P&G: CROWN JEWEL IN AREA'S INDUSTRIAL BASE

One of the nation's biggest and most respected manufacturers, Procter & Gamble, marks 25 years of operation in Cape Girardeau County this year. Its presence remains formidable as ever. Not only does the plant north of Cape Girardeau put 1,300 people to work, it stands as a model of corporate citizenship. We commend P&G's devotion to this community and region, and congratulate the company and its workers on a quarter-century of successful operation in the county.

In business 155 years, the Cincinnati-based manufacturer holds 40 percent of the market share in disposable diapers, many of which are produced at the local plant. Notwithstanding the brazen hopes of environmental extremists who would like to see this business outlawed, it seems an enterprise durable as nature's call. The Cape Girardeau County plant ships between 60-100 truckloads of finished product daily. With 30 acres under roof, it is an imposing operation.

The ledger is likewise eye-popping. The plant boasts an annual payroll of $50 million, the largest in this part of the state, and the company (with facilities also in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas) spends more than $145 million in yearly purchases from Missouri suppliers of goods and services. In addition, the presence of Procter & Gamble commands a circle of other operations that work in its support; the most substantial of these (Miltenberger and Willing, which supplies packaging for diapers) employs 200 people. More jobs, more economic impact.

P&G would be special here for fiscal considerations alone. In fact, though, the company encourages its employees to take active roles in community projects. You will find the leaders in many civic organizations and on many charitable boards are Procter & Gamble employees. And the plant puts it money where its corporate mouth is; in two decades of participation in the Area Wide United Way, the company and its workers have donated about $1.8 million, including more than $150,000 in the most recent campaign.

For these reasons, the plant inspires loyalty. One hundred of the current employees were on the job the day the Cape Girardeau County operation began in 1969. At special anniversary observances held at the plant this week, those workers take a place of honor.

Cape Girardeau displays an impressive and diverse industrial base, of which the Procter & Gamble operation is a crown jewel. It provides the region with economic and ancillary benefits, but also serves as promotion for the region itself. It gives the area an industrial identity that gets the attention of other manufacturers looking to expand or relocate. It serves as notice of a productive workforce and desirable business conditions. It is an important part of this community, and we celebrate with the local plant its 25 years in operation.