PROCTER & GAMBLE EXCELLENCE; LOCAL AREA BIG PLAYER IN P&G GROWTH

From time to time, the Missourian reviews and updates a previous winner of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's "Commitment of Excellence," Industry of the Year recipient. This week, Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co.

Definition of Big: Procter & Gamble.

Definition of Community: Procter & Gamble.

Definition of Industry at its Best: Procter & Gamble.

Disposable diapers produced in the Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co. facility in Cape Girardeau County translate into millions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year in the Southeast Missouri area.

The local facility, which consists of more than 1.3 million square feet under roof, is the largest manufacturer of disposable diapers in North America.

The plant, located on a 1,225-acre site 15 miles north of Cape Girardeau at the junction of Highway 177 and Route J, turns out Pampers, Luvs and Pamper Trainers 24 hours a day.

P&G employs about 1,300 people in its Cape Girardeau County facility, with an annual payroll of $50 million, largest in Southeast Missouri.

P&G's impact extends far beyond employment numbers and payroll figures. The company spends more than $150 million a year on Missouri goods and services, such as raw materials, packaging materials, freight and energy.

The company's employees, their families and the corporation provide leadership and support for many community activities and services. Last year, corporate contributions and employee donations to United Way totaled about $500,000 in the state.

Three Missouri plants

P&G operates three manufacturing plants in Missouri, a regional sales office and a regional distribution center.

This translates into a total of 1,925 jobs, with a payroll of $90 million, with the largest operation in Cape Girardeau County.

Other plants are at Kansas City (Folgers Coffee) and St. Louis (Cascade dishwashing detergent, Comet Cleanser, Mr. Clean, Spic and Span, Cinch Cleaner).

Procter & Gamble Co., headquartered in Cincinnati, has a goal -- "Reach the $50 billion annual sales mark by fiscal year 2000."

The question is, can P&G increase sales 9 percent a year to reach that mark?

In only one of the past five years has the company's sales increased by 9 percent, that in 1995, when it had a 10.3 percent hike, as sales soared from $30.4 billion to $33.5 billion. Sales rose 5.4 percent during the past fiscal year, to more than $35 billion.

At its current pace, P&G is on track to meet its goal of doubling unit volume and earnings in 10 years.

Procter & Gamble introduced 81 products into test markets from January through mid-August. This doesn't mean that a majority of them will turn up in national markets.

Tide, Pampers and Crest has been major strengths of P&G growth over the past quarter-century.

'Industry of the Year'

Cape Girardeau has figured into part of that growth over the past 27 years.

The local P&G facility observed its 25th anniversary two years ago, two years after receiving the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's "Commitment of Excellence," as industry of the year.

The Cape Girardeau Chamber started recognizing existing industries nine years ago with its Industry of the Year award. P&G was the third major manufacturers to receive the chamber award. Industries honored over the past eight years include, in order, General Sign, Lone Star Industries, Procter & Gamble, Biokyowa, Concord Publishing Co., Dana Corp., Florsheim Shoe Co., Spartech Corp. and Thorngate Ltd.

Disposable diapers are a relatively new product, but during the 30 years they have been in existence they have captured more than 90 percent of the $4 billion diaper industry.

15.8 billion diapers

More than 8 million U.S. babies under the age of 30 months wear disposables, which translates into 15.8 billion diapers being disposed of each year. With a 40 percent marketshare, P&G provides more than 6 billion of these diapers.

Disposable diapers also translate into millions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year at Procter & Gamble, with its Pampers, Luvs and Pamper Trainers; at Kimberley Clark, with its Huggies; and at a number of other smaller disposable diaper manufacturers.

Procter & Gamble researchers developed Pampers in the 1960s. Today, P&G commands about a 40 percent share of the disposables market.

The plant here opened in 1969 and is still referred to by some as the Charmin plant. Charmin Paper Products Inc., which was acquired by P&G in 1957, was a subsidiary of P&G during planning and opening of the plant here.

