A Certain Chemistry
For the third year in a row, the bi-state St. Louis metro area tops all the cities and towns along the entire Mississippi River corridor by total number of corporate facility investment projects. Fort Madison, Iowa, with a population of just over 32,000, takes the per-capita title. Both areas can look to the chemicals industry as one element in their success.
The rankings are based on projects that qualified for the Conway Projects Database between July 2023 and December 2024 by meeting at least one of three criteria: at least $1 million invested, at least 20 new jobs created or at least 20,000 new sq. ft. of space.
A January release from the St. Louis Regional Freightway, an organization promoting the freight capabilities of the eight counties in southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri that comprise the St. Louis region, noted the region’s chemicals industry (which includes pharmaceuticals) has attracted more than $250 million in new investment in recent months. Included in that total are a $180 million, 100-job expansion by Procter & Gamble on the riverfront in North St. Louis and MilliporeSigma’s $76 million, 170-job expansion of antibody drug conjugate manufacturing capacity at its Bioconjugation Center of Excellence in St. Louis.
P&G’s St. Louis facility, approaching its 100th anniversary in 2027, produces brands including Cascade, Mr. Clean, and Febreze. The company’s expansion includes the addition of new equipment and a new warehouse at its existing north St. Louis riverfront location, the conversion of an existing warehouse to a manufacturing facility and the construction of a new office building, said the release.
Another riverfront project figures to boost the economy from the metro region’s southern section: In September 2024 the Jefferson County Port Authority (JCPA) announced a $20 million acquisition that is resulting in the first publicly owned terminal facility in Jefferson County at Riverview Commerce Park, 35 miles to the south of St. Louis proper. Situated below any lock and dam system, the terminal provides a direct shot to the Gulf of Mexico and robust connections to Class I rail and multiple Interstates.
“The port facility and surrounding acreage anchors a broader 300-acre site that earlier this year received Port District zoning, making way for redevelopment as an intermodal transportation hub and industrial park,” said Jim McNichols, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority. Eventual plans include new container-on-vessel service connecting the Midwest and the St. Louis region to the lower Mississippi River and beyond.
Iowa Region a Tri-State Catalyst
Projects in Fort Madison, located in Iowa’s southwest corner near Illinois and Missouri, include a $15 million investment from Climax Molybdenum, a Freeport-McMoRan Company. Since 1977, the company has operated the world’s largest and highest quality producer of lubricant grade molybdenum disulfide and other upgraded molybdenum chemical products. The company’s investments also extend to other riverfront property: The Freeport McMoRan Foundation in December donated $50,000 toward a playground that’s part of the rejuvenation of downtown Fort Madison’s riverfront alongside a new marina.
The micropolitan area also includes Keokuk, a community 20 miles to the south variously known as “Power City” and the “Geode Capital of the World,” where Allied Blending is expanding its operation. And soil microbe purveyor Holganix Midwest is pursuing a $3.5 million expansion at its site in tiny West Point, Iowa, with a population of fewer than 1,000. All three communities are in Lee County, where one of every four jobs is in manufacturing. Lee County Economic Development Group in September received a 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award from the International Economic Development Council and was named the economic development organization of the year in the 25,000 – 200,000 population categories.
Among the group’s accomplishments is the Lee County Fiber Project, a $5.4 million investment to create a 14-mile fiber backbone and redundant fiber ring.
