M&W LOOKS TO ADD 117 NEW JOBS

JACKSON -- The Cape Girardeau County Commission Thursday authorized the sale of $17 million in industrial revenue bonds to assist M&W Packaging in expanding its manufacturing plant.

The plant, which opened in 1990, is at the intersection of Route J and Highway 177 in northern Cape Girardeau County, next to the Procter and Gamble plant.

The bonds would finance additional equipment and building improvements for the German-based company.

The expansion would create 117 new jobs at the plant, on top of the 325 jobs that already exist at the plant. Most of the new jobs would pay $10 to $12 an hour.

The company is looking to expand the plant, which manufactures plastic packaging for customers such as Procter and Gamble.

The improvements legally would be owned by the county and leased to the company under a 10-year, lease-purchase arrangement, county officials said.

Passing of the resolution is the first step in formal negotiations prior to a final decision by the company, said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association.

Final approval of the expansion project is contingent upon the bonds and completion of discussions with local and state officials.

Robinson said the company could make a final decision within 30 to 60 days. "We think we pretty much got all the hard issues resolved," he said.

The industrial revenue bonds would be purchased by M&W Packaging. Cape Girardeau County has no financial liability in approving the sale of the bonds, he said.

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones and Assessor Jerry Reynolds traveled overseas earlier this year to meet with M&W officials in Munster, Germany, in an effort to secure the plant expansion. Robinson and state industrial recruiter Phil Tate also made the trip, which extended from Feb. 26 to March 3.

Jones welcomed the proposed plant expansion.

"The County Commission is very, very ecstatic about the potential addition of 117 very good jobs in Cape County," he said.

Commissioner Larry Bock credited Robinson's efforts to secure the plant expansion. "To me, it shows how important the industrial recruitment association is to the community," he said.

Both Jones and Bock said the issuance of bonds won't cost taxpayers. "It does not cost taxpayers a dime," said Jones.

Expansion of the plant would benefit the local economy, commissioners said.

Said Jones, "It is a good deal for Cape Girardeau County and we feel like it is a good deal for M&W."