founded in 1939 by Edgar D. Lee and John V. Rowan as a manufacturer of metal trouser creasers, which were sold to Sears Roebuck & Co. and JCPenney. The company began its Jackson connection in 1964, when the firm constructed a 42,500 square foot building and put about 25 people to work.

Four years later, the work staff had grown to 70, the company added 42,500 square feet, and the Jackson branch was off and running.

It hasn't stopped since.

The new expansion will be the 10th addition to the operation.

Desmond Lee, chairman of the board, said a number of factors are cited for the announcement of the latest expansion at Jackson, including the introduction of new products such as the "Tight Mesh Family" product line and the "Under Cabinet Organizer" line, both produced at the Jackson plant.

"These two new products have also contributed to the excellent sales performances experienced by the company," said Conrad, who added that 1991 was the best sales year ever for Lee/Rowan and that "1992 is continuing in the same vein."

The Jackson track record of success includes:

1964 Original building constructed, 49,000 square feet.

1969 Expansion, 42,500 square feet.

1970 Expansion, 13,000 square feet.

1972 Expansion, 12,500 square feet.

1983 Expansion, 47,700 square feet.

1985 Expansion, 52,500 square feet.

1987 Expansion, 60,600 square feet.

1988 Expansion, 86,440 square feet.

1990 Expansion, 100,000 square feet.

1892 Expansion, 93,000 square feet.

1993 Expansion, 81,000 square feet, under way.