SPECIAL, CHARTERED TRAIN TO TRANSPORT GUESTS TO M&W PLANT GRAND OPENING

A chartered excursion train will take passengers from Cape Girardeau to the grand opening ceremonies of the Mildenberger & Willing (M&W) Packaging U.S. Inc. plant Wednesday afternoon.

Six cars pulled by two special locomotives will transport guests from downtown Cape Girardeau to the plant adjacent to the Procter & Gamble plant in north Cape Girardeau County.

"Every stage of the packaging process is now complete and operating," said a company spokesman. "All seven buildings are finished."

The observance includes speeches by state and company officials, a ribbon-cutting, plant tours and a reception. It is not open to the public.

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce is hosting a tour to Altenburg and a luncheon for a delegation from Germany, where the company is based. Among the 56-member entourage will be company president and founder Dieter Mildenberger and Anna Mayer Beck, honorary consul general from the office of consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Gov. John Ashcroft and Department of Economic Development director Carl Koupal will speak, along with state Rep. Mary Kasten and state Sen. John Dennis.

M&W produces plastic packaging for the Procter and Gamble plant. M&W has 135 employees housed in seven buildings. The plant is involved in extruding, manufacturing and printing processes.

Plant vice president of manufacturing Harry Sander initiated the concept of the excursion train. He worked with the Burlington Northern Railroad, which hauls plastic pellets to the plant by rail in hopper cars.

BN local trainmaster Bill Belongy said the train will have three passenger cars about 70 years old from an out-of-state railroad museum. Three business cars, which provide support services, on the train will originate from the company's Kansas City yards.

The cars will be pulled by two special locomotives used for special occasions. The streamlined diesel-powered units, BN 1 and 2, were manufactured in the mid 1950s.

Belongy said the company rarely operates special excursion trains. He said the last regularly-scheduled passenger service in Cape Girardeau ended in 1965 when the Frisco Railroad terminated the St. Louis-Memphis run.