2014 ANNUAL REPORT - St. Joseph Economic Development

2014 ANNUAL REPORT
At the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, 2014 was a year dedicated to retention and growth, both in economic development and
membership. This was accomplished with more direct communication with members and with new events.
Low Unemployment Rates
In December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly
report on national, state and local unemployment rates. St. Joseph’s
unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent for October, the lowest it
had been since April 2007.
St. Joseph continues to be well below state and national averages, which were 5.9 and 5.8 percent respectively in October. While
other Missouri cities also saw drops in unemployment rates that
month, St. Joseph has a distinction that others do not.
St. Joseph is Top Consistently-Growing U.S. Metros
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce recently commissioned Gallup Inc. to perform a study of Missouri Business Dynamics between
the years 1977-2011. That study showed Missouri’s major metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) grew at different rates at different times
during the last three decades.
“Growth slowed over most of that time in each MSA except St.
Joseph (one of the top consistently growing MSAs in the country
2001-2011),” it stated in the Gallup report.
While every other Missouri MSA saw a decline in either or both
employment growth or increase in firms, St. Joseph was the only city
to see growth in both categories.
“We were able to continue growing local business and employment thanks to St. Joseph’s strong agricultural companies, as well as
a diverse wealth of other employers,” said R. Patt Lilly, President and
CEO of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce.
In times of recession, the world’s population still has to eat. St.
Joseph is the top exporter of goods worldwide from Missouri behind
St. Louis and Kansas City. Agricultural science companies continued
strong production and animal health companies, which work closely
with the agriculture market, were able to grow. Food processing companies also maintained its strong presence in the local economy.
But besides the agricultural, animal health and food processing
companies, St. Joseph also supported its companies in the manufac-
turing, insurance, health care, back office and logistics and warehousing business clusters.
“St. Joseph should be aware of and proud of its economic success,” Mr. Lilly said. “With the hard work of the City of St. Joseph,
Buchanan County, State of Missouri and local business investors,
we’ll continue to be a statewide leader in 2015 and the years to
come.”
Evidence of Growth
Eastowne Business Park really took off in 2014, with FedEx and
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., opening facilities and with
Schütz Container Systems Inc., purchasing the shell building and additional land for growth in 2015.
Employers also expanded in the South Side of St. Joseph. NorAm Ice & Cold Storage announced it would expand, invest and add
more jobs and Protein, LLC, announced it would build a new facility
while adding jobs in the Stockyards Industrial Park.
New Initiatives
While unemployment remains low in St. Joseph, the continuing
issue of finding employees for businesses is always top of mind for
the Chamber. In 2014, the Chamber of Commerce joined with the St.
Joseph School District, Hillyard Technical Center, Missouri Western
State University, United Way of Greater St. Joseph and local businesses to form the St. Joseph Workforce Development Alliance. The
purpose of the alliance is to coordinate local training and educational
initiatives to support a prepared and engaged workforce, leading to
successful local businesses.
The Chamber also partnered with the Innovation Stockyard
to form the St. Joseph Angel Capital Group, LLC. The local angel
fund’s purpose is to bring together local accredited investors that
have an interest in providing early stage capital to new and emerging
businesses.
On the membership side of the Chamber two new initiatives were
added to help offer value to members. Ladies on the Links offered
networking on the golf course while raising money for breast cancer
awareness and Speed Networking gave about 100 members a
chance to spend a few moments learning about each other at
this new, fast-paced event.
Economic Development
The St. Joseph economy is a leader in economic growth in part because of these announcements:
A new company, Schütz Container
Systems, Inc., a German-based
packaging company with locations
worldwide, will locate in St. Joseph.
This will result in 50 new jobs and
$20 million in investments. The company purchased Eastowne Business
Park’s shell building, the 7 acres it
sits on and 6.25 acres west of the
building for future expansion.
In January of 2014, Bayer Healthcare
announced it would keep 120 local
workers employed and invest about
$6.5 million for its St. Joseph manufacturing efforts. In St. Joseph, Bayer
HealthCare performs research and
development, as well as manufacturing of products for a line of animal
pharmaceuticals.
Protein LLC will construct a new
facility on a more than 9.5 acre tract
of land at the corner of Stockyards
Expressway and Illinois Avenue in the
Stockyards Industrial Park area. The
total capital investment is anticipated
to be $11.6 million. The company will
add about 20 new full-time employees.
