MARBLE HILL -- The first industry in Marble Hill Industrial Park will holds its grand opening today.

Heartland Industries Inc., which opened operations in its new 43,000-square-foot production facility last month, will hold a grand opening from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

"This is a big operation," said Hillary F. Schmittzehe of Heartland Industries. "We invite people to come out and see our new facility."

Heartland Industries, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, is a packaging and mailing business. It is a not-for-profit corporation that employs graduates from the sheltered workshop and chronically unemployed persons.

"We provide these people with an opportunity to learn the skills they need to function in the regular work force," said Schmittzehe.

He said the Marble Hill facility would employ about 20 persons.

Heartland, which also has an assembly plant in Cape Girardeau, serves as a mailing house for several magazine and comic companies.

"Up to three-fourths of our business is preparing these publications for mailing to subscribers all over the country," said Schmittzehe. "We receive materials from all over the country and send materials all over the world, including Russia."

Schmittzehe said the company had contracts with Marvel and D.C., two of the big publishers of comics books, and with Walt Disney.

The new facility was made possible by a series of grants and loans to the city of Marble Hill and Heartland Industries. In addition to the grants to Marble Hill for the industrial park, Schmittzehe said Heartland received a $350,000 loan from the Small Business Administration.

Cost of the facility, which is on an 11-acre plot, was about $650,000.

The industrial park consists of 75 acres situated alongside Highway 34 West. Property for the industrial park was purchased in August 1973 before the consolidation of Lutesville and Marble Hill. At that time the two cities worked together to establish a small airport, which now is part of the industrial park.

Since the consolidation of the two communities into Marble Hill, the city has received funding from the Missouri Department of Economic Development for $130,000 and the Department of Natural Resources for $78,845 for infrastructure work.

The park now has water, sewers, and streets.

"We're still planning one more street in the park," said David Jackson, administrative assistant at Marble Hill. "But we have water service, including fire hydrants, and a sewer system to serve the entire park.

"We're really proud of Heartland Industries," said Jackson. "It's great to see an industry in operation at the park, and we're looking forward to others."

Jackson said he had received some industrial inquiries since the water and sewer facilities had been added. "We're hoping to see more activities at the park in the future," he said.