An Industry Week Special - Missouri Partnership

“OUR BUSINESS IS COMING BACK STRONG. THE INDUSTRIES WE SUPPLY EQUIPMENTTO ARE COMING BACK AND DEMAND IS GROWING. MANUFACTURING IS HEADING INTHE RIGHT DIRECTION.”— GREGG SHIREY, MUELLERthe economy has recovered,” saysNick Sanazaro, President & CEO ofMeramec. “Our plan is to continueto grow the company significantly inthe next five years.”Sanazaro credits Cuba’s greatworkforce and the collaborativeefforts of local government andeconomic development organizationsfor the success of Meramec andits neighboring businesses. “With itssmall-town work ethic and committedemployees, Cuba is a great placeto work,” says Sanazaro. “There are alot of people here dedicated to helpingthe community, creating jobs andbringing revenue to the area.”The City of Cuba, Crawford County,the Cuba Chamber of Commerceand Cuba Development Group havea long-standing partnership to attractnew businesses to the area.“Meramec Electrical Products isone of Cuba’s best success stories,”says Mardy Leathers, President &Founder of Cuba DevelopmentGroup, Inc. “The company that grewfrom humble roots more than 40years ago has expanded several timesin the last decade—becoming one ofour community’s strongest assets.”Further down Interstate 44,companies in Springfield that werehit by the recession are reinvestingin updated equipment and newprocesses to improve manufacturingand meet rising demands.“The quality of the workforce in thisarea is a real driver for companies,”says Ryan Mooney, Senior VicePresident of Economic Developmentat the Springfield Area Chamber ofCommerce. “The manufacturingwork is here and our workforce ishighly productive—paired together,these factors make Missouri attractiveto businesses in the manufacturingindustry.”At one of Missouri’s three KraftFoods facilities, plans were justannounced for a $50 million capitalinvestment to improve processesand increase efficiencies. As anemployer of nearly 1,000 workersin the Springfield area, Kraft is alsolooking to invest in new equipmentto keep up with a growing demandfor its products.“There are several projects beingconsidered to help our Springfieldfacility meet consumer demandfor existing and new products, andhelp us retain our existing jobs,”says Joyce Hodel, spokesperson forKraft. “Our Springfield plant hasdemonstrated strong improvementsin gaining efficiencies, reducingcosts and finding productivity, aswell as sustainability wins. We havean excellent workforce and want tomaintain it.”THEY FOUND A GOODPLACE TO START.Springfield ReManufacturing Corporation started in 1983 remanufacturingdiesel engines for trucks. But CEO Jack Stack didn’t stopthere. With Springfield’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedicated workforce,he has created almost 60 new spin-off businesses from SRC.Springfield is helping companies grow.An IndustryWeek Special Section8