This leading public refrigerated warehouse and family-operated business
will add 72,000 square feet and 10
new, full-time jobs at its Stockyards
Expressway location, totaling an $8.5
million investment in its facility.
The 139th Airlift Wing of the Missouri
Air National Guard will add $36 million
in economic investment and create 30
new jobs.
Triumph Foods invested $9.2 million in
equipment and improvements.
Success was also seen with Summit Trucks and FedEx, which also
expanded in St. Joseph in 2014.
Bluetree Casework invested about
$200,000 in new state-of-the-art
equipment to increase quality and
efficiency.
LLC
Albaugh will expand its current
campus in the Stockyards Industrial
Park and have a significant impact
in the redevelopment and aesthetic
appeal of the area. The company will
demolish the blighted former Seitz
(Hillshire) building and the surrounding acreage. The project involves 11
new jobs and over $8 million in new
capital investment.
Site Visits
New Jobs
New Prospects
Investment
100
275
40
140m
75
225
30
120m
50
175
20
80m
25
125
10
40m
0
2012 2013 2014
0
2012 2013 2014
0
2012 2013 2014
0
2012 2013 2014
Membership
Membership in the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce provides a multitude of ways to increase your visibility
with the business community. And, like most membership organizations, the more you put into it, the more you
get out of it. The following members celebrated anniversaries in 2014 for consecutive years of membership:
100 Years
20 Years
American Electric Company/
Consolidated Electrical
Distributors
Heaton-Bowman-Smith &
Sidenfaden Chapel
Hillyard Companies
Meierhoffer Funeral Home &
Crematory
St. Joseph News-Press
Seaman & Schuske Metal Works Co.
AAA Insurance & Membership
GMF-Gloggner Metal
Fabricators Inc.
Long Lighting Center, Inc.
Performance Plus
Rehabilitation Center
River Bluff Architects, Inc.
St. Jo Frontier Casino
Toshiba Business Solutions
40 Years
Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices Stein &
Summers Real Estate
30 Years
Holiday Inn Conference Center
OATS, Inc.
RE/MAX Professionals of
St. Joseph
Specialty Industries of
St. Joseph, Inc.
Sumner, Carter, Hardy &
Schwichtenberg, P.C.
United Cerebral Palsy of
Northwest MO
10 Years
Acme Music & Vending Co., Inc.
Ameri-Pac, Inc.
Casey’s General Store #2468
Casey’s General Store #2470
Casey’s General Store #2471
Clipper Distributing Co.
The Commerce Trust Company
Fastgas C-Stores/St. Joe
Petroleum Co.
Goodwill of Western Missouri
and Eastern Kansas
The Graham Group, Inc.
Jackson Hewitt Tax Service
Missouri Auto Dealers
Exchange
Motel 6
Northwest Financial Services
Ochsner Hare & Hare
St. Joseph Christian School
St. Joseph Title & Abstract Co.
Salvation Army
Spirit/Miller Trucking
Star-Labs/Forage Research,
Inc.
Tax Favored Benefits
Triggerfish Corporation
Uptown St. Joseph
Redevelopment Corporation
Wachter Inc.
Wesley Towers
5 Years
American Business &
Technology University
Apple Market
ARC Physical Therapy +
Attic Storage of St. Joseph
Bishop LeBlond High School
Bob Evans Restaurant
Delta Systems Group
FSB Mortgage, A Division of
Farmers State Bank
Lisa A. Goin, DDS
Golden Eagle Casino
Guardsmark LLC
Habiger West - McDonald’s
of St. Joseph
Five-Year Event Attendance Figures
2009
Chamber Membership Awards
Members of the Chamber’s Diplomats Club work very hard
in front of and behind the scenes to ensure the success of
Chamber events and increase the visibility of the Chamber within the community. Each November the Diplomats
nominate a fellow Diplomat to be considered for the Diplomat of the Year. Nominated Diplomats are named Chamber
Stars. The Diplomat of the Year Award is presented at the
Chamber’s Annual Banquet, held each January. This year’s
Chamber Stars are:
2014
Business Mixer Average
Diplomats Average
55
51
72
63
St. Joe Rising Average
New Executive Luncheon
89
184
259
132
Farm City Breakfast
200
500
Annual Banquet
Lowell Kruse, Civic Member
Lura Landis, LLC
McFadden Construction
Corp.
