A Glance At More Plains Projects         Garmin International, manufacturer of GPS, communication and sonar products, is investing $65 million to expand its corporate campus in Olathe, Kan. Turner Construction Co. is building a 450,000-sq.-ft. (41,805-sq.-m.) office building, a parking garage and a 125,000-sq.-ft. (12,375-sq.-m.) warehouse expansion. Garmin International is enlarging its corporate campus in Olathe, Kan.         UPU Industries, a subsidiary of Steve Orr Ltd. of Northern Ireland, will build a $14-million factory in Junction City, Kan. Plans call for the facility to employ about 70 and be operational in June. The plant will produce high performance round bale netting and baler twines. UPU looked at several sites in the Midwest before selecting Junction City.         Persona, a manufacturer of electrical signage, is expanding into Madison, S.D., and plans to hire up to 55. The company will move into the former Rosco Manufacturing building.

Missouri Notches Saves

In Missouri, winds also kick up, with the state ranked 20th in wind power potential by the AWEA. But the biggest economic gusts of late come in the form of three major saves the state registered in the fall of 2003 from three of its longtime job generators:
        • Ford Motor Co. plans to build a hybrid version of the Ford Escape at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, a facility that employs nearly 6,000 with a payroll of more than $400 million. State incentives of $5 million in job training assistance and $4 million in tax credits helped persuade Ford to keep its Hazelwood Plant open, reversing an earlier decision to close it. Ford now plans to keep the plant open through at least 2007.
        • American Airlines will continue to operate its Kansas City overhaul base after it phases out its narrow-body maintenance operation. The decision will save about 1,700 jobs.
        • A mattress manufacturer recently decided to bed down in Sweet Springs. Eastman House is moving its operations from Burlington, Iowa, and plans to create 61 jobs.