P&G EXPANDS, ADDING 350 JOBS

Procter & Gamble Co. announced April 16, 1997, it will build a $350 million addition to its Cape Girardeau County plant to enable an increase in production of tissues and towels.

The expansion, which will be among the top-three industrial projects in Missouri over the past decade, will result in 350 more jobs.

With 1,200 workers, the plant north of Cape Girardeau near Trail of Tears State Park already is the largest employer in Southeast Missouri.

The addition will be adjacent to the plant, said Mike Jennewein, human-relations manager at the plant.

It will put about 20 acres under roof, which translates into more than 850,000 square feet. That is more than five times the size of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cape Girardeau.

"Our construction will start as soon as all the permits are completed," said Jennewein. "Hopefully we're talking about an August start."

Target date for operation is in early 2000, said Jennewein.

It will be the largest industrial project in Missouri since 1993, when Ford Motor Co. added to its Hazelwood plant at a cost of $400 million to expand production of its Ford Explorer, said Jim Gardner of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

"This is the third-largest industrial investment in Missouri during the past decade," said Gardner. "In 1992, Ford added a paint facility to its Kansas City assembly plant at a cost of $375 million."

P&G's selection of Cape Girardeau County for the expansion culminates a two-to-three-year nationwide search for an expansion site. Only a handful of sites were under consideration before a site decision was reached.

Cape Girardeau was selected to "take advantage of the synergies with P&G's present site and because of its proximity to growing markets," said Jennewein.

P&G's Cape Girardeau County plant, which has more than 1.3 million square feet, or 30 acres, under roof, is the largest manufacturer of disposable diapers in North America.

Among products that will be produced at the new plant are Bounty towels, Charmin bath tissue and Puffs tissue paper.

P&G currently has tissue and towel plants at five sites in North America: Albany, Ga.; Mehoopany, Pa.; Oxnard, Calif.; Green Bay, Wis.; and Toronto, Canada.

P&G's tissue and towel business has grown at an average rate of about 8 percent a year during the past five years. The increase in demand has been supported by building or rebuilding paper machines at other plants.

The new and rebuilt machines are designed to run at higher speeds. Together, they have enabled the company to increase its tissue and towel volume by 45 percent during the past five years.

The company's decision was the latest in a series of initiatives to add capacity in anticipation of strong future demand.

The company will build two paper machines and associated converter equipment. Each new paper machine will add approximately 65,000 tons of annual capacity. The first machine will start operations in January or February 2000, with the second to start up six to 18 months later.

"Our paper products continue to win with consumers because our proprietary technologies enable us to offer quality products with unique performance advantages at a good value," said Tim Penner, vice president and general manager of P&G's U.S. tissue and towel products business. "By building new capacity at an aggressive pace, we can continue to introduce innovative products to better meet the needs of today's consumers."

During the past six months the company has launched several new products: Bounty Rinse and Reuse, a thicker and more durable towel; Charmin Triple Roll, introduced in March; and the new Puffs facial tissue, launched last August.