Procter & Gamble Paper Products has added Bounty paper towels to the list of products being manufactured north of Cape Girardeau.

"One line is up and working in the new facility," said a spokesman of the local P&G plant. "We're making Bounty towels."

The new facility is an 850,000-square-foot structure added just north of the 1.2 million-square-foot plant that produces disposable diapers and feminine hygiene products. The newest floor space will eventually house two giant paper machines and associated converted equipment to handle towel and tissue production.

P&G is the largest employer in Southeast Missouri, with more than 1,700 employees and a $50 million-plus payroll.

The second line should be in by June, said Larry Stahlman, a public information specialist at the plant 13 miles north of Cape Girardeau.

The newest facility is part of a $350 million expansion announced more than two years ago.

Much has changed at the P&G complex since it opened here more than 30 years ago.

Today, the operation has more than 2 million square feet (about 50 acres) under roof.

Disposable diapers are the primary products at the plant. P&G researchers developed Pampers in the 1960s, and today P&G commands more than a 40 percent share of the disposable-diaper market. Many diapers are produced at the local plant.

The original plant in 1969 was a Charmin plant. Charmin Paper Products Inc. was acquired by P&G in 1957 and was a subsidiary of P&G during planning and opening of the plant here. It remained the Charmin plant until 1976 when it became the Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co. plant.

The plant plays a major role in the area's overall economic picture, with the company spending more than $150 million in annual purchases from Missouri suppliers for goods and services such as raw materials, office supplies and contractor services.

P&G has plants in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, but the operation here is the largest of the three.

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. M&W, headquartered in Germany, is across the road from the P&G plant and employs more than 400 people.

P&G is a community-oriented company, and each year it and its employees provide more than $200,000 to the Area Wide United Way. The company also makes donations to other organizations, including area schools, and collects hundreds of pints of blood for the American Red Cross with its three blood drives each year.

During the 1970s there were two building expansions at P&G, one in 1976 and one in 1978.

LOCAL P&G PLANT FAST FACTS

* 1969 -- Charmin Paper Products Inc., a subsidiary of P&G, opens plant with 10 acres under roof and 300 employees.

* 1972 -- Plant expands, employs more than 500.

* 1976 -- Charmin plant becomes Procter & Gamble Paper Production Co. Plant expands Pampers area.

* 1979 -- Plant expands, adds Luvs disposable diapers to the line.

* 1990 -- P&G provides land, helps bring Miltenberger & Willing (M&W) to United States. The plastics-packaging manufacturer, which provides packaging for P&G products, moves across the road from P&G and employs about 200 people.

* 1994 -- Pampers Trainers added to line.

* 1998 -- P&G announces plans for $350 million expansion, to add towels and tissues to the product line.

*1999 -- First towel and tissue production line at new 850,000-square-foot plant.

* 2000 -- Second line of towel and tissue production line at new plant expected in June.

*2000 -- Facility consists of more than 2 million square feet (more than 50 acres) under roof.