NO FEARS ABOUT THE 'Z FACTOR'

Renaissance Aircraft often works in conjunction with Zenair, a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that bailed out of a deal with Cape Girardeau 1999, leaving the city holding the bag for money it invested in arranging for bonds and grants to fund the company's set-up here.

But Renaissance president John Dearden said the city need not fear the Zenair connection, or the "Z Factor," as he put it, and said he is looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Cape Girardeau.

"We had to convince people we were not a part of that and had nothing to do with that and that we weren't going to behave in that fashion either," Dearden said.

Zenair assists Renaissance with developing production manuals, quality assurance manuals and advises about production.

"They essentially serve for us as a reservoir of experience and expertise," Dearden said. "Early on, we struck up a relationship with them because they're a company that has long-standing profitability in the ability to manufacture small aircraft, which is kind of rare."

In early 1999, Cape Girardeau entered into an agreement with Zenair that would help the company set up shop at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to manufacture an FAA-certified CH2000 aircraft. Zenair also has a plant in Mexico, Mo., where it makes experimental aircraft, and local officials believed the plant here would draw other aviation-related businesses to the area.

The Cape Girardeau Zenair plant was expected to create 100 new jobs.

After entering a memorandum of understanding with Zenair, city officials proceeded with acquiring $8.5 million in bond revenue to help the company build a 40,000-square-foot facility and also applied for a $600,000 grant to install water and sewer lines for the company.

By May, Zenair abandoned its plans because of financial difficulties and severed its agreement with the city. The company then moved to Eastman, Ga.

Because its trust had been eroded by the "Z Factor," wary Cape Girardeau officials negotiated certain safeguards into their memorandum of understanding with Renaissance. For example, Renaissance had to put $25,000 up front. If Renaissance fulfills its obligations to the city, it will get the money back.