Missouri Western State
University - Steven L.
Craig School of Business
Nor-Am Ice and Cold Storage
One Home Realty Inc.
Pregnancy Resource Clinic
Paul Rhodes - New York Life
Insurance
Rotary Club (Downtown)
St. Francis Xavier School
St. James School
St. Joseph Auction & Antique
Mart
SDG Developments, LLC
South St. Joseph Industrial
Sewer District
TransCanada Keystone
Pipeline
Trinity Logistics
Up, Up & Away!
USA 800, Inc.
Brandy Wiederholt State
Farm
Woodstream Corp.
732
845
Michelle Blakley, Midwest Mobile Radio Service, Inc.
Dianne Dewey, Soroptimist International of St. Joseph, Missouri
Jeremy Eaton, Griffey School for the Arts
Wade Epp, Hire A Handyman, LLC
Brett Esely, Missouri Western State University Athletics
Mary Gaston, St. Joseph Transit
Judy Hausman, Civic Member
Linda McNeiley, Mosaic Life Care
Dana Plowman, St. Joseph News-Press
Deb Powers, Midland Empire Resources for Independent
Living (MERIL)
Chris Schmitter, FOX 26 KNPN
Carolynn Sollars, IMKO Workforce Solutions
Frank Still, Vernon Co.
Kylee Strough, United Way of Greater St. Joseph
Administration
Since its inception, the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce has been the catalyst for economic growth and
development in Northwest Missouri. The Chamber’s mission is “to create an environment that allows business
to succeed and the community to prosper.”
Chamber membership is an investment that not only can help better your business, but supports initiatives
that sustain and improve the quality of life in St. Joseph. Thank you for your support.
Kristi Bailey
Director of Communications
& Marketing
[email protected]
816.364.4108
Mary Brown
Programs Coordinator
[email protected]
816.364.4102
Amanda Davies
Events Coordinator
[email protected]
816.364.4101
Steve Johnston
Director, Community
Alliance of Saint Joseph
[email protected]
816.364.4109
Brad Lau
Vice President,
Economic Development
[email protected]
816.364.4110
R. Patt Lilly
President & CEO
[email protected]
816.232.4485
Jessica Jackson
Business Retention
Specialist
[email protected]
816.364.4103
Natalie Redmond
Vice President,
Membership
[email protected]
816.364.4107
Shannon Jobes
Vice President, Administration
[email protected]
816.364.4111
Jodi Thomas
Receptionist/
Administrative Assistant
[email protected]
816.232.4461
2014 St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman
Chair-Elect Dr. Mark Laney
Mosaic Life Care
Todd Meierhoffer
Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory
Secretary/Treasurer
Stet Schanze
Gray Manufacturing Co. Inc.
President/CEO
R. Patt Lilly
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce
Directors
Scott Albers, Nor-Am Ice & Cold Storage
John Bosman, American Family Insurance
Brian Bradley, St. Joseph News-Press
Barbara Burns, B.J. Office Products Inc.
Jim Carolus, Hillyard Companies
Mike Decker, Apple Market
Bernd Eichenmueller, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.
Bill Falkner, City of St. Joseph
Tim Knapp, Tim Knapp Construction Co.
Corky Marquart, Commerce Bank
Byron Myers, Sr., City of St. Joseph
816.232.4461 or 800.748.7856
816.364.4873 (fax)
3003 Frederick Ave.
St. Joseph, MO 64506
Ret. Col. Mike Pankau, 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard
Tom Richmond, Altec Industries, Inc.
J.L. Robertson, Rupp Funeral Home
Matt Robertson, CliftonLarsonAllen
Larry Stobbs, South St. Joseph Progressive Association
Kylee Strough, United Way of Greater St. Joseph
R.T. Turner, Buchanan County
Mark Woodbury, General Counsel, Polsinelli
Vern Middleton, Past Chair, MI-Advantage, Inc.
Jeff Gray, Diplomats Club Representative,
Al J. Mueller Construction Co.
Bill Grimwood, LEAD Representative, Hillyard Companies
www.saintjoseph.com
www.choosestjoseph.com
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