An American institution an-nounced in September that it would expand its operations in Missouri.

Harley-Davidson, the manufacturer of motorcycles, will expand its Kansas City, Mo., facility, which originally opened in 1998. The company is moving assembly of its Dyne Glide line of motorcycles to the state.

Harley-Davidson will also produce the new V-Rod motorcycle and its Revolution power train in Kansas City. The company, the only major motorcycle manufacturer in the United States, intends to have a production line up and running by the end of the second quarter of 2002.

"By the end of next year we will be manufacturing three families of motorcycles for the company," said Karl Eberle, vice president and general manager of the Kansas City Harley-Davidson plant.

Around 300 jobs will be added to meet production demands when the expansion is completed. The company, unions and state and local agencies worked together to bring this project to fruition. The proposed incentive package includes more than $2 million in BUILD Missouri bonds.

Easy to reach the world

Markets are easily accessible via Missouri's excellent transportation infrastructure. Missouri has the country's sixth-largest highway system and the second- and third-largest railroad terminals. The Mississippi and Missouri rivers add more than 1,000 miles of navigable waterways to this system, and two international and six regional airports provide access to national and international markets.

Missouri's location gives companies in retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing, transportation and construction an advantage over their competitors in other states. The state is within 500 miles of 43 percent of the U.S. population and households and 41 percent of the all country's personal income after taxes.

Within this 500-mile radius are 44 percent of all U.S. manufacturing plants (more than 386,000), 44 percent of all U.S. wholesale trade and 39 percent of the nation's resale trade.

Wal-Mart, the mega-retailer, has selected Missouri for three different distribution facilities since July 2000. At that time, the company revealed plans to build a regional food distribution center in Harrisonville, just south of Kansas City, as well as locate a distribution center in St. James, near St. Louis, which would serve eastern Missouri and western Illinois.

This past summer, the company announced that Moberly would be the site of a food distribution center. When construction is completed, the 450,000 square foot facility will employ 300 people. Wal-Mart is Missouri's largest employer.

"It is a significant project that represents our continued commitment to Missouri as a partner in both economic development and community involvement," said Rollin Ford, senior vice president of logistics for Wal-Mart.

Help on state and local level makes a difference

State and local entities are valuable partners of the Fortune 500 retailer. Through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded a $1.25 million industrial infrastructure grant to the city of Moberly.

These funds pave the way for improvements to the proposed distribution center site, including a 12-inch, 3000-foot long water main, a main sewer line with 12 pumping stations and road improvements.

The CDBG Program focuses on cities with a population of less than 50,000, or counties with fewer than 200,000 residents. This financial assistance is available to new or existing businesses that meet certain program criteria.

Like Moberly, Cape Girardeau, in southern Missouri, attracted a new employer with the help of a CDBG grant. Renaissance Aircraft LLC, a manufacturer of aircraft used primarily for agriculture purposes, intends to invest more than $1 million to construct a manufacturing plant near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

More than 50 full-time jobs will be created in the next two years. The $479,483 grant will be used to build a 12-mile water main and other water system improvements to meet the facility's sanitary, fire protection and manufacturing process requirements.

Businesses, especially manufacturers and technology-intensive operations, find Missouri's energy to be reliable, available and affordable. Average industrial electric rates are a reasonable 4.38 cents per kilowatt-hour.

More than 80 percent of the state's electricity is generated from coal.

Infrastructure in place to

produce good workers

One of Missouri's best-kept secrets may be the University of Missouri-Rolla, a renowned engineering school. More than 90 percent of the students at UM-Rolla are engineering or science majors. The school's Intelligent Systems Center is regarded as a premier research facility, as is the Missouri Manufacturing Research Training Center.

Education is an ongoing, never ending process, and Missouri is a ready partner for employers needing training assistance. The New Jobs Training Program, delivered by community colleges, is available to manufacturing, processing and assembly companies. Companies involved in R & D and interstate commerce services are also eligible for the program.

Training must be for workers in newly created jobs, and services include skill assessment, orientation, pre-employment training, curriculum design and materials, and training facilities and equipment. Training ranges from adult basic education, occupational skill training, customized training for specific industry needs and on-the-job training.

Other programs to keep the state's work force competitive include the Missouri Development Tax Credit Program and a Customized Training Program.

Joplin a Midwestern Gem

Joplin, Mo., isn't Los Angeles or Atlanta. However, that's not such a bad thing at all. Located in the southwestern corner of the Show Me State, the city is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Missouri, and it has no lack of interest from growing businesses.

Those who reside in Joplin tout it as a great place to live, with plenty of recreational amenities, the lowest cost of living in Missouri and great interstate access. In addition, taxes there are on the low end and local businesses report that the Joplin work force is willing, able and well trained.

Systems & Service Technologies (SST) is just one of the many companies that has discovered the Missouri gem. The nationally-recognized loan servicing company recently opened a facility in Joplin where plans call for employment to eventually reach 100 or more.

While the company was swayed by an incentive package that included a forgiveable loan if certain employment and longevity objectives are met, the work force was a major factor as well.

"No question about it, we were influenced by community leaders, but it was the work force we see in Joplin that made the decision easy," said Jerry Sokolow, executive president of SST.