DRA - Missouri

By Trisha Ostrowski


Public-Private Win-Win

A 30-year partnership with a major Toyota supplier continues to pay off for Perryville, Missouri

 

Fifty years ago, Perryville, Mo., was home to a poultry plant and struggling shoe factories. Today, it is a thriving manufacturing center, employing thousands of workers in a variety of facilities.

 

It’s one of those truly amazing Southern success stories. Located 80 miles south of St. Louis in Perry County, Perryville is a fairly typical small town, even in spite of its recent economic growth.

 

Perhaps no one is more responsible for that growth than automotive supplier TG Missouri, which has been part of the community for 30 years now, having opened in 1986. Part of Japanese conglomerate Toyoda Gosei Co., LTD, TG Missouri manufactures steering wheels, airbags and moldings, as well as interior and exterior plastic trim for automotive OEMs. They serve customers throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, Mexico and Taiwan. And the company’s presence in Perryville continues to expand.

 

Supporting growth

In 2010, TG Missouri invested $38.9 million, adding a new production line to supply chrome components to Toyota’s plant in Princeton, Ind.

 

Then, in March 2012, it added 33,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Perryville. In all, the two expansions added 250 new jobs.

 

The state of Missouri added $3.8 million in economic development incentives to assist in this most recent expansion, including $250,000 in training assistance through Missouri Works Customized Training. Missouri Works allows companies to upgrade worker skills for new products, processes or technology, increasing overall productivity and efficiency.

 

Following the expansion announcement, TG Japan President Tadashi Arashima visited the facility. Impressed with what he saw, he said, “TG is concentrating on expanding the global market. We have 50 factories outside of Japan, including plants in North America, China and Asia. TG Missouri in Perryville is our North American headquarters. It is our largest and oldest established plant outside of Japan,” Arashima said.

 

Becoming such a central site has come as part of the natural progression in the relationship between TG Missouri and Perryville. After 30 years of marriage, the two still seem to be quite well suited for each other.

 

Perryville has been deeply invested in economic growth for years now, and the community is experiencing the payoff for that effort — an increasing number of corporate expansions and opportunities that are providing jobs for the local economy.

 

Arashima acknowledged that the partnership with local government and community leaders has been a significant factor in not only keeping TG Missouri in Perryville, but making it a viable option for repeated expansions.

 

In fact, the teamwork between economic development officials and local business leaders has been a draw for several other manufacturing expansions there in recent years.

 

The city and county guaranteed more than $6 million in bonds to develop the infrastructure around its municipal airport to help Sabreliner Corporation expand into painting and servicing bigger aircraft. That company, employing more than 400 people locally, specializes in retrofitting and refurbishing airplanes and helicopters.

 

“We have had a continual stream of investments from this community,” said Al Farless, vice president of program development for Sabreliner. “Those investments, coupled with increased business, has led us to where we are today. It’s all part of the strategy locally — thinking creatively to draw and retain companies that become solid members of the community.”

 

“The citizens of Perry County have clearly demonstrated the progressive thinking required to move the community forward and provide advantages,” said Scott Sattler, executive director of the Perry County Economic Development Authority. “The local movers and shakers put forth the effort and gave their time and money to make things happen that got us to where we are today.”

 

In fact, years ago, the Perryville Development Corporation was founded by the financial contributions of a group of local citizens determined to promote industrial growth on a local level. The group purchased land for an industrial park, and paid to attract industry to the community.

 

When Toyoda Gosei came looking for a U.S. location for its auto parts plant, the city and county offered to develop the necessary infrastructure and sent a delegation to Japan to lobby directly for the plant.

 

Public and private working together

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon tours  TG Missouri’s facility in Perryville to celebrate the company’s expansion and the state’s growing automotive industry.Though TG Missouri launched here in 1986, the company’s partnership with Perryville began six years earlier. At that time, Perryville Development Corporation joined with the City of Perryville and the Industrial Development Authority to attract the company there. The Development Corporation sold 40 acres in a local industrial park to the company for $24,000, then spent more than $40,000 to level the site.

 

It was the kind of move that is demonstrative of the public-private partnership that continues to draw industry to Perryville. The creation of infrastructure, along with incentives and financial investment, has opened doors of opportunity for this community.

 

A significant piece of that public-private partnership is related to workforce. Both the company and local economic development officials point to the quality of the local employee pool as being a major factor in growing the manufacturing sector in Perry County.

 

“They are established, well trained and proficient,” said TG Japan President Tadashi Arashima of Perry County’s workers. “TG Missouri is a model for our other North American companies. They put an emphasis on safety. They are very good with customer service and resolve customer issues quickly. They have a good reputation with manufacturers.”

 

The local workforce has traditionally been exceptionally skilled with mechanical and craft skills — the kinds of skills that make for manufacturing proficiency.

 

Small town moving quickly

For manufacturers, infrastructure and logistics are critical. Perry County offers large transportation advantages, aside from being near the geographic center of the country. The city is near the Mississippi River, and is located on Interstate 55, making it a regional transportation hub for goods and materials.

 

In a town of 8,000 people, nearly one-third of all the employees in Perryville work in manufacturing. What once was a struggling Southern town has become a hotbed for productivity and a role model for how a community can redefine itself by actively pursuing industry and creating the environment companies need to thrive. 

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