ST. LOUIS (August 3, 2010) — In the last five months, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Jet Midwest, Alpla, IBM, Linen King, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA), Unisys, Mamtek International and Trinity Architectural Products have announced their decisions to move to Missouri. These nine projects combined will create more than 2,500 new jobs, which will further spur job growth already taking place around the state.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development, along with regional development partners and the Missouri Partnership, the state’s non-profit business attraction and marketing organization, were instrumental in finalizing these nine deals for the state. These recent recruitments highlight Missouri’s ability to accommodate the expansion needs of a variety of industries.
“I welcome all of these exceptional companies to our state,” said Governor Jay Nixon. “The recent announcements that nine businesses are investing and creating jobs here demonstrate that Missouri is one of the best places in the nation to do business. Missouri’s versatile resources meet the specific needs of each of these nine companies, and the presence of those companies will benefit hard-working Missourians statewide.”
Missouri is already home to many of the top cities in the country for job growth according to NewGeography's 2010 BestCities rankings. Six more Missouri cities will soon see a significant increase in jobs as a result of recent deals. The widespread effort unifies communities across the state.
• March 3 – Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, announced plans to construct a commercial soybean seed production facility in New Madrid County, Mo., which will create 50 new jobs. To meet rising demands for soy products, Pioneer decided Missouri would be the best fit for this $55 million project.
• April 16 - Jet Midwest announced the consolidation of its multiple U.S. locations and relocation to the KCI Overhaul Base at Kansas City International Airport. This development is designed to serve a mix of aeronautical and non-aeronautical tenants, and will add 500 jobs over 5 years.
• April 19 - Alpla, a privately-held manufacturer of plastic packaging solutions, selected St. Peters, Mo. for a new 83,500-square-foot manufacturing plant. The company chose the location because it can be easily adapted to accommodate future expansions. The plant will employ 50 initially, growing to 150 employees over 10 years.
• May 17 - IBM announced the opening of their third North American service delivery facility in Columbia, Mo. The new center will create up to 800 technical service jobs with an annual payroll of $44 million. The center is in the process of hiring, and is expected to be fully operational by November.
• June 1 - Around the corner from the new IBM center, Linen King, an Oklahoma-based laundry business serving the health care industry, purchased a building for a new 52,000-square-foot cleaning facility, which will employ 30 workers.
• June 8 - The National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators announced it was moving its headquarters to Kansas City, Mo. from Wilmington, NC. The collegiate women’s group received $44,360 in tax credits from the Missouri Enhanced Enterprise Zone program as an incentive to relocate. The organization will create up to 12 jobs over the next two years.
• June 24 - Unisys Corp. announced St. Louis would house their new application modernization center. The new facility will serve as the core application development hub for the company’s Federal Systems, and is expected to create 300 new high-tech jobs in St. Louis over the next two years.
• July 9 - Mamtek International announced they would be basing their U.S. operations in Moberly, Mo. Their new sucralose factory will create 612 new local jobs, with 312 anticipated to come online over the next 18 months as the facility ramps up production.
• July 15 - Trinity Architectural Products announced its relocation from Lenexa, Kan. to Kansas City, Mo. The new facility will allow Trinity to expand to 50 full-time, permanent jobs within one year. State tax incentives were offered and proved instrumental in Trinity’s final decision.
“It has been an outstanding five months,” remarked Greg Nook, Executive Vice President of Marketing at JE Dunn Construction and Chairman of the Board for Missouri Partnership. “These projects represent amazing new opportunities for the people of Missouri. With all of the resources Missouri offers, including a business friendly environment and an abundant, talented workforce, we expect to see the streak of successful deals continue.”