SIKESTON GETS GARMENT PLANT

SIKESTON -- A new cut-and-sew garment factory will open here in 1993.

Ground-breaking was held on Compress Road recently for a 20,000 Sports Wear Inc. factory that will produce athletic T-shirts and sweat shirts for companies such as Fruit of the Loom, Target, Sears, Winning Ways, Galt, Sand and Niki.

Initially the plant is expected to employ 40 workers.

The plant will be an expansion of Akbani Industries Inc., a Puxico-based cut-and-sew production plant.

The Sikeston plant initially will produce short-sleeved T-shirts for summer shipments and add the long T-shirt line for fall.

In full operation, the plant will produce 2.4 million garments annually. The Puxico plant produces 1.7 million garments a year and employs 122 people.

Sal Akbani is vice president and chief executive officer of the company.