POPLAR BLUFF MAN NAMED MISSOURI'S `SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR'

POPLAR BLUFF - A Poplar Bluff man who built his company into one of the nation's top hardwood pallet manufacturers is Missouri's small business person of the year.

David Libla, 43, is chairman and chief executive officer of Libla Industries Inc., based in Poplar Bluff, and First National Pallet Rental Inc., headquartered in St. Louis.

Libla will be honored in early May at the White House as part of National Small Business Week activities and will be recognized May 10 in St. Louis at a local awards luncheon.

Libla, who founded Libla Industries in 1973 with a truck, a trailer and little money, has built the company and its Missouri-only affiliates into corporations generating sales of more than $30 million.

The subsidiaries include Mid-Continent Nail Corp., which manufactures pallet nails, and Libla Communications, which installs underground cable.

A year ago, Libla founded First National Pallet Rental to offer fixed-cost service to large food manufacturers and supermarket distributors with national distribution needs.

Bob Andrews, eastern Missouri director of the Small Business Association, said Libla's expansion started in 1984 with the help of a $140,000 loan from the agency.

The companies Libla heads employ 286 people and provide full-time employment for 200 truck owner-operators and cable installation subcontractors, Andrews said. In addition, the companies were voted the top small business for a four-state Region VII SBA area that includes Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas.