Orgill's Mid-America SuperCenter gets ready for opening in Sikeston, Mo.

SIKESTON, Mo -- One year ago, Orgill announced plans to make Sikeston the site of its new Mid-America SuperCenter.

Now, things are ahead of schedule for its Aug. 3 opening. Construction is mostly finished and employees are working to stock some $35 million worth of products for the world's largest independent distributor of home improvement products.

"We are pleased the construction went so well and it got done in a timely manner so we could keep everything on schedule," said Ed Dust, director of economic development for the city of Sikeston. "Taking into account the ice storm, the wet spring and wet fall, it's almost a miracle."

Dust said being ahead of schedule despite the delays shows a lot about the relationship between the city, Orgill and the construction firm building the distribution center.

"Our planning department was able to get everything done on time and the construction company also did their work in a timely manner," he said.

Although the plant won't be in full swing for another few weeks, work is already being done at the facility in Sikeston's Industrial Park.

The roughly 795,000-square-foot building is the largest Orgill Super-Center to date. And it could get even bigger in the future.

"Even as big as this is, there's room to expand further," said Dust. "We hope they'll be able to do that in two to three years."

Orgill produces and distributes about 65,000 product lines. "It starts with a bolt or nut and goes on up from that," Dust said. Those products are sold in farm or hardware stores, sporting goods, pet items, household items and more, he said.

Nothing will be produced in the Sikeston center. "Everything comes in as a finished product," Dust said. It's then stocked and used to fill orders for its customers across the U.S. and in other countries. Local retailers that will carry the products include Slusher's Farm and Home and Buchheit's.

Several employees are hired already, with more to come. The administrative offices moved to the site at the beginning of the month, Dust said.

Dust said company officials had a qualified pool from which to choose employees. To date, more than 4,000 applications were submitted, and about 200 were hired and are already on the job, helping to stock the distribution center.

"There are very, very qualified people who are not going to get those jobs, just because there are not enough positions," Dust said.

According to Dust, company officials have told him they expect to bring on another 50 to 75 people by the Aug. 3 opening.

"Then, they'll look to see how it's going to run," he said. "Hopefully, in time, they'll need more employees."

The company has predicted it will need about 350 workers by the time it has been open for five years.

Dust said that landing a company like Orgill doesn't slow efforts to bring other industries into the area -- in fact, it has the opposite affect.

"The affect of having a $40 million facility built in your community is a good one," said Dust. "It gives me and city leaders confidence that we have a lot to offer to a new business."

He said seeing the demand for jobs shows him there is a need for more industries like Orgill in Sikeston. "It's my job to recruit them, and I'm still working everyday to bring jobs to this community."

He said the effect of those jobs and new industries trickles down. For instance, local trucking firms will be used. The added 200 or so paychecks should also provide a boost.

"Retail will get a big boost from that," Dust said.

He said the housing market has also benefited, with some company officials moving into the area and purchasing or renting homes.