GROUND BREAKING YET?: In the frigid air of the Midwest in late January 2004, company and community officials did their best to excavate the first hole for Triumph Foods' US$250-million pork processing facility in St. Joseph, which will employ more than 1,000 people. A proactive city leadership and TIF implementation have rejuvenated both the city's surface appearance and its business reality.

Other Places,
Other Corporate Faces

Investment outside the major Missouri metros has attained sizable momentum in St. Joseph and Springfield, while also honing in on communities near I-70, I-55, I-44 and I-35.
        In Springfield, Chicago area-based Tuthill Corp. – a maker of pneumatic blowers, vacuum boosters and blower systems for the pharmaceutical, petrochemical and food processing industries – is relocating some product lines from its Canton, Mass., operation as part of a $16-million investment that will see its payroll of 155 add another 78 positions. Among its more than 20 worldwide locations, the company also operates a facility in its transport technologies division in the Missouri town of Mt. Vernon, halfway between Springfield and the western border city of Joplin.
        Along I-55, hard by the Mississippi River, 33-year-old St. Louis firm Midwest Motorcycle Supply is spending millions to expand in Pevely, relocating from outgrown quarters in nearby Arnold. In this case, some of the state support goes beyond equipment sale-leasebacks and zoning, working through the Community Development Block Grant program to fund sewer improvements necessary to facilitate the expansion. Neighbor firm Thomas Industrial Coatings will benefit from the infrastructure improvements, as will planned residential development nearby.
        And along I-44, not far from the ghosts of Route 66, air-conditioner and refrigerator compressor maker Copeland Corp. is opening a new scroll compressor facility in Lebanon that will employ 360 workers. The company will move into a complex abandoned by a jeans manufacturer in 2002, over three-quarters of the 22-acre (9-hectare) tract. Before embarking on a national marketing campaign, the city chose to query local firms first, and Copeland responded.
        The expansion adds to the 800 on the payroll at the company's first Lebanon plant, completed in 1992, which will now add a fourth production line. Contrary to many companies with operations in the sector, Copeland has not migrated to Mexico, but retained a significant U.S. presence. The division is based in Sidney, Ohio, but operates as a subsidiary of Emerson Electric, headquartered some 163 miles (260 kilometers) northeast in St. Louis.

See the SITES Missouri Dept. of Economic Development www.ded.mo.gov Missouri Works (latest work-force statistics) www.works.state.mo.us St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association www.stlrcga.org Kansas City Area Development Council www.smartkc.com NW Roundtable Economic Development Group www.locatemissouri.com Missouri Enterprise Zone Association www.moenterprisezone.org

        In St. Joseph, the city is looking to annex more land to support its dramatic growth. The arrival of Triumph Foods' 1,000-plus-employee, $250-million pork processing facility has rejuvenated the city's stockyards area, and the associated TIF district will add to the property's straight property tax total of $20,000 with $150,000 in funds directed toward the school district. It was just one of three TIFs to come into being in six months during 2003, while the city saw 32 active expansion projects come to fruition, most recently from the likes of Nestlé-Purina and Johnson Controls.
        St. Joe city leaders have fought off objections and successfully zoned a business park projected to bring in some 2,000 jobs. The city has also implemented a streamlined permitting process under the direction of the city manager, as well as a general clean-up program designed to bring the shine back to some long-neglected areas of town. Ahead on the city's agenda is an important citizen vote to extend the county economic development tax. And all that remains for some significant brownfield redevelopment projects is the small detail of purchasing some land from a railroad.
        "If you've ever dealt with the railroads, you know they're tough to deal with," said Mayor David Jones at his state of the city address in January 2004, "but we will work through it. We will get that property and you will see the brownfields turned into a wonderful section of our community." As for the city's overall growth, Jones typically could not hide his enthusiasm for his hometown. "Last year I stated that this city is about to explode," he concluded in his address. "Well, we lit the fuse in 2003."