A look at the products manufactured in our region

It’s safe to say Southeast Missouri likes to make things. A lot of things.

In this region, companies make products to eat: cereal, baking mixes and ice cream. They make everyday use items: toilet paper and diapers. They make cords, wires, electrical enclosures, car parts, packaging, smokers, steel buoys and so much more.

From the complex to the mundane, it’s being made in our backyard. Here, we take a look at a few of the unique products manufactured in Southeast Missouri.

Car Grills

Meet the Lexus SUV Grill.

Made by: Toyoda-Gosei (TG-Missouri)

Location: Perryville

Fun Fact: In 2017, a five kilometer trail was installed around the TG-Missouri campus for employees and the community to utilize. Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee attended the grand opening of this trail.

More Info: In 1986, TG-Missouri opened their campus in Perryville. TG-Missouri produces steering wheels, airbags, side molding, exterior and interior plastic trim components for automobiles.

Cornflakes

Meet Hospitality corn flakes cereal.

Made by: Gilster-Mary Lee

Location: Perryville

Fun Fact: Gilster-Mary Lee uses over 37 million pounds of cornmeal per year, with much of the cornmeal milled in Southeast Missouri.

More Info: The Perryville, Missouri, location has a cereal plant and baking mix plant. The baking mix plant occupies 125,000 square feet, producing baking mix and potato items. The cereal plant occupies 185,000 square feet.

Smokers

Meet the SSJ Commercial Smoker.

Made by: Ole Hickory Pits

Location: Scott City

Fun Fact: Ole Hickory Pits is an equipment sponsor for Operation BBQ Relief, which helps feed those affected by natural disasters. Ole Hickory Pits founder David B. Knight says, “they [other sponsors] bring the meats, we bring the heat,” by providing their smokers.

More Info: Ole Hickory Pits produces commercial, residential and competition smokers. They have been sold to locations on six of the seven continents.

Buoys

Meet the 4th Class Red Buoy.

Made by: H&G Marine Services Inc.

Location: Perryville

Fun Fact: The buoys are all steel and painted with marine-grade paint. Each buoy weighs between 300 and 400 pounds.

More Info: H&G Marine Services Inc. has one customer, the U.S. Coast Guard. They make fresh-water buoys in 4th class and 6th class models. Most of their buoys are used on the Mississippi River.

They ship as far east as Pennsylvania, as far west as Oklahoma, as far north as Dubuque, Iowa, and south to Louisiana. The company was started in 1985.

Toilet Paper

Meet Charmin Ultra Soft with Smooth Tear.

Made by: Procter & Gamble

Location: Cape Girardeau

Fun Fact: The Cape Girardeau Procter & Gamble plant holds the Guinness World Record for the largest roll of toilet paper ever made. It is on display in Branson’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum.

More Info: The Charmin Ultra Soft with Smooth Tear is the first time in 100 years that Charmin has reinvented the square, by changing the traditional perforated line to a scalloped edge. The Cape Girardeau Procter & Gamble plant played a key role in the development of this new product. They began full production on it in the summer of 2023.