Construction started in May 1968 on the plant. The manufacture of Pampers began the following year with a workforce of just over 300 employees at the facility, which contained about 10 acres under roof. It remained the Charmin Plant until 1976, when it became the Procter & Gamble Paper Products Plant.

1.300 jobs, $50 million payroll

Today, the plant here employs more than 1,300 people with a payroll of more than $50 million in a facility with some 30 acres under roof.

Two railroad tracks that enter the warehouse are capable of holding eight railroad cars that deliver raw materials to the plant. The plants also send out from 60 to 100 trucks a day with the finished products.

A lot of the more than $150 million spent on goods and services in the state are purchased in this area.

Spawns new businesses

The local plant has spawned a number of new businesses in the immediate area, including Miltenberger & Willing (M&W), a plastics packaging manufacturing firm that supplies packaging for P&G's disposable diapers. The company, headquartered in Germany, is across the road from the P&G plant, and employs more than 200 people.

Each year the company and its employees provide more than $125,000 to the local Area Wide United Way. The company also makes donations to other organizations and collects hundreds of pints of blood for the American Red Cross with its three blood drives each year.

During the 21 years that P&G has participated in the Area Wide United Way, the company and employees have donated a total of $1.8 million to the United Way. Last year's total was over $150,000.

Three years after the plant opened, it employed more than 500 people. In 1972, the size of the Pampers area was expanded.

During the 1970s there were two building expansions -- in 1976 and 1978 -- and a second disposable diaper, Luvs, was added to the plant.

In 1984, Pamper Trainers were added to the local manufacturing list.

Six managers in plant history

Kathleen Brown is only the sixth manager of the plant.

Brown, who joined P&G in 1978 at the Augusta, Ga., plant after graduation from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, transferred to the Cape Girardeau facility in 1991 as an operating group manager

She became manager of the plant in June, replacing Joseph E. Doner, who received a promotion and was transferred to Cincinnati.

James I. Bowman, the first plant manager, served until mid-1984, when he retired. Bowman had been with P&G 33 years before retiring. Ron Miller, who was production plant manager, succeeded Bowman as plant manager in 1984. He was transferred to the company's corporate headquarters during the same year and was replaced by Robert E. Empie, who served as site leader until 1988, when he transferred to corporate headquarters. Philip Larson assumed the site leader position here in 1988 and served until 1993, when he transferred to a site leader's position at the firm's Food and Beverage Production Supply Plant in Lexington, Ky., Boner from 1993 to June, when he transferred.

Nearing 160th anniversary

The P&G company started as a partnership almost 160 years ago when William Procter and James Gamble teamed up in 1837 to sell soap, candles and lard oil from a shop in Cincinnati.

About 20 years after the partnership was founded, P&G had 80 employees, with sales reaching $1 million. The next few years were big ones as the company had contracts to supply soap and candles to Union Army divisions during the Civil War.

From there it has been growth and more growth.

A research laboratory was established in 1865, and Ivory soap was introduced in 1879.

Incorporated in 1890

P&G incorporated in 1890, with a stock offering to the public. Crisco, the first hydrogenated all-vegetable shortening, was introduced in 1911. By 1930, sales reached the $200 million mark, and operations were started in England.

P&G initiated a daytime radio drama, "The Puddle Family," in 1932. More new products were introduced during the decades of the 1940s and '50s -- Dreft, the first synthetic household detergent; Joy, a dish-washing liquid; and Crest toothpaste. Duncan Hines baking mixes were added to the product lines and Charmin Paper Products was acquired, marking P&G's entry into the household paper products field.

By 1980, P&G had more than 42 manufacturing plants in 23 states. Employment totaled more than 59,000 and sales exceeded $10 billion.

During the 1980s the firm acquired Crush International, Ben Hill Griffin Citrus, Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals, Richardson-Vicks and Searle Pharmaceuticals.