REGION WORKS TO RECRUIT INDUSTRY

When companies decide to move their headquarters or expand facilities to a new area, they look at a number of factors.

They're not just looking for a place to manufacture and make the most profits, they're also looking for a place from which they can most easily, and directly, serve their markets.

At a time when communities are engaged in aggressive efforts to recruit new business and industry, retain existing businesses and help them in expansion planning, industrial recruiters and consultants look at a number of things -- Transportation -- river, air, surface -- workforce, raw materials availability.

Quality-Of-Life also figures in the criteria pot.

"The site selection process is essentially the same, whether you're a small, medium or large companies, said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association, which serves Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City.

Robinson's group and recruitment groups of chambers of commerce throughout Southeast Missouri work in cooperation with a number of organizations, including the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED), Plant Site Locators out of Oklahoma.

"We also work closely with area chambers of commerce," said Robinson. "Sometimes the leads come from local sources, and in many cases these sources -- local people or former residents of the community -- can be the best source. We work with area businessmen, local chambers, and mail out brochures to prospective companies."

John Mehner, president of Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, third largest chamber in the state and No. 1 in its population category, agrees that local sources are good.

The chamber, partners with the Industrial Recruitment Association to secure at least one new major employer or one major expansion (50 or more workers.

"We keep in touch a number of ways," said Robinson of the recruiting organization. "The DED is a tremendous asset to all Missouri communities. When a major company is looking for a new site, they contact the DED and give it the criteria."

So much is involved, said Robinson. Sometimes being close to raw materials might be the major asset. For other companies, transportation and being close to market sources are criteria.

The local industrial recruitment association also has contacts with a number of private industrial consultants -- Plant Site Locators, J.M. Mullis out of Memphis, PHH Fantus in Chicago area.

"Many interested companies -- about 80 percent -- want an existing building," said Robinson. "We keep a listing of all buildings available."

Available in the immediate area is a 60,000-square-foot "spec" building in Nash Road Industrial Park.

"We can provide existing buildings ranging from 5,000 to more than 100,000 square feet," said Robinson.

The building that housed Tri-Con Industries, which closed operations last year, a couple of giant warehouses that total 430,000 square feet and few buildings in the 50,000- to 80,000-square-foot range.

Also available are several industrial parks -- Nash Road Industrial Park, 630 Industrial Park, 730 Industrial Park and Cape West Business Park and Rust Avenue Industrial Park, all in the Cape Girardeau area; and Perryville Industrial Park at Perryville. Other industrial areas include Lang Industrial Site, Meier Industrial Site and Seabaugh Industrial Park, all in the Jackson area, and the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority in Scott and Cape Girardeau counties.

The Southeast Missouri Regional Planning & Economic Development Commission, headquartered at Perryville, provides industrial background information for a number of counties, including Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry.

Last year the group compiled a listing of industrial parks and sites in a seven-county area, said Ron Steele, who works as a regional economic development planner with the Southeast Missouri group

The SEMO planning group also tracks business and industry closings and openings, on a quarterly basis.