Southeast Missouri’s ‘backbone’: A look at area manufacturing

President Joe Biden, in a White House statement released July 21, said “American manufacturing has long been the backbone of [the U.S.] economy.” In the Show Me State, Missouri Business Alert reported Sept. 13 that state manufacturing growth is “exceeding expectations,” noting that while COVID-19 cost Missouri 25,000 manufacturing jobs, employment in the sector has grown 5.7% in the past three years to more than 290,000 workers.

Many of the region’s top employers — outside of health care and education — are manufacturing companies.

Top 15 area manufacturers (Ranked by number of employees):

TG - Missouri (Perryville) 1,625

Gilster-Mary Lee (Perryville) 1,300

Procter & Gamble (Cape Girardeau) 1,100

W.W. Wood Products (Dudley) 1,000

Unilever (Sikeston) 900

Nestle Purina Pet Care (Bloomfield) 481

Mondi (Jackson & Cape Girardeau) 428

Alan Wire (Sikeston) 424

Magnitude 7 Metals (Marston) 400

Delta Companies (Cape Girardeau) 380

Havco Wood Products (Scott City) 315

BioKyowa (Scott City) 180

Buzzi Unicem (Cape Girardeau) 180

Schaefer’s Electrical

Enclosures (Scott City) 165

Tetra Pak (Sikeston) 145

Tyson Foods dropped off the list in mid-October as it closed its Dexter chicken processing plant at the cost of a reported 683 jobs.

Abstract

The following information about each noted manufacturer’s local operations is taken mainly from each company’s website, but also from associated business links.

TG Missouri manufactures automotive parts in two divisions: safety systems and interior/exterior.

Gilster-Mary Lee has two local production facilities: a baking mix plant, which occupies 125,000 square feet producing baking mixes and potato items, and a 185,000-square-foot breakfast cereal plant.

Procter & Gamble has 3 million square feet of production capability under its roof near Trail of Tears State Park, making it one of the country’s largest P&G plants. Its Cape Girardeau operation, launched in 1969, makes Pampers and Luvs diapers, Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels.

W. W. Wood Products, a family-owned firm established in 1977 in the Stoddard County town of Dudley, has approximately 1 million square feet of manufacturing space. The company self-describes itself as a leading North American maker of wood moldings, cabinet doors and custom cabinetry.

Unilever operates an ice cream plant in Sikeston. According to the company’s website, among the best-known brands serviced by the company are Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s and Magnum. Unilever closed its south ice cream facility in 2015 and consolidated its operations into its remaining north plant in Sikeston.

Nestle Purina Pet Care produces Tidy Cats litter products at its more than 1.1 million-square-foot campus in Bloomfield. On Oct. 26, 2021, the company celebrated a $250 million expansion at its facilities in Stoddard County.

Mondi, an international packaging and paper group operates two local facilities, one in Jackson along Route 61, the other in Cape Girardeau County near Procter & Gamble.

Alan Wire makes copper and aluminum 600-volt wire and cable products for commercial, industrial and utility markets. Founder Alan Keenan operates the Sikeston firm with sons Jonathan and Scott.

Magnitude Seven Metals is one of the last aluminum smelters in the U.S. and is located in Marston, New Madrid County.

Delta Companies, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, is a provider of road construction materials, including aggregates; hot mix, cold mix and warm mix asphalt and asphalt emulsions.

Havco Wood Products, launched in 1978 with a Scott City sales office and production facilities in Cape Girardeau and Vonore, Tennessee. They make laminated oak, composite and fiber-reinforced flooring for van trailers, truck bodies and containers.

BioKyowa produces high quality amino acids for various applications, such as feed supplements, nutritional food supplements, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals in Scott City.

Buzzi Unicem has a Cape Girardeau cement plant. Opening in 1981, Buzzi’s cement is used primarily in the construction industry for roads, highways, bridges, in homes and building foundations.

Schaefer’s Electrical Enclosures has produced electrical enclosures and customized panels for nearly 40 years. The company relocated to Scott City from Advance, Missouri, in 2009. The boxes made by Schaefer’s protect wiring and other electrical components.

Tetra Pak is a Sikeston-based food processing and packaging solutions company.

Buoys hang from a track, awaiting a coating of marine-grade paint at H&G Marine in Perryville. The manufacturer produces 4th class and 6th class fresh water buoys.

A view of Missouri

Ted Abernathy, managing partner of Economic Leadership — a consulting firm that provides strategic planning and analysis for governments, private and public companies, among others — said manufacturing “remains very strong” in September 2023.

Abernathy makes special note of post-pandemic advances in the automotive industry in the Show Me State. In 2022, Ford announced a $95 million investment to start a third shift in Kansas City. General Motors also said last year it would invest $1 billion to build more midsize trucks at its assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, taking advantage of state tax breaks and government incentives for job creation in the state.

“We’ve seen a manufacturing renaissance that is just going to get stronger as we move forward,” Abernathy added.

Employees at Ole Hickory Pits use a large press to cut heavy gauge sheets of metal. Ole Hickory Pits produces commercial, residential and competition smokers.

Local Thoughts

Economist David Yaskewich, chairman of SEMO’s Accounting, Economics and Finance department, is not as sanguine as Abernathy about the road ahead.

“When I hear there is growth in manufacturing, I’m a little skeptical of talk of a renaissance,” said Yaskewich, who has been with SEMO for the past 12 years.

“I’m not surprised to hear of a recent increase in manufacturing output and employment because it’s been a strong economy. At the same time, I don’t see a return to the old days of 20% of total employment being in manufacturing.”

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Rob Gilligan also offers perspective on Abernathy’s rosy analysis.

“I think we’re seeing some trends tied to manufacturing that probably reflect changes and dynamics within the industry,” said Gilligan, a Kansas native who has headed Cape’s Chamber since April 2022.

“Supply chain issues, transportation logistics – especially overseas – have gotten so much more expensive. We’ve started seeing a bit of what’s often referred to as ‘reshoring’ of job opportunities too. The benefit of being in the Midwest is location makes things easier to reach. Manufacture on the West Coast and it’s costlier to reach the eastern U.S. Same thing going the other direction,” said Gilligan.

Gilligan said he is impressed by the $2.8 billion commitment to rebuild Interstate 70 across Missouri, the largest road construction project in state history, which lawmakers approved in May 2023, and which Gov. Mike Parson made law with his subsequent signature.

“This is a huge long-term opportunity, not just in terms of safety and reducing congestion but the potential for growth, because I-70 currently has such heavy traffic moving goods across Missouri. It needs constant reinvestment just to make ongoing repairs. Without this commitment, we’d continue to spend money on a patchwork strategy,” he said.

Gilligan said with the legislative investment in I-70, additional dollars from the state budget can now be freed up for lettered and farm-to-market routes, “which are critical, especially in Southeast Missouri, where we produce so many agricultural goods and products,” he said.

If Southeast Missouri is going to prosper in the future, manufacturing will be a big part